China to promote ethanol in attempt to cut pollution

一家知名的大宗商品交易机构表示，中国正考虑改变能源政策，鼓励推广乙醇的使用，以求缓解空气质量的恶化。乙醇是一种由农产品加工而成的清洁燃料。

China is considering a change in its energy policy to encourage the wider use of ethanol, a clean fuel made from agricultural products, to target the nation’s worsening air quality, a leading trader of the commodity said.

全球规模最大的大宗商品交易机构之一“来宝集团”(Noble Group)乙醇交易主管法布里齐奥?齐基基(Fabrizio Zichichi)表示，在最近一次访华期间，中国政府的政策制定者告诉他，北京可能在今年年底前确定乙醇在中国能源结构中的比重指标。

Fabrizio Zichichi, head of ethanol at Noble Group, one of the world’s largest commodities traders, said he had been told by government policymakers on a recent trip to China that Beijing could set a target by the end of this year for the share of ethanol in the nation’s energy mix.

此举将意味着，在中国投资于这种生物燃料的生产、进口和销售将获得关键的政治支持，并可能对全球乙醇价格产生影响。专家表示，就目前的消费格局而言，乙醇价格很快将达到峰值。

Such a move would indicate crucial political support for investment in the production, import and distribution of the biofuel in China and could have an impact on world ethanol prices, which experts say will soon peak on current consumption patterns.

他表示：“中国政府密切关注乙醇是有道理的。这不仅有助于中国减轻对石油和煤炭的依赖，而且在中国形成大规模的乙醇市场，也有助于将财富转移至农村的贫困人口，就像巴西已经做到的那样。”

“It makes sense for Beijing to look closely at ethanol. Not only will it help the country wean itself off its dependence on oil and coal but a large ethanol market in China could help spread wealth to the rural poor, as Brazil has shown,” he said.

有批评称，鼓励农民将农产品出售给乙醇加工厂的方案，可能导致粮食短缺，齐基基对此不以为然。“利润率的提高只会鼓励农民提高产量，”他表示。“而且，巴西的成功经验表明，没什么可担心的。”

Mr Zichichi brushed off criticism that a programme to encourage farmers to sell their products to ethanol plants would cause food shortages. “A higher profit margin could only encourage farmers to raise their yield,” he said. “And the benefits in Brazil have shown that there is little to fear.”

不过，在推动使用更加环保的燃料方面，中国政府取得的成就相当有限。多年来，中国政府一直试图推广天然气的使用，但由于在确保供应和发展大规模本地市场方面遭遇困难，这些努力的成效不大。

China’s central government, however, has had limited success in driving the use of more environmentally-friendly fuels. For years, it has tried to popularise the use of natural gas but its efforts have been curtailed by the difficulty of securing supplies and developing a substantial local market.

不过，分析人士表示，通过强制加油站提供E10车用混合汽油，并鼓励地方生产，中国可以更容易地实施乙醇燃料政策。

But analysts say it is easier to implement an ethanol policy in China by making E10 mandatory at petrol stations and by encouraging local production.