By Li Donghui
Vise Chairman, China Atomic Energy Authority

April 25, 2001

As the environmental pollution has become a key factor hampering the sustainable development of economy and society in the world, the effect of nuclear energy to environment and energy is gaining increasing attention from the international community. The Chinese Government pays close attention to all kinds of issues defecting the sustainable development, follows the policy of promoting both self-development and international cooperation, and puts the strategy of sustainable development to a more prominent position to achieve the coordinated development of population, resources and environment.

1.China's nuclear energy development and its relevant policies

The Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant with 300MW PWR designed by China independently was connected to grid for power generation in December 1991, and the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant with 2x900MW reactors constructed with foreign investment and introduced complete equipment was put into commercial operation in 1994.

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, construction of altogether 4 NPPs with 8 reactors was launched, including Qinshan Phase II with 2x600MW PWRs started in June 1996, Lingao NPP with 2x1000MW PWRs started in May 1997, Qinshan Phase III with 2x700MW HWRs started in June 1998, and Tianwan NPP with 2x1000MW PWRs started in October 1999. The former three projects will be completed and put into operation by 2003, and the latter by 2005.

1)Our Experience

China has already had the capability of self-construction of 300MW PWR NPP, and self-development of 600MW PWR NPP. The projects in operation and under construction have proved that China has accumulated substantive capability in research, engineering experiment, engineering design, equipment design and manufacturing, engineering construction, and project management of nuclear power. And now China is capable to construct 1000MW NPP through international cooperation with China playing the major role, well established for the future development of nuclear energy.

2)Analysis on the advantage and disadvantage of introduction or self-construction of nuclear power, and its future development in China

a.China's nuclear power industry started quite late. The projects under construction rely on introduction and involve multiple reactor types. The negative result is that it postpones the localization of large-sized NPP, and the high cost of reactor units hampers its competition against thermal-power.

b.Promoting localization of nuclear power, which is a capital-and-technology intensive industry, will not only increase employment in machinery and construction sectors, but also greatly promote their technology and management level through accumulating capability and experience in nuclear power construction.

c.From the view of sustainable development, China's energy structure dominated by coal shall be restructured. Like other new energies, nuclear and hydro are clean power technologies. Promoting the application of hydro, nuclear and new energies for power generation and decreasing the proportion of coal in power supply is a necessary solution to the coordinated development of power industry, resources and environment in China.

d.In the future, our efforts will be concentrated on promoting the economic competitiveness, safety and non-proliferation factor of nuclear power. And it is the trend of the nuclear power sector of the world to develop advanced nuclear reactor that is more safe, more economic, corresponding to URD and conducive to non-proliferation. China pays attention to this trend and will carry out relevant activities. At the meanwhile, China positively supports IAEA's efforts in INPRO.

3)Guideline of China's nuclear power development

China's Outlines of National Economic Development Plan for the Tenth Five-Year made it clear that we shall "develop nuclear power properly". In nuclear power development, China will continue to follow the guideline of "quality and safety come first" and the principle of "cooperate with foreign countries with China playing a major role, introducing technology and promoting localization". To be specific, we will make full play of the existing nuclear power technology, industrial basis and construction experience, to speed up localization through the construction of new projects and gradually realize the targets of self-design, self-manufacture, self-construction, and self-operation.

4) Technological guideline of nuclear power development in China

China's nuclear power development in the future will concentrate on the PWR unit of 300 MW as one standard loop. It is estimated that units of large, medium, and small capacity will all be in demand, given the uneven economic development in different regions of China. And the development of 1000 MW units will be the main target. Efforts will be made to develop a series of reactors with different capacities and realize localization at the meanwhile, so that the utilities are able to select units according to their needs. In the process of developing the new-generation prototype, consideration will be given to the international trend of nuclear power technology development aimed at being more safe, economic, conforming to the utility's requirements and conducive to non-proliferation.

