Mid Term 3 403 Flashcards
What are China’s “dual carbon” goals?
Goal 1:
Definition:
Date
Goal 2:
Definition:
Date:
Goal 1: Peak emission
Definition: Highest level of carbon emissions the country will reach
Date: 2030
Goal 2: Net zero
Definition: Carbon emissions equal carbon capture
Date: 2060
To the frustration of climate activists and experts, what level did China leave nuclear amidst its pledges?
What level peak emission would be
China’s explicit and firm privileging of what has given some analysts doubt about China’s commitment to a swift energy transition?
Energy security
T/F. According to estimates from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, coal demand in China will peak in 2025, China will peak its emissions in 2027, and very likely reach net zero before 2060.
True
China’s rapid advances in solar, wind, and battery technologies have been astonishing. China’s current share of global manufacturing capacity now stands at (50, 66, 88)
______% for solar modules
______% for wind turbines
______% for battery storage
66% for solar modules
50% for wind turbines
88% for battery storage
T/F. While wind turbines will generate far more power than solar panels over a year, solar panels have overtaken wind turbines as the world’s biggest renewables market due to dominance in its scale of production.
True
T/F. Both solar and onshore wind are cheaper on a new-build basis than gas and coal.
True
T/F. China built more offshore wind turbines in 2021 than all other countries did for the last five years.
True
Briefly, explain how the development of the renewable technology sector illustrates the evolution of China’s manufacturing sector.
Foreign firms to advanced manufacturing high tech domestic firms
Briefly, explain how China’s desire for energy encourages its development of renewable energy sources and technologies.
Decreasing the dependent of other countries
China wants to become the S________ A______ of renewables.
Saudi Arabia
How does renewable energy development put a different light on China’s efforts at territorial expansion?
Many of territorial dispute have renewable energy aspects
What difficult choice do many foreign countries face regarding China’s renewable technologies?
By open market to China, it determines own’s potential to develop renewable tech sector by itself
What city in the 1990s and 2000s became the “air pollution capital of the world”?
Beijing
Briefly, explain why March 2013 became the turning point for air pollution in China.
Xi JinPing became president and taking on air polluting issue
Which of the following were methods used by China to reduce its air pollution?
Set up a nationwide of monitoring stations
New government regulations restricting car and truck use and emissions
Massive state subsidies to develop electric vehicle production and purchase
Shut down some coal mines and plants and put restrictions on the operations of ones still in use
Financing for companies to shift towards more energy efficient operations
Set up a nationwide of monitoring stations
New government regulations restricting car and truck use and emissions
Massive state subsidies to develop electric vehicle production and purchase
Shut down some coal mines and plants and put restrictions on the operations of ones still in use
Financing for companies to shift towards more energy efficient operations
T/F. Though not a perfect rule, in general a country’s air quality gets considerably worse as it emerges out of poverty through industrialization, but then improves once it becomes affluent and able to afford regulations and remedies.
True
A____________ is the planting of trees and vegetation in places where there previously waren’t any.
Afforestation
List three of the benefits of China’s tree-planting programs.
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Increasing in biodiversity
ii. Screening sand during sand storms
iii. Help flooding issues
T/F. China has been conducting the largest tree-planting project in human history.
True
List three problems with China’s Great Green Wall program.
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Reforestation program
ii. Less effective carbon sink
iii. Did not involve local communities
T/F. Despite criticisms and setbacks, China continues with its traditional tree-planting methods and has refused to adopt more nature-based approaches which scientists have argued would work better, nor has China made attempts to better integrate local communities in planting and conservation efforts.
False
T/F. The BRI includes tree-planting initiatives, including the creation of “green economic belts” that will link China with several countries in Central and West Asia.
True
China is currently conducting a campaign to cover 40% of 7 out of 10 of its cities with what?
Green space
P______ P________ are a key means by which China uses its administrative state to spur innovation.
Pilot Project
Sponge-cities are a N_________-B________ approach, in contrast to conventional G_________ I__________, and the programs seek to create green spaces that S__________, R_________, and C_________ water as it moves through a city.
Natural-Based
Grey Infrastructure
Slow, Retain, Clean
What factor do some analysts credit as the key to China becoming the largest electric vehicle market in the world?
China lower the price of EVs
T/F. In addition to private vehicles, China has launched major initiatives to electrify its fleets of taxis, logistical trucking, and city buses.
