A U.S.-Chinese Spirit of Cooperation Will Lead to Success at Copenhagen
Copenhagen (ots/PRNewswire)
The following is a joint statement issued today by Jim Rogers, chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy, the third-largest electric power holding company in the U.S., and Wang Yusuo, chairman of ENN Group, one of the largest private energy companies in China.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040414/DUKEENERGYLOGO )
"Cooperation between government and business leaders from China and the U.S., the world's two largest industrial nations, is a key to the success of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
"ENN, one of the largest private energy companies in China, and Duke Energy, one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S., have started this work by joining forces to develop advanced solar energy and clean energy technologies. These include combining advanced coal, gas and power, and bio-energy technologies with capabilities to absorb carbon dioxide.
"We believe that this type of cooperation will yield results faster and more economically for the tens of millions of customers who depend on our companies for energy.
"China and the U.S. bring extraordinary and complementary skills to commercialize low-carbon technologies to address climate change. China's 1.3 billion people and unmatched economies of scale can develop and deploy new technologies at a speed virtually impossible anywhere else in the world. As the world's largest economy, the U.S. has one of the world's most productive workforces, an unmatched higher education system and a highly reliable and efficient electricity system.
"Each nation plans to make major investments in advanced wind, solar, biomass and smart grid infrastructure in the coming years. China and the U.S. produce 80 and 50 percent of their electricity from coal, respectively, and are committed to replacing older coal plants with cleaner technologies. Each country is also aggressively pursuing nuclear energy, which is the only power source that can produce electricity around the clock with no greenhouse gas emissions.
"By working together to forge new partnerships and agreements, leading Chinese and U.S. energy and technology companies - at times working with their governments - can create a ladder of cooperation to lead the world forward on climate change.
"Duke Energy also has an agreement to work with the Huaneng Group, China's largest power generator, to explore potential long-term cooperative initiatives to reduce coal plant emissions and develop other renewable sources of electricity generation. Other U.S. and Chinese companies have similar working relationships that hold tremendous promise to advance and 'scale up' technologies faster than companies in each nation could do on their own.
"The sooner we get to work on achieving emissions reductions that scientists say are critical to avoiding catastrophic climate change, the less expensive the transition to a low-carbon economy will be.
"It is our hope that the Duke Energy-ENN agreement and similar partnerships can foster the emerging cooperation we see developing between our two countries. As the world's two largest industrial nations - and largest contributors of greenhouse gases - we can and should lead the world in solving this critical environmental problem. And we are prepared to do so.
"We urge our leaders at Copenhagen to join us and others in the business community in our spirit of cooperation to work together to find technological solutions to climate change. We must work together to make the U.N. Climate Change Conference a success."
About ENN:
ENN is committed to clean energy for China and the world. Since its founding 20 years ago, ENN has grown into an integrated group of companies that delivers clean energy to tens of millions of customers and provides overall clean energy solutions to newly-built or upgraded business parks, large-scale industrial enterprises and public works. ENN has more than 100 subsidiaries in over 80 cities across China and around the world, and employs more than 24,000 people. Additional information about ENN is available on the Internet at: http://www.enn.cn/en/index/index.html.
About Duke Energy Corporation:
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is the third largest electric power holding company in the United States, based on kilowatt-hour sales. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 4 million customers located in five states - North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky - representing a population of approximately 11 million people. Duke Energy's commercial power and international business segments operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: http://www.duke-energy.com/.
DUKE ENERGY
Tom Williams
+1-980-373-4743
+1-800-559-3853
ENN GROUP
Li Xiaofei
+86-316-2599975Contact:
Tom Williams of Duke Energy, +1-980-373-4743, +1-800-559-3853, or
First Call contact, Sean Trauschke, +1-980-373-7905; Li Xiaofei of
ENN GROUP, +86-316-2599975