Commission: Economic growth driven by energy efficiency

China has the potential to become a global leader in energy-efficiency technology by 2030 if bold steps are taken now, according to the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

Speaking to China Daily after the launch of the commission's New Climate Economy report on Thursday, commission chairman Felipe Calderon, former president of Mexico, said although China's economy is expected to double over the next 15 years, by choosing to invest in a low-carbon economy, the country could achieve record energy efficiency and sustainable growth.

"It will take brave decisions, but we believe that China has all the human, institutional and technological capacities to start this courageous transition," Calderon said.

Taking the green road to growth

Nation's energy demand slowing

The report set out to prove to policymakers that it is possible to have better economic growth as well as a better climate. It estimated that some $90 trillion will be invested in the world's urban, land use and energy systems in the next 15 years.

"How we choose to invest in the next 15 years is a huge opportunity to change the future," Calderon said.

"It will determine whether we get locked into a carbon-intensive future or if we are able to jump into a low-carbon path. The choice," he said, "is ours."

At the heart of the issue are the policies of many nations that still favor the use of fossil fuels at the cost of capital available for low-carbon investments. Global subsidies for clean energy amount to about $100 billion per year, while fossil fuel subsidies are estimated to total about $600 billion, the report said.

Jeremy Oppenheim, program director of the New Climate Economy, said that by committing to low-carbon development, China should be among the top five of the world's most energy-efficient countries and by 2030 be able to reduce coal consumption to levels lower than today.

"It will be transformative for China because of the degree of energy imports currently needed - successful energy efficiency would mean needing less," Oppenheim said.

Through this structural transformation, new drivers of growth are set to emerge.

"There are phenomenal new technologies coming through to transform the use of energy," Oppenheim said. "I would hope that China would do for smart windows, air-conditioning systems, lighting systems, variable speed motors and automated processes what it has done with solar power and energy storage already."

On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted a climate summit in New York attended by more than 120 world leaders.

The summit is part of lead-up to the crucial climate change conference scheduled to take place in Paris at the end of 2015, where a deal on limiting global warming is expected.