TIANJIN, China - Clean-coal projects between China and the rest of the world show that the political squabbles on a global warming pact lag reality on the ground, according to experts at an industry conference in China.
Fears that "climate protectionism" by developed countries to safeguard trade and intellectual property will prevent a pact to combat warming are overblown as companies join hands in ways politicians have not been able to accomplish, said William Douglas, managing director of Texas-based FutureFuels.
"There are lots of misunderstandings on the government level -- on the ground it is quite different," he said on the sidelines of the conference. "The politics hasn't stopped us. We are continuing to work together and we're looking for the best technology to be used in the most suitable places."
Douglas points to the "Greengen" integrated gas combined cycle (IGCC) plant in Tianjin which he says shows companies are already moving ahead -- and in a surprising way because the project is the transfer of Chinese technology to the West, rather than the other way around.
Coal gasification facilities designed by engineers at the Xi'an Thermal Power Research Institute (TPRI) and installed at the Greengen plant by China's biggest power utility, the Huaneng Group, have been licensed to FutureFuels in the United States and are being used to revive a mothballed power station in the state of Pennsylvania.
"Sharing knowledge means we have now put together a plant with the lowest emissions in the United States," said Douglas.
The company also plans to use the technology in a number of coal-fired energy projects in eastern Europe, he said.
A key roadblock to a global warming pact centers on who pays what to cut atmospheric greenhouse gases. The United States is concerned that a deal that did not make China commit to binding cuts would sap competitiveness.
China and other developing nations however want dedicated international technology transfer mechanisms and slashed tariffs on clean-energy and low-emissions related products through the World Trade Organisation.
But the tenor of the debate misses a crucial point, building and using clean-coal or related technologies is not like copying a DVD, said Ming Sung, Asia Pacific representative of the Clean Air Task Force, a private non-profit organization aimed at exchanging technology and expertise in the clean energy sector.
"For complex technologies like clean coal, it is not like DVDs or handbags that you can copy. Most of the patents in coal gasification for example have already expired. The key is in the knowledge and the technical support," Sung said.
TWO-WAY TRANSFERS
Another-r expert said Chinese technology was more than capable of competing on the global market.
"It's a realistic scenario," said Julio Friedmann, head of the carbon storage program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States.
"TPRI already licenses its gasifiers in America to FutureFuels and they may very well commercialize their (carbon) capture technology in the same way."
Sung said political stereotypes on both sides were unlikely to disrupt tie-ups and massive demonstration projects across China and the rest of the world that could prove commercially viable and cut clean coal costs.
"There is no stopping these major corporations from cooperating with each other. The stereotype is that developing nations want developed nations to pay the costs. But in effect China is working with U.S. and European companies to do what makes commercial sense and sharing costs and technology, Sung said."
"We believe government will work out something at some time, but not immediately, so we are urging private business to do something instead."
Fears that "climate protectionism" by developed countries to safeguard trade and intellectual property will prevent a pact to combat warming are overblown as companies join hands in ways politicians have not been able to accomplish, said William Douglas, managing director of Texas-based FutureFuels.
"There are lots of misunderstandings on the government level -- on the ground it is quite different," he said on the sidelines of the conference. "The politics hasn't stopped us. We are continuing to work together and we're looking for the best technology to be used in the most suitable places."
Douglas points to the "Greengen" integrated gas combined cycle (IGCC) plant in Tianjin which he says shows companies are already moving ahead -- and in a surprising way because the project is the transfer of Chinese technology to the West, rather than the other way around.
Coal gasification facilities designed by engineers at the Xi'an Thermal Power Research Institute (TPRI) and installed at the Greengen plant by China's biggest power utility, the Huaneng Group, have been licensed to FutureFuels in the United States and are being used to revive a mothballed power station in the state of Pennsylvania.
"Sharing knowledge means we have now put together a plant with the lowest emissions in the United States," said Douglas.
The company also plans to use the technology in a number of coal-fired energy projects in eastern Europe, he said.
A key roadblock to a global warming pact centers on who pays what to cut atmospheric greenhouse gases. The United States is concerned that a deal that did not make China commit to binding cuts would sap competitiveness.
China and other developing nations however want dedicated international technology transfer mechanisms and slashed tariffs on clean-energy and low-emissions related products through the World Trade Organisation.
But the tenor of the debate misses a crucial point, building and using clean-coal or related technologies is not like copying a DVD, said Ming Sung, Asia Pacific representative of the Clean Air Task Force, a private non-profit organization aimed at exchanging technology and expertise in the clean energy sector.
"For complex technologies like clean coal, it is not like DVDs or handbags that you can copy. Most of the patents in coal gasification for example have already expired. The key is in the knowledge and the technical support," Sung said.
TWO-WAY TRANSFERS
Another-r expert said Chinese technology was more than capable of competing on the global market.
"It's a realistic scenario," said Julio Friedmann, head of the carbon storage program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States.
"TPRI already licenses its gasifiers in America to FutureFuels and they may very well commercialize their (carbon) capture technology in the same way."
Sung said political stereotypes on both sides were unlikely to disrupt tie-ups and massive demonstration projects across China and the rest of the world that could prove commercially viable and cut clean coal costs.
"There is no stopping these major corporations from cooperating with each other. The stereotype is that developing nations want developed nations to pay the costs. But in effect China is working with U.S. and European companies to do what makes commercial sense and sharing costs and technology, Sung said."
"We believe government will work out something at some time, but not immediately, so we are urging private business to do something instead."