True
List three of the benefits of China’s electric vehicle revolution.
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Reduce carbon emission
ii. Increase domestic companies
iii. Decrease foreign fuel sources
T/F. While China has massively invested in and rapidly expanded its high speed rail network over the last decade, it is still well behind the US in total km of high speed track.
False
T/F. While China’s high speed rail industry initially depended on technology transfers from foreign firms, it is now driven by domestic firms at the forefront of world in terms of advanced speeds, signaling systems, driverless technology, and construction times.
True
In addition to its myriad economic benefits, what two other benefits does China seek through its high-speed rail network?
i.
ii.
i. Greater internal connectivity
ii. Greater international connectivity
List three key features of a China’s Eco-Cities.
i.
ii.
iii.
i. High density
ii. Electrified transportation
iii. Advanced water system
What country is a partner with China on its highest profile Eco-City project in Tianjin?
Singapore
T/F. While China’s Eco-Cities projects have been much criticized (e.g. excessive expensive, use as propaganda and marketing tools, questionable effectiveness, and hard time attracting residents), they have become some of the most influential blueprints for the future of sustainable urbanism.
True
(a) What does ETS stand for? And (b) what sector does China’s initial implementation of its ETS apply to?
Emissions trading scheme, power generation sector
What are China’s two main goals in its ETS?
Drive down carbon emissions, spurs development of new green technology
T/F. Currently China has no plans to expand its ETS beyond its initial focus, preferring instead to adopt a wait-and-see approach to any future ambitions.
False
China is currently pushing ahead in decarbonizing what sector that is very-hard-to-decarbonize but essential for renewables?
Steel sector
The IMF estimates that China’s carbon price must be near $50 a ton for it effectively drive down carbon emissions (carbon’s current price in European markets is $90); China’s current carbon price is about $ ____.
9
Besides price, are two of the issues/ criticisms/ worries about China’s ETS?
i.
ii.
i. The price was too low
ii. Accounting problem
T/F. Despite China’s overall dominance of the market, CATL, the world’s leading battery market, is an American company located in Detroit, Michigan.
False
T/F. China’s EC market makes up over half of all EV sales globally.
True
What is ‘the first major reason why China’s companies were able to develop their EV battery’?
Government support
What were the three big motivates for developing an EV industry?
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Energy independence
ii. Air pollution
iii. Opportunity to compete in new emerging market
Which of the following does the video list as among the policies the Chinese government used to supported the development of the EV sector?
Subsidies for each sale
Cheap land leases
Cheap loans from state-owned banks
R&D spending
Tax breaks
Contrast to electricity bus and taxi fleets
Discounts, parking, lane advantages, tax breaks for consumers
Subsidies for each sale
Cheap land leases
Cheap loans from state-owned banks
R&D spending
Tax breaks
Contrast to electricity bus and taxi fleets
Discounts, parking, lane advantages, tax breaks for consumers
To protect their own battery industry, when foreign firms wanted to sell their EVs in the China market, what policy did the Chinese government adopt?
Must use China made battery
What milestone in EV sales was reached in China in 2024?
Over 50% of new car sales
Control over what is the second way that Chinese battery companies became dominant?
Control of the supply chain
T/F. While China dominates the global mining of many critical materials for batteries, it is currently dependent on the advanced of first world countries and regions like the US and EU.
False
T/F. China has a 70% or over market dominance of the four main components of the EV battery cell.
True
BYD, a major EV producer in China, started as what kind of company in the 1990s?
Battery for electronics
T/F. Historically, the major competitor to China in battery making was not the US, but Japan and Korea.
True
What policy rule did the Biden administration pass in an attempt to limit China’s market dominance in batteries?
Chinese government cannot be over 50%
T/F. China is not only the world’s leader in EV battery manufacturing, but has now become the epicenter of EV battery innovation.
True
What is the significance of LFP batteries?
Less critical materials, smaller and powerful
What are the three ‘concerns’ expressed about China’s EV battery industry?
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Environmental concerns
ii. Government support unfair
iii. Human right abuse
T/F. In Spain, many people did not get the alerts by authorities at all or until it was too late, with many people driving or walking in suddenly flooding streets and underground garages that became death traps.
True
Provide three of ways climate change may have contributed to the Spain floods.
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Air warmer holding more precipitation
ii. the Mediterranean became warmer
iii. Movement of the European jet stream
What climate change related problem had Spain been suffering from in 2022 and 2023?
