OPINION> Columnists
Going green in tough times
By Alexis Hooi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-22 07:48

As belts tighten in these trying economic times, there are growing worries that environmental issues will end up taking a back seat.

Nongovernmental organizations, in particular, face the prospect of reduced funding for their green causes as sponsors and donors divert limited resources to the stabilizing of troubled finances.

In a roundtable recently organized by this newspaper, the director of the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations, Orville Schell, worried that efforts to deal with the challenges of climate change are in danger of being "crippled".

"In the middle of a financial crisis, companies and governments are going to be much less willing to make capital outlays to solve these problems", Schell said.

However, there is actually no better time to go green. If anything, the current economic challenges accentuate the need for sustainable development and for cutting back on excess.

Prior to the financial turmoil, more governments and institutions were already pushing to increase investment in the environment sector because they had come to know of its long-term benefits.

Companies that produced goods and services aimed at fighting climate change have so far generated $300 billion in annual revenue, more than the biotech and software sectors combined, environment portal Greenbiz.com quoted an index by HSBC launched last year as showing.

A report released earlier this year by the United Nations Environment Programme and the London-based New Energy Finance said global investment in clean energy alone is expected to hit more than $650 billion a year from 2020.

China itself is powering ahead as a leading manufacturer of solar cells and is set to become the world's top exporter of wind turbines by next year, according to a recent report by UK-based environmental organization, The Climate Group.

This year's Asia-Europe Summit, set to bring together at least 38 state and government leaders from the two regions to Beijing this weekend, is targeting environmental challenges along with facing financial ones.

At the individual level, it is also a good time to be reminded of the dangers of extravagance in a consumer culture.

I took extra environmental classes at Harvard in the summer of 2002 partly because I thought it was "cool" to do so. I had no idea then the field would become so "hot" in just a few years.

But going green has long ceased as a trend waiting to fizzle out or a badge for individuals and groups to garner goodwill.

Just like adopting environmental measures as financial systems go on the mend, using the time now to take stock of what you have and to think about consuming only what you need for a sustainable lifestyle makes great economic sense.

Find out how much your daily activities contribute to global warming and what you can do to mitigate the effects, by calculating your carbon footprint online.

Buy energy-efficient household appliances that save you money on electricity in the long run. Try purchasing only as much as what your wardrobe and cabinets can hold. Make sure what you have in your own shopping bag are products that can be reused, recycled and made from biodegradable materials.

Send those stacks of old newspapers and crates of plastic and glass bottles for recycling, to get back what you paid for. Here in Beijing, returning five used beer bottles at some places can even get you a fresh bottle for free.

After all, "less is more" has always been a mantra of the green revolution.

E-mail: alexishooi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/22/2008 page8)