China already consumes more than double what its ecosystem is capable of producing and makes up for its ecological deficit by importing natural resources from abroad, reveals the Report on China’s Ecological Footprint. The report, jointly commissioned by the China council for international cooperation on environment and development, the Global Footprint Network and WWF China, is the first comprehensive report about China’s footprint.
China’s ecological footprint is of 1.6 global hectares per person in 2003 (the last year for which figures are available), which means each individual needs 1.6 hectares of biologically productive land to support their lifestyle demands (the global average is 2.2), ranking China the 69th of the 147 nations measured that year.
The ecological footprint measures how many productive land and inland water resources are used up to satisfy the average current lifestyle of each member of the population and gauges whether a region, nation or the world is living within its ecological limits.
Three factors determine a country’s footprint: population, pro capita consumption and the quantity of natural resources required to support consumption.
Fossil fuels
In 2003, humanity’s demand for resources overtook the planet’s bio-productivity by more than 25%. USA, European Union and China were responsible for determining more than 50% of the world’s total ecological footprint despite owning 30% of the world’s available bio-capacity. Since the mid 70’s China has been living in ecological deficit, needing a greater bio-capacity than what its ecosystem can produce. Most of the deficit is given by CO2 emissions caused by fossil fuels. To overcome its deficit, China imports natural resources from other countries – in 2003 imports amounted to the equivalent of 130 million hectares of global land, equal to Germany’s entire bio-capacity.
Growing awareness
“As the Chinese economy grows, so does the demand for natural resources”, explains WWF International’s general director, James Leape. “In order to achieve sustainability, China needs to know exactly how many natural resources it is using. This footprint report is the first attempt to group all the information that is available and reflects China’s environmental commitment. But the road towards sustainability will be a long one”.
Expensive development
The whole Asia-Pacific region hosts over 50% of the world’s population and needs about 40% of the world’s bio-productive capacity: it is clear that decisions taken in this part of the world will reflect upon the rest of the world. China is the second greatest consumer, using up 15% of the world’s total bio-capacity. Even though there are increasing resources available for exploitation, as agriculture expands and new technologies are introduced, natural ecosystems and biodiversity has to pay the price.
And in any case, as much as China’s bio-productive capacity may increase it is matched by increases in consumption: China would need two China’s to meet its needs and absorb its waste. Will this huge country in full economic boom be able to catalyse a change towards sustainable development and act as a model for the rest of the world? If China were to follow USA’s example, where the pro capita requirement is about 10 hectares, it would need the world’s entire bio-capacity.
Less CO2
But where to start? As in other high income countries, what really contributes to the footprint (by about 50%) is CO2. Over 75% of electricity is produced by fossil fuel combustion: if this trend continues, it is estimated that by 2025 China will become the world’s greatest greenhouse gas polluter.
Find out more: www.footprintnetwork.org
