China hopes to lead green race

China has made global headlines in recent months for overtaking the US as the largest emitter of carbon dioxide, while state media ran almost daily stories of chemical water pollution and contaminated food, writes the Mail and Guardian.

But Western governments and environmental groups have welcomed the ruling Communist Party's plans to remould its unrelenting economic rush into a form of 'sustainable' development that curbs carbon emissions and pushes China to the forefront of 'green' technology. Chinese leaders and businesses hope to make their country one of the first to embrace the environmental technology that could transform global energy consumption over the next few decades, making China a leading producer of solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles.

"Developing renewable energy vigorously is necessary for taking up the front line in the new round of global energy revolution," Chinese President Hu Jintao said during a visit last year at a wind farm in the eastern province of Shandong.

A carrot-and-stick approach would help drive higher awareness and implementation of green data centre technologies in Asia, said an executive from IT ops management solutions firm Raritan, says ZDNet Asia.

He argued that companies in the region are lagging behind their Western counterparts in taking steps toward green efficiency and measurements. Chris McPherson, president, Japan, and vice-president, Asia Pacific, sales and marketing at Raritan, told ZDNet Asia that Asian companies are not yet seeing the full importance of implementing green technologies - even though they have the expertise and knowledge--because of their rapid growth and business targets.

McPherson explained that Asian organisations are driving the growth engine globally, so their immediate need is to service their businesses and operations. Whereas in other parts of the world, businesses are growing and more stabilised, so the focus is geared toward being more energy-efficient.

Recycling and waste management company, Veolia Environmental Services, is to invest £3.5 million to reduce fuel consumption at its south Liverpool plant, and will spend the cash on installing combined heat and power (CHP) technology, states the Liverpool Daily Post.

The proposed investment at the Stalbridge Solvent Recovery facility aims to help the company reduce its gas fuel consumption by 90% and save up to 5 000 tonnes of carbon a year - an amount of carbon equivalent to 1 000 homes.

The facility is a key component in Merseyside's pharmaceutical and chemical industry cluster recovering waste solvents from production processes, recovering them through distillation and returning them into the manufacturing chain.