The Implications Of Low-Carbon Economic Development Models In Europe For China

Global Warming is a serious challenge for human's survival and development. During the last 100 years, the world experienced an industrialization process. People exploited and used of large scale of carbon-based energy such as coal and oil to meet the needs on material consumption, technology development, manufacturing, resource utilization, energy consumption. However, on the other hand, this has been seriously beyond the carrying capacity of the Earth and broken the balance formed in the hundreds of millions of evolution process of nature-the rapid depletion of some non-renewable resources, the continuous decline in groundwater level, the disappearing forests, and the extinction of some species. Now, the excessive consumption of resources and energy lead to a serious crisis of our living environment-Global Warming. If people keep doing this without any action, we will encounter an irreversible ecological crisis.Given the fact that China is already the world's largest carbon emitter and the threats of the global climate change is serious. Now, China is experiencing a rapidly economic growth period that needs to consume large number of energy, which indirectly leads to increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Clearly, China, from its own perspective and limited natural resources, cannot afford to continue on the conventional path of encouraging economic growth at the expense of the environment. Instead, China needs to transform its economy to effectively address concern about a range of environmental problems from burning fossil fuels and steeply rising oil import and international pressure on it to exhibit greater ambition in fighting global climate change, and find a suitable low carbon way to develop.The paper mainly talked about basis theory of low carbon economy, gave an analysis about the level of low carbon economic development in the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark. Besides, the paper researched the application of low carbon technology in different developed countries to exploit an enlightenment of sustainable economic development path for China. On the other hand, combined the old development model China used to implement with the low carbon economic development model, from different perspectives such as efficient ways of using energy, reducing environmental pollution, renewable energy technology, international economic and technological cooperation and the application of advanced low carbon technologies in China.Main research contents and conclusions:1. The conclusion of different low carbon economic model of the United Kingdom-Government investment, Corporations operation, Germany-ecological industry and Denmark-green energy resources through the large number of research and the experience of the author studied in Europe.2. The analysis of four challenges of China faced now according to the experience of low carbon economic development in some European countries:low emissions per capita, high emissions in total on greenhouse gas emissions; China still needs large amount of energy to develop the economy as China is in the process of Industrialization, urbanization and modernization; Coal-based industrial energy structure; A relatively backward scientific and technological level.3. According to the economic growth model and the extensive industrial model in the phase, which result in shortage of natural resources and serious environmental pollution, China is still in the middle of industrialization, and low carbon economy model is meaningful to China.4. Low-carbon technology is one of the development objectives of China. By 2020, China requires the energy intensity per unit GDP is 40% to 60% lower than that in 2005, CO2 emission per unit GDP is 50% lower than that in 2005.5. China's low carbon economy strategy focus on energy-efficiency upgrade, development of renewable energy and the improvement of the environmental quality, which should be the basis of China's economic restructuring and structural adjustment and avoid to approaches to strengthen interactions between economy and ecology rather than polluting before administering.Main creativity:1. Point out an energy-saving and emission-reduction way to China's low carbon economy development, which suits Chinese local circumstances.2. Analysis of data and charts, give the conclusion that China should develop a multi-modal of low carbon economy.3. Propose the main direction of China's low carbon economic development-Improvement of the efficiency of coal, the development of clean coal technology and Carbon dioxide sequestration technology.4. Give the opinion that China should focus on the development of clean energy such as hydropower and nuclear power, and renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and biomass energy.5. Strengthen the environmental education to young people, especially on the aspect of energy-saving and emission-reduction. Make the promotion on energy conservation in daily life and technologies to reduce emissions.