Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction in Energy-Intensive and High-Carbon Sectors

Abstract

During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the Chinese government set out a series of energy conservation and emissions reduction initiatives involving pricing, finance, taxation, currency and industry, involving a collection of economic, legal and regulatory, and executive measures. The government has made unprecedented endeavors to promote energy conservation and emissions reductions. Major measures, such as the campaign to save energy at thousands of firms and the implementation of 10 top energy saving projects, targeted the industrial sector, especially major energy-consumption industries and enterprises. As for industries that have the potential to consume more energy, like the transportation, business and civil sectors, the main thrust of the initiatives was to comprehensively enhance construction mechanisms, including legal and regulatory, standards and marks; while encouraging research, investment and the spread of key technologies. During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the national energy consumption of industrial added value fell by 26.1 %, the energy saved amounted to 0.63 billion tons of coal equivalent and the reduced carbon emission amounted to 1.46 billion ton of CO2, which laid a solid foundation for achieving the goals set for the 12th Five-Year Plan. Looking at the 12th Five-Year Plan, or to 2020, China will remain in the development phase of rapid industrialization and urbanization, so the industrial sectors are the major areas listed in the energy saving and emissions reduction agenda. There are many methods to save energy and reduce emissions, such as improving energy efficiency, developing a recycling economy, optimizing the energy supply structure, exploring and popularizing low-carbon technology.