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“Circular Economy” in China
A model for low-carbon development

China has become actively involved with international discussions on climate change, including through the UNFCCC negotiations, the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, and the G8 summit. Policy analysts like Liu Desun of Tsinghua University have supported these negotiations. He states that countries are facing hard policy choices and that there is an urgent need to develop energy saving societies that make better use of limited resources through recycling and reuse.

Circular economy for resource-efficiency and less GHG emissions

The concept of a “circular economy” as adopted by the Chinese Government embraces a number of initiatives aiming towards greener consumption and production, especially those promoting efficient use of resources and minimising waste streams. In concrete terms, it involves the application of cleaner production in companies, development of eco-industrial parks and resource-based planning in industry, agriculture and urban areas. Circular economy plans have already been completed in Liaoning and Jiangsu Provinces.

Key to a circular economy is the highly efficient use and recycling of resources, and the reduction of emissions and wastes. In some industrial sectors in China, for example in the cement industry, cleaner production methods have shown great potential in achieving emission reduction goals. Through waste heat recovery and utilization for power generation, a cement plant in Heibei province is estimated to have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 40,000 t CO2-e. per year.

Walk the talk

Back in 2003, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) started work to support the city of Guiyang as the first pilot city for application of the circular economy policies. In 2005, a project was launched to improve the policy framework for the city. Outcomes included a number of possible policy interventions, including the establishment of an enterprise environmental performance rating system, food waste management regulations, financial instruments for encouraging investments in resource efficiency, and energy efficiency standards in buildings. Among those options, the government chose initially to work on improving waste management and construction materials.

As a result of these and other innovative policies, progress in air pollution abatement has been significant. A decade ago Guiyang was listed as one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world. Today its air quality is listed as fairly good with contaminants at half their previous levels.

Eco-Industrial Parks in China
Eco-Industrial Parks in China.

From pilot to mainstream

The circular economy in China is now being actively implemented at three levels: enterprises, eco-industrial parks, and regions. To date, 10 eco-industrial regions and 24 eco-industrial parks have been set up in places where there are large numbers of companies. Within the regions, by-products or waste produced by some firms are used as raw materials for others. Seven provinces, including South China's Hainan Province, Northeast China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and East China's Shandong, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian provinces, have started making efforts to develop themselves into "eco-provinces."