Science, Technology, and Public Policy

A Harvard-China Project Research Seminar with Cecilia Han Springer, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Environment and Natural Resources and Science, Technology and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School. This event will be held in Pierce Hall, Room #100F.

Sponsored by the Harvard-China Project on Energy, Economy, and Environment; Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS); and the Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP) at Harvard Kennedy School.

Speaker: Yaodong Shi, Fellow, Consortium for Energy Policy Research

The ETIP/Consortium on Energy Policy seminar continues on Mondays this spring.

Demand Side Management (DSM) is one of the best and most practical policy tools for China to balance environmental protection and economic growth. U.S. experience, especially the cases of California and Vermont, offers inspiration for further progress in DSM of China. China was first introduced to the concept of DSM in the early 1990s, but the picture is very uneven and there is no clear policy for its broad uptake. In general, the bottleneck for expediting of DSM is the lack of long-term, stable, sufficient and gradually increasing funds to flow into DSM projects. The author redesigns the practical surcharge policy which will provide long-term and stable funding for DSM, the policy to facilitate the financial support from banking sector and capital market, and investigates the possibility of DSM funding from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

Xiaowei Xuan will present his research on the impact of carbon emission constraints on Chinese coal-based power technologies. Using a dynamic equilibrium (CGE) model, Xuan identified technologies the Chinese coal sector should adopt in order to meet its GHG reduction target, and at what carbon price these technologies will become cost-effective.

Bo Wang will discuss his research on how the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has played out in China, with particular attention given to the role of technology transfer.  Wang will also explore the different factors that affect the extent of CDM-related technology transfer, and he will suggest several ways that the CDM could be improved.

The objectives of the study that Liu will discuss are to: (1) explore major carbon capture opportunities in China; (2) identify critical enabling technologies for CCS to underpin future Chinese capacity on responding to climate change; (3) assess China’s capabilities on critical CCS enabling technologies as well as rank their priorities.

Jim Watson, Deputy Director of the Sussex Energy Group at the University of Sussex, U.K., will present work on a project to study "China's Energy Transition."

Zhao will present her analysis of the thermodynamic efficiency, environmental performance, and differences in capital cost and overall cost of electricity for a variety of advanced coal power technologies in the Chinese context. She will specifically discuss the economic gaps between IGCC and other advanced coal power technologies and compare twelve different power plant configurations using advanced coal power technologies.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come-first served basis.

RU Peng will discuss the history of scientists' participation in Chinese Science and Technology policymaking after 1978.

Since the creation of the Kyoto Protocol, greenhouse gas emissions trading has found strong and vocal advocates across the globe, including in the United States. Focusing on the role of business-NGO coalitions, it will be examined why emissions trading has come to be the preferred policy choice for tackling climate change.