Partnership for the Earth Campaign

Ten-Year Objective

Avert environmental disaster by halving China's growth in energy demand, cutting mercury consumption and shifting production to clean energy technologies.

2008 Victories

• Helped Beijing employ green-building strategies to reduce its global warming pollution by 670,000 tons annually, the equivalent of taking 268,000 cars off the road each year.
• Assisted in the development of a regional water pollution court on the Yangtze River, the first of its kind in China.
• Instructed more than 600 government officials, judges, lawyers, activists and journalists in environmental law and public participation.

2009 Action Plan

We are partnering with the Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Development to implement a national efficiency program that will cut energy use in every nonresidential building in the country. We will help China achieve its 2010 reduction targets for sulfur dioxide and other key pollutants through stronger environmental controls and enhanced public participation. We will continue promoting the integration of smart-growth strategies into China's urban planning by collaborating with select cities and the central government. Finally, we will organize U.S. and Chinese scientists to analyze large-scale carbon capture and storage opportunities in China, aimed at early deployment of this important technology in coal-fired power plants.