BEIJING - September 15 - Wind power is set to play a massive role in meeting China's future energy needs according to a unique collaboration between Greenpeace, and the Chinese and European wind industries, helping to control the twin threats of global warming and energy security.

During four days of discussions in Beijing, Greenpeace, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and the Chinese Renewable Energy Industry Association (CREIA) have formed an historic partnership, committing themselves to ensuring that wind power plays a key role in China's energy future. Due to rapid economic growth, China has faced power shortages and a huge increase in energy imports in recent months. The groups pledged to assist China to 'meet, if not exceed, the new Renewable Energy targets' it announced in Germany in June.

"Soaring oil imports, wild fluctuations in international oil prices, the mounting costs of extreme weather events and heightened concern over energy security mean that China's commitment to renewables at this time is crucial. But this is not a problem for China alone, the whole world has a vested interest in helping China meet its development needs without further destabilising the climate", warned Yu Jie of Greenpeace.

The toll that climate change impacts exact on China is truly frightening, demanding urgent action. Increased global temperatures threaten to significantly reduce the country's rice production, and more than 60 percent of Chinese glaciers are anticipated to disappear by 2050, threatening the fresh water supply for more than 250 million Chinese.

According to Greenpeace, the only long term sustainable solution to China's energy crisis is through the massive uptake of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, micro-hydro, modern biomass and geothermal power, which not only provide clean energy but can create local industries and millions of jobs.

Renewable energy is playing a growing role in Chinese energy supply and is poised to become a significant future energy source. The Chinese Government has set a target to meet 12 percent of its power generation capacity from renewables by 2020. A significant share of this new capacity will come from wind. In May 2004, the three groups launched the report 'Wind Force 12 - China', an industry scenario which showed that by 2020 China is capable of installing 170 GW of wind power, delivering annual savings of 325 million tonnes of CO2 and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. The report further showed how to create a massive industrial manufacturing capacity for wind turbines and outlined the policy frameworks necessary to unlock these opportunities with a combination of public, private and citizen inputs.

"European experience has shown that with the right policy framework wind energy can play a major role in China's energy future," said Corin Millais, Executive Director of the European Wind Energy Association. "We believe there is a real potential for China to become a major player in the global wind power industry, and anticipate greater cooperation with our Chinese partners."

"The development of China's new renewable energy law, which is expected to be finalised early next year, has generated great interest internationally. China's anticipated entry into the global renewable energy market is expected to have a profound impact on the global industry," said Li Junfeng, Secretary General of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industry Association. "We have spent a lot of time and energy learning from the successes and failures of our partners in Europe and around the world. We believe that this law can start a renewable energy revolution in China."

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