Droughts
T/F. When the Spanish royals visited the site of the flooding, the people welcomed them and cheered with hope, since the royals were showing they cared and things would get better quickly.
False
As a GHG, methane is ______ times more potent than carbon over the short term.
4
10
40
80
80
T/F. In 2020, the growth rate in methane emissions doubled in a sudden, sharp spike upward, baffling scientists.
True
What has a group of scientists now identified as the ‘culprit’ of the sudden spike in methane emissions?
Microbes
How did scientists determine that the intense in methane emissions were not from fossil fuels (which, to be clear, are a major emitter of methane!)?
The weight of the methane
Scientists fear that warming temperatures and rising methane emissions might be forming a dangerous F________ L_______.
Feedback Loop
Describe the possibly ‘vicious cycle’ between warming temperatures and rising methane emissions.
Global warming increase methane emissions
T/F. Some good news related to methane emissions is that, if wetlands as part of a natural cycle are releasing methane faster than ever, scientists say that we do not have to push as hard to curb methane from the sources humans can control, such as cows, agriculture and fossil fuels.
False
Over 100 countries have collectively pledged to reduce their methane emissions by _____% by the year ______ from 2020 levels.
30%, 2030
T/F. Lahore, home to 14 million people, and only 25km from the border with India, recently suffered its worst air pollution day in history, and currently the worst levels on Earth.
True
What Indian city frequently trades places with Lahore as the most air polluted city in the world?
Delhi
Give three causes of India and Pakistan’s current bad air quality.
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Coal power as a source of energy
ii. Lots of farmers burning agriculture waste
iii. Cold air and slow down wind
T/F. Indians affected by the air pollution can lose up to 8.5 years off their life, according to a study by the University of Chicago.
True
Rich Indians and Pakistanis with access to what make the smog issue an example of ‘climate apartheid’ according to climate activists in the region?
Air purifier
T/F. The Indian government, in a surprise to many, responded enthusiastically to overtunes from Pakistani officials to conduct some ‘smog and climate diplomacy’ between the two traditionally bitter rivals.
True
Which of the following is true about Indonesia’s coal sector?
Opened up the third most coal-fired power capacity in the world, behind India and China
Coal is 60% in Indonesia’s electricity generation
World’s largest exporter of coal
Accounts for 75% of all planned coal power construction in South and Southeast Asia
Opened up the third most coal-fired power capacity in the world, behind India and China
Coal is 60% in Indonesia’s electricity generation
World’s largest exporter of coal
Accounts for 75% of all planned coal power construction in South and Southeast Asia
Provide three of the main reasons that coal has become so central to Indonesia’s economy.
i.
ii.
iii.
i. Government corruption
ii. Strong international demand
iii. Provide cheap energy to economy
T/F. While many climate activists, scientists, and policymakers criticize Indonesia’s increased coal usage, there is a widespread acknowledgement that Indonesia has passed significant environmental safeguards that protect its forest, water, and air from the effects of coal mining and burning.
False
What problems does coal burning make much worse in Jakarta?
Air pollution
Briefly explain the two ways that the coal sector in Indonesia it from developing a renewables sector.
Government giving money to coal sector
Artificial lowering the price of coal
Besides bountiful rainforest, Indonesia also has large and critically important mangrove forests and peat swamps. What climate function do both of these serve?
Mangrove Forests:
Peat Swamps:
Mangrove Forests: Biodiversity and coastal erosion protection
Peat Swamps: Carbon rich
How much of Indonesia’s original forest cover remains?
50%
What crop is the largest driver of deforestation in Indonesia?
Palm oil
(a) In addition to the plantations, timber, and mining industries, local communities are often responsible for deforestation in Indonesia due to what farming technique? And (b) what additional problem does this cause?
a.
b.
a. Slash and burn agriculture
b. Fires rage out of control
What climate and population related program of the Indonesia government is exacerbating rural tensions over resources?
Trans-migration program
List four costs of deforestation and fires in Indonesia.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
i. Loss of carbon sink
ii. Air pollution
iii. Zoonotic disease
iv. Geopolitical tension
How does Singapore illustrate how Indonesia’s forest dynamics often become a geopolitical issue?
Fire breaks out in Indonesia spread smoke to Singapore
(a) How many people live in Indonesia? And (b) how many live in Jakarta (the greater metropolitan area)?
a.
b.
a. 270 million
b. 30m million