Interview: China moving forward at great pace for low carbon economy: expert

China is moving forward at a great pace with its reaction to low carbon economy as the largest investor in renewable energy technology in the world, said a carbon innovation expert in Scotland.

"When I am engaging with the government in Hong Kong, when I am engaging with the government in Shanghai and Lingang, I get from them very forcefully that they are keen to lower their carbon emissions," Ed Craig, Head of Enterprise and Innovation at Edinburgh Center For Cabon Innovation (ECCI), told Xinhua Tuesday night after a lecture on clean energy at the University of Edinburgh Business School.

The feedbacks from China's local and regional governments with public fundings to pursue for low carbon ideas, technology and assistance to lower their carbon emissions are very powerful messages, and that's why he wants to create a bridge between Scotland and China, Craig added.

In July, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon officially opened a permanent ECCI office in Hong Kong to share and develop best practice with the Hong Kong government, academic and business partners for the future of low-carbon technologies in the Special Administrative Region.

Craig said ECCI is exploring to set up an office in Lingang, Shanghai, expressing the belief that if they can come up with the right projects that fit to the region in Chia they are working in, there will be government public fundings, as well as private fundings to facilitate the activities.

He stressed the necessity of Scotland's joint approach of academics, policy makers and business community in resolving the climate change problem.

For people's long-term health, the decision has to be made to solve the smog problem as for when to close the coal power stations, how to close them as quickly as possible, how to find the technology and resources to displace the coal power stations with clean energy such as gas, hydro and nuclear power, which are expensive, however, compared with the traditional energy, Criag alleged.

To accelerate the introduction of renewable energy, there should be a fundamental transformation of business model for traditional utility companies in terms of creating and distributing power, according to the carbon innovation expert.

The Scottish government is committed to making Scotland a leading low carbon investment destination and meeting statutory emission reduction targets of 42 percent by 2020 against a 1990 baseline. Endit