2. China's study on the environmental pollution caused by coal and nuclear energy respectively

We have come to the indisputable acknowledgment that environment pollution has become a major factor impeding the sustainable economic and social development of the world, and one of its major sources is the pollutant introduced by energy. The severe atmospheric pollution in China is also caused by energies like fossil fuels, especially coal.

China, as a developing country, has been relying primarily on traditional fossil fuels in its energy development. In the more than 20 years' rapid economic development, China's energy structure basically maintained the dominance of fossil fuel in terms of comparative amount. And coal accounted for around 70% of the disposable energy. The sharp increase of the absolute amount of use of coal and the damage on the ecological environment resulted in severe environmental problem. The Chinese government began to pay great attention to the issue of environmental pollution and shifted its focus from single development to development and environment improvement in tandem in late 1990s. A series of policies and measures of relieving and improving environment have been promulgated. Like the western countries in their primary economic development, China also experienced phases of development and environment control.

Many experts of environmental protection across the world hold that developing nuclear power is an important and effective measure to improve environment. Radiation from thermal-power plants is higher than that from nuclear power plants, while the latter does not discharge smoke, dust, or toxic materials like sulfur dioxide and heavy metal.

Chinese officials and experts give much importance to this view and attempt to verify it and find out forceful evidence for adjustment of energy structure by energy study and analyzing the effect of energy chain on the environment and climate change.

The comparison of the effects of the current coal and nuclear fuel chains on environment, health and climate change made by the Chinese experts shows that the radiation affect of coal fuel chain is much higher than that of nuclear. The irradiation to the public from coal fuel chain is 420 Sv/person (Gwea)-1, and that of nuclear fuel chain 8.39 Sv/person (Gwea)-1, one fiftieth of that of coal. And the reasons are as follows: First, China's coal consumption rate for power supply is much higher than that of developed countries. The coal consumption rate was 410 gram standard coal / KWh, 70 to 100 grams higher than developed countries. Secondly, the filtration efficiency of the thermal-power plants in China is only 90%, lower than the 99% of the developed countries. The irradiation rate of coal fuel chain is 90 persons/Sv(Gwea) -1 , and nuclear fuel chain 8.91 persons/ Sv(Gwea) -1 , only one tenth of the former. The emergency accident mortality rate of coal fuel chain is 35 persons (Gwea) -1, and nuclear fuel cha
in 0.6 person(Gwea) -1 , only one sixtieth of the former. The SO2 and Nox emitted from coal fuel chain have exerted perceivable negative effects on forests and crops. The coverage of acid rain increased by 1 million km2 from 1986 to 1994. Heavy acid rain with PH>0.4 appeared in certain cities and provinces in south China, and the frequency increases every year. The economic loss caused by acid rain reached 116.5 billion yuan RMB in 1995, while no evidence has been found on the negative effect of emitants from nuclear fuel chain on the environment. The land surface sinkage caused by coal fuel chain is 7x105m2(Gwea) -1, and that of nuclear fuel chain, 1.6x102m2.

The effect of fuel chains on climate change is measured by the quotient of greenhouse gas emission. The quotient of coal fuel chain is about 1300g equivalent CO2(Kwh) -1, that of nuclear 14g equivalent CO2(Kwh) -1, and that of hydro 108g equivalent CO2(Kwh) -1. The quotient of coal is nearly 100 times of that of nuclear. A nuclear power plant of 1000 MW can reduce the emission of CO2 by 10 million tons, equaling to the amount absorbed by forest of 3000-6000 km2.

The above comparison leads to the conclusion that we shall gradually change the energy structure and speed up the development of nuclear energy in China, which is one of the practical ways to relieve and reduce environmental pollution and achieve sustainable energy development. We hold that nuclear power is a clean energy, and its role in reducing environmental pollution and slowing down climate change shall be acknowledged to promote its further development.

