Opinion

Industrial structure needs to be changed

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-09 07:58

To fulfill its target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, China must change the mode of its economic growth, for which it has to adjust industrial structure, says an article in Shanghai Securities News. Excerpts:

Just days before the Copenhagen climate change conference, China announced that it would cut its carbon intensity per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent by 2020, taking 2005 as the base year. This commitment reflects China's high sense of responsibility in the fight against climate change.

But to achieve that target, China must change its economic growth model, for which it has to accelerate the pace of its industrial restructuring.

China's existing growth model lays emphasis on industrial development, especially heavy industries, and consumes a great deal of energy and resources. This mode of economic growth is apparently not sustainable.

To move toward to a sustainable, low-carbon economy, China has to sacrifice short-term interests for long-term benefits. In the short run, reducing GHG emissions and adjusting the industrial structure would have a negative impact on China's economic growth. But they will ultimately change China's development mode to a healthier one and ensure the quality and efficiency of economic growth in the future.

Therefore, to some extent, the objectives and directions of emission cuts and change in industrial structure are consistent.

To restructure its industry, China should first head for sectors that consume relatively low energy, and gradually change to an industrial structure in which tertiary sectors are dominant.