CHINA’S NEW DEVELOPMENT PATH: WHAT IS DRIVING CHINA TO INVEST IN RENEWABLES?

Abstract

The principal aim of the thesis is to analyse the reasons that are leading China to represent one of the biggest investor of renewable energy industry at a global level. Today the country is facing the catastrophic consequences of a rapid-growth economy that has caused serious environmental damages. They cannot be underestimated anymore and the new era of “energy revolution” has led China to recognize the need of reforms and plans to meet the global standards of pollution reduction. The results still fail to reach the expected success and the influence of the bad management of resources, in particular for what concern the coal employment, falls back on society. Health problems and healthcare costs are a real issue, in particular in small and poor rural areas that do not benefit of the economic growth of the country.The investigation, therefore, is delineated through three main parts according to which is possible to find causes and effects brought by these series of investments. Starting from a deep examination of the role that China has in the climate change, the purpose is to state the limits due to the coal employment as main energy source, to arrive to assess the opportunities that the renewable energy industry represents.