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China and the European Union will
strengthen cooperation and exchanges in the energy sector, including
clean coal technology, renewable energy and nuclear power, top
officials said at a high-level conference.
China's Ministry of Science and
Technology (MOST) and the European Commission yesterday signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on near-zero emission power
generation technology in an effort to jointly fight against global
climate change.
As the major source of power
generation, coal consumption has continued to increase to meet the
rapid economic development in China. Statistics show that China
consumed some 34 percent of the coal used worldwide in 2004.
Due to technical barriers, the coal is
used with low efficiency, and carbon dioxide emission has also led
to environmental pollution.
Under the MoU, the Chinese Government
and the EU will jointly conduct research and promote the technology
of near-zero emission power generation.
It includes capturing carbon dioxide
emitted from coal power stations and then storing them underground,
instead of being emitted directly into the environment.
"China has been seeking more ways to
protect the climate, such as this" said Ma Songde, vice-minister of
MOST.
Promoting the new technology was a good
environmental and energy policy, he added.
The feasibility study of the project
will be finished by the end of 2008, according to the MoU.
Andris Piebalgs, Energy Commissioner
for the EU, said it will invest 5 million euros (US$5.95 million)
for the first stage of the cooperation, following an equal amount of
investment from the UK.
China will allocate resources to
support the project and seek more financial resources together with
the EU.
China aims to establish an energy
research and development regime centring on the talents and funding
resources of the business community and universities, according to
Ma.
Piebalgs also called on enterprises to
shoulder responsibilities for protecting the environment.
The cooperation marks a further step in
the energy sector between China and the EU. Since 1981, a remarkable
amount of cooperation has been achieved, including a clean coal
action plan, an energy efficiency program and a renewable energy
program.
The conference attracted about 250 top
energy policy makers and industrialists.
Representatives discussed topics
including energy security, increasing energy efficiency, nuclear
energy and security, and interactions between energy and
environmental policies. | 
