Committee: UN-Oceans

Issue: How can we develop renewable energies while limiting their impact on marine
biodiversity?
Author: People's Republic of China

The use of non-renewable energies has brought us to reunite today. Indeed, the
long-lasting use of fossil fuels as a source of energy has led to enhanced greenhouse gas
emissions, and thus, to man-made climate change. At the time we are speaking, the
extinction rates are abnormally high, and the Earth is being propelled into an unknown
terrain that could be catastrophic for us and the upcoming generations.
In front of these problems, the use of Marine Renewable Energy, also known as MRE,
is one of the most promising solutions. This alternative considers the use of renewable,
non-exhaustible natural resources found in seas and oceans to obtain energy needed for
human activity. For instance, offshore wind farms take profit of the brave winds away from
the coastline, and tidal power stations transform the kinetic energy of tides into electricity.
That being said, we have to bear in mind that, in some cases, the construction of energy
facilities in marine environments poses a direct threat to such important ecosystems. The
change of the sedimentary environment, noise disturbance or enhancing eutrophication are
only some of the adverse effects of these facilities.

During the last three decades, the People’s Republic of China has experienced serious
economic growth, as well as increasing energy demand. This is why, under the leadership of
its fellow comrade Hu Jintao, our nation passed the Renewable Energy Law in 2005 and
amended it in 2009. This law lists renewable energies in the preferential area for hi-tech
industrial development, making renewable energy a major energy source for the country.
Moreover, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping Governments have promoted the use of MRE
through the Special Funds for Marine Renewable Energy (SFMRE). Between 2010 and 2017,
the equivalent of more than $160 million has been invested in more than a hundred different
projects regarding MRE facilities and technologies.
The outcome of such investments has been especially beneficial for the development of
environmentally friendly tidal energy. On the other hand, the People’s Republic of China still
faces some setbacks in the development of other kinds of environmentally-friendly marine
renewable energy. This is due to the fact that we do not dispose of enough cutting-edge
technologies in these fields yet: they are still underway.

One of the major breakthroughs our country has done in the development of
sustainable tidal energy is the construction of the Jiangxia tidal power plant in the 1970s.
After becoming operational in the 1980s, this facility received significant technological
upgrades thanks to the SFMRE. Today, the Jiangxia tidal power plant is the world's fourth
largest, with an installed capacity of 4,1 MW. Moreover, this installation has a limited
environmental impact thanks to the reasonable choice of its location. Following the 14th
Five-year plan for renewable energy development, issued by the Chinese government and its
leader Xi Jinping, the new tidal energy technologies we are developing share this
environmentally-friendly feature. Some of these are the lagoon-style and dynamic tidal
energy technologies.
Taking into account all the mentioned factors and following the 14th Five-year plan for
National Economic and Social Development and Long-Range Objectives for 2035, the
delegation of China firmly believes that actions must be done to promote the international
development of eco-friendly MRE.

Some of the strategies we suggest are as follows: Firstly, creating a UN agency

supervising the environmentally-friendly development of Marine Renewable Energy
worldwide. This would enable all Member States to share their knowledge, technologies and
experience in this field, resulting in higher cooperation to achieve a common aim. Should
this organism be created, the People’s Republic of China undertakes to assist any country in
the field in which we are experts: sustainable tidal energy.
Furthermore, the People’s Republic of China suggests all Member States to deeply
investigate the areas where non-environmentally friendly MRE facilities are built, so as to
disturb as less as possible the ecosystems that reside underwater. Locations with the richest
marine wildlife and vegetation should be considered as ecological treasures, and thus,
transformed into marine protected areas. Besides, not all the areas with little biodiversity
should be used for MRE obtention. Those that do not have enough marine resources should
be exploited in other ways, such as marine pastures if they turn out to have suitable
vegetation.

Bibliography

Jiangxia Pilot Tidal Power Plant | Tethys

14th Five-year plan for renewable energy development | China Energy Portal | 中国能源门户

Outline of the People's Republic of China 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and
Social Development and Long-Range Objectives for 2035

Development and the environmental impact analysis of tidal current energy turbines in
China

Marine Renewable Energy - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

Marine renewable energy in China: Current status and perspectives - ScienceDirect

The development of marine renewable energy in China: prospects, challenges and

recommendations

(PDF) Has the Earth’s Sixth Mass Extinction Already Arrived? Nature

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Renewable Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China – Policies - IEA

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