3. China supports bringing nuclear power into CDM.

Climate change is a hot issue of the world at present. The Chinese government pays much importance to all factors affecting climate change, actively promotes the coordinated development of resource utilization and pollution control, and restrains the emission of greenhouse gases, CO2 in particular, by developing nuclear power properly.

(1) Reasons and results of climate change

As is known to all, climate change used to be a natural process, however, the excessive exploration and utilization of disposable resources and the sharp increase of CO2 and other greenhouse gases brought about by industrial revolution and the rapid social and economic development exceeded the adjustment capability of the nature, and resulted in global warming.

The report of IPCC of 1995 estimated that the average temperature of the world would increase by 1—3.5℃ by 2100, which has been widely accepted by scientists across the world.

(2) The serious consequences caused by global warming

First, it will cause the rise of sea level. It is estimated that the sea level would increase by 15—90 centimeters at average by 2100, and the low-lying coastal area will be inundated.

Secondly, it will change the climate system, like the change of rainfall mode. Such change will aggravate the severe natural disasters like drought, flood and storm, and cause drop of crop output and expansion of tropical diseases.

There is no doubt that global warming will severely imperil the subsistence and development of the mankind. And the poorer the country is, the greater the negative effect, and the lower the capability to withstand it.

According to the Chinese experts, the sea storm and rise of sea level caused by global warming will damage and inundate China’s coastal area and cause huge loss. The shrinking rainfall in North China will add to the dried-up of rivers and desertification.

(3) The Convention on Climate Chang of the United Nations and the Kyoto Protocol

The international community has studied the causes of global warming, and forecasted its serious consequences. That is why we are all concerned with the issue of climate change and have adopted measures to restrain the emission of CO2 and slow down the sharp increase of greenhouse gases. International conventions have been established to protect environment. China maintains that both the Convention on Climate Chang of the United Nations and the Kyoto Protocol are of vital importance to relax climate change.

Ever since the industrial revolution, the developed countries whose population accounted for only 22% of the world's total, have emitted more than a half, 60% to be specific, of the world's CO2. The Convention, affirms that the developing countries have both low total emission and emission per capita and their priority task is to develop economy and eliminate poverty. The Convention also makes it clear that signatory parties, no matter developed or developing countries, have "common but differentiated responsibilities" to take measures against climate changes, but developed countries shall bear more duties since they are more responsible to the climate change in history and at present.

The Kyoto Protocol stipulates that developed countries shall reduce the emission of 6 kind of greenhouse gases including CO2, CH4 under restraint by 5.2% of the average level of 1990 from 2008 to 2012, and sets reduction quota for each developed country. The protocol also provided three flexible extraterritorial mechanism including JI, CDM and ET, through which the developed countries can attain their reduction targets in other countries at lower cost to offset their quota.

(4) Fundamental ways to settle the issue of climate change

We all hold that the radical way to settle the issue of climate change is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, and the major measure is to cut down the consumption of disposable energy when the energy application efficiency and technology can not be greatly improved.

With the expansion of mankind's activities, demands on energy will continue to grow. It is foreseeable that we will mainly rely on coal, petrol, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar energy before our experts found new energy as replacement to reduce pollution and slow down climate change. Under the current situation, we have to formulate optimized energy policies, i.e., continue to improve the application efficiency and technology of fossil fuel and increase the proportion of clean energy application.

China wishes that the international community would adopt an objective and scientific attitude to the role of nuclear power in the process of reducing pollution and slowing down the climate change. That China has made it clear in its Tenth Five-Year Plan to “develop nuclear power properly” shows China has embarked on the way to optimize the energy structure and reduce the emission of CO2 and CH4.

China is willing to follow the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” and the principle of fairness under the Convention and Kyoto Protocol. The COP6 following-up conference is going to be held soon after the CSD9 which is going on. China wishes these conferences would give objective and scientific consideration to nuclear energy and bring it into CDM. We also hope the Kyoto Protocol would enter into force as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention.