Asia contains some of the most forward-thinking energy-efficient countries, businesses and organisations in the world; Honda, the Japanese car manufacturer, is known for its innovative technical solutions while China has recently committed to making green investments. From renewable energy projects to hybrids, these are the nations that are taking active steps towards an ecologically-responsible future.
Despite the haste with which Asia has approached environmentally-friendly concepts, many of the continent’s countries have put environmental promises into practice that have shamed their western counterparts. It is true to say, as Johanna Klein of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated earlier this year, “What Asia can probably deliver to the world is not just a vision, but an ability to execute”.
As well as introducing many of the eco cars UK motorists have become so familiar with, Honda is also working on projects such as The Honda Jet, Bio-Fabric and The FCX Clarity. All of which represent significant positive ecological moves. The latter of these three takes low emission vehicles to a whole different league, with the ability to emit only water. The car will also feature the new Bio-Fabric upholstery; the manufacturer has embraced this concept and improved it, so that it is more durable and luxurious - fitting for such a cutting-edge vehicle.
Although Honda has been working on environmentally friendly inventions throughout the last 30 years, it is China that has more recently made some organic forward steps. According the Global Trends in Renewable Energy report, which was released in July 2011, China was shown to be the largest investor in renewable energy resources.
As a country that is associated with a critically substantial use of coal, the revelation will have surprised many. It has made considerable steps in stopping a significant amount of its coal consumption, and has also decreased the amount of coal-reliant power stations in recent years.
China is currently faced with the dilemma that the existing demand for coal surpasses the rate of production. As well as the call for this type of energy within the country, it is also vastly needed outside of China and consequently is a source of the nation’s wealth. Despite tight systems, the current coal energy structures are over capacity, resulting in China calling on green energy to solve productivity issues.
According to a Reuters report, ‘China will install wind and solar power capacity equivalent to 180 nuclear power reactors in the next 10 years.’ This information, provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA), stands as additional information to the Global Trends in Renewable Energy report and was presented to clarify how the country will manage its ever-increasing energy requirements.
This investment will see an enormous 180 gigawatts installation of solar and wind power faculties. This is without doubt an impressive surge away from the current 43 gigawatts that is presently in place. Such figures speak for themselves in assuring that the country’s commitment to clean energy is more than a current-day obligation and more agreeing with their existing technologically progressive ethos.
In addition to this disclosure, Fatih Birol, chief economist for the IEA, also gave comprehensive details of other eco-friendly measures China will be taking. Irrespective of the country’s conservational contracts, it is predicted that 50 per cent of all hybrid (or alternative electric and natural gas cars) sales in the next 20 years will be made within China.
This decided move towards a consistent usage of clean energy is something that many other nations are expected to aspire to. With green energy being very much a trend within the western word, it is likely that backing for more sizeable projects will be considered. For now, however, it is China who undeniably holds the leading light of pure power.
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