Analysis of Economic Incentive Policies for Improving a Low Carbon Society—Case Study of the Building Industry in China and Japan

Abstract

In the process of promoting the development of a low carbon society, economic incentive policies play an important role. In order to see the effectiveness of implementing the economic incentive policies, we put forward two questions in this study: How effective are economic incentive policies in the building industry in China and Japan? What are the obstacles preventing these policies from being effectively applied and how to overcome them? Considering the energy consumption in the building industry accounts for a significant proportion in both China and Japan, economic incentive policies for promoting building energy saving in the two countries have been chosen as case studies. Policies discussed in this article are divided into national and city levels, in which the city level policy analysis mainly focused on the active Carbon Trading Programs. Methods of stakeholder investigation and literature review are applied in exploring the economic incentive polices' effects and constraints. Based on the outcomes of our research, policy recommendations for overcoming the barriers of economic incentive policies in the building industry are worked out.