Some claim that China may face coal shortages in the next five years. Evidence for that is that China has increased coal imports from Australia and is buying Australian coal mines. Since the Australian government is hellbent on helping the coal industry there are all these high capacity coal export terminals that can easily supply southern Chinese cities by sea. That may be easier than overland transport of coal from Inner Mongolia. Our Mandarin speaking PM evidently sees those exports as helping a friend, not an own goal which will come back to haunt us.

However it is possible the Chinese may be able to give a lead to the rest of the world in making cheap plug-in hybrid cars or in fast construction of Generation III nuclear reactors. However I doubt that will compensate for increased fossil fuel use. So long as countries like Australia give them all the cheap coal and LNG they want there is less incentive to reduce emissions. A carbon tariff on goods imported from China might make them take notice. Australia does not have the moral authority unlike France or Sweden to impose carbon tariffs since our per capita emissions are so high. Of course we could cut our coal exports. That's one for you Kevin.

With the forecast demand for coal by China it casts the demand by Australian coal miners for free carbon credits in a truer light.
I would be much happier that the taxpayers money that the miners are demanding go towards the redevelopment of the Australian electricity grid and nuclear and geothermal generators rather than the miners bottom line.
But Rudd being a Labor PM wont care about the Australian bottom line.
He will just want to keep every one happy by splashing around the taxpayers hard earned dollars.

Approximately 25% of China's Power Stations are used to manufacture goods for us so as well as exporting our industries and jobs, we're apparently outsourcing our responsibility too.

We still remain one of the largest energy users per capita on the planet so it's a bit rich for us to insist that other nations do their bit to save our Barrier Reef (for example) when we won't do it for ourselves.

Carbon capture and storage is the boondoggle,not green energy.

Unilateral action on pollution is the only way that anything meaningful will occur.Forget international agreements and carbon trading,they are a BAU scam.

Australia needs to get it's own house in order by eliminating coal from power generation.Once this occurs we can choose to cease exporting steaming coal and to put tarrifs on imports from polluting countries like China.

None of this will happen until the sheep wake up and force a change.

I agree with Manorina, and to achieve that aim, we need to go Nuclear Power now - an available technology, which, sure has a few minor issues, but what doesn't and it is clean and green.

If we get into it now, then in 20 years, as research money flows into it, we will lead the world in Clean Nuclear.

We should focus the research on reprocessing used fuel, until we get to the stage there is no used fuel left, and we can then reprocess all the world's spent fuel - we'll be the clean green uber heros and PM Rudd can strut the world stage badgering everyone to Go Nuclear.

We then become the suppliers to China, of the technology, the fuel, then reprocess their spent fuel. Added bonus, we can turn the climate back to oh .. I don't know, pick a date .. 1960? isn't that what it's all about after all?

TIC, of course.

CHINA

Disambugation ( Chung Kwok )

The inscrutable Middle Kingdom has come a long way since it moved from a Soviet style planned Economy, to a market-driven one. Working in strategic five year Plan stages since 1953, the World's fastest growing Economy has to date, mounted 11 consecutive plans, that have all but revolutionised it's Technological /economic/ cultural advantages, as compared to the rest of the Industralised World, and it's neighbours Japan, Korea etc.

Foreign Trade is 70 % of it's growth, and where it may be lacking in many urban areas in basic infrastructure i.e drinking water, energy consumption, burgeoning population growth, high unemployment, poor Educational facilities, nettlesome poverty etc, there is a definitive drive to propel itself, in quantum leaps to Super Power status.

GDP is up 7.5 % from 18.2 trillion RMB to 26.1 T renminbi by next year. Per capita disposable income increased marginally to 5 %.

Significantly, R & D is now 3 % with China's trilateral investment in Internet Technology. The largest Internet user Globally ( more addicts / sq klm )it embraces ipv6 which is streets ahead of ipv4 with it's safety/managerial features. At 10 gig/sec, it has an inexhaustable supply of Internet web addresses.
Fully committed to expanding it's share of steel,coal,ores etc it's $US 585 B stimulus is gobbling up mines, deposits, port facilities etc abroad at an unprecedented rate. In Africa alone, it hold's significant mining rights extending to 6 newly emerged Independent Nations. Meantime, in Aust, the quest in WA: Oz Metals, Fortesque Mines, Gorgon Gas, MinMetals, Mt Gibson (MGX) Hancock consortium ( Pilbara) NuFarm Pharmaceutical, MacArthur Coal, etc continues.
Fully owned or embroiled in joint ventures, it's share of Resources shows little discernable signs of abatement.
Who said the Foreign Investment Review Board is a toothless harridan ? All spin, serendipity, and lacking substance !

With effusive Premier Bligh (Qld) committed to the aberrant fire sale of Govt assets, to meet the growing shortfall of revenue, and inept Business Investment failures. The Abbot Point Coal terminal (Bowen) Port of Brisbane Authority; Qld Rail's coal transport & workshop

cont.

utilities, Forestry Plantations; Gateway & Logan Motorways, and other so named non-income producing chattels. Surprisingly, there always seems to be no shortage of funds to build AFL and NFL Stadiums on the Gold Coast, bankroll dubious Super Car Race series,even as the State Budget is in Recession, and S & P, Moody's have underscored Qld's triple A + rating, making it infinitely more expensive to borrow from the RBA or Overseas. Appallingly, there will be piddling left for future generations of banana-benders, to claim as their rightful heritage. Bligh's fellow Unionist are livid, as more job losses and redundancies occur. New owners will inadvertently downsize bloated Govt ( Public Service ) enterprises, or move discreetly offshore to maximise profits.

Remarkably, the Teacher's Union after 9 months of frenetic stalemate intransigence, Arbitration Court dismissals, stop work walkouts, and sudden one day strikes, hottie Rudd intervenes, and grants a 10 % pay rise. Total package $1.2 B from Gillard's Educational bursary, no doubt !

As the World's most prolific buyer of US Treasury Bonds, Foreign Currency Reserves e.g.$ 1.7 T, China despairs as the parity, liquidity of the greenback nose-dives. Rumbling from Brazil, Russia, OPEC, China over risk of hyper-inflation, and a disfunctional Global
Financial System in jeopardy, China has hastened it's quest of seeking Gold mining in Canada, S America, African Continent, Oz as the only tangible monetary alternative that appreciates with time. The pursuit of Gold as a hedge has always been a priority and goal, throughout it's 4000 year history.

Recently, to mitigate it's US exposure, it arranged the sale of 534 Boeing aircraft 60 B787's, 70 B737's initially. In the next decade China will need 2600 long haul, wide-bodied, supersonic aeroplanes.

Within the alloted time frame, substantial didactic progress to increase Nuclear reactors, million Kilowatt power grids, wind driven generators, and Hydro-Electric schemes are bearing fruition. Benchmarks of 1000 KV AC, and 800 KV DC have been achieved.

It plans to abide by World EPA standards and showcase it's Carbon dissipating foot-print. The Kyoto Protocol doesn't appear as formidable as first imagined.

For now, anything is achievable.