Mitigating Carbon Emissions: the Potential of Improving Efficiencyof Household Appliances in China

Abstract

China is already the second's largest energy consumer in the world after the United States, and its demand for energy is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the foreseeable future, due to its fast economic growth and its low level of energy use per capita. From 2001 to 2005, the growth rate of energy consumption in China has exceeded the growth rate of its economy (NBS, 2006), raising serious concerns about the consequences of such energy use on local environment and global climate. It is widely expected that China is likely to overtake the US in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the first half of the 21st century. Therefore, there is considerable interest in the international community in searching for options that may help China slow down its growth in energy consumption and GHG emissions through improving energy efficiency and adopting more environmentally friendly fuel supplies such as renewable energy. This study examines the energy saving potential of three major residential energy end uses: household refrigeration, air-conditioning, and water heating. China is already the largest consumer market in the world for household appliances, and increasingly the global production base for consumer appliances. Sales of household refrigerators, room air-conditioners, and water heaters are growing rapidly due to rising incomes and booming housing market. At the same time, the energy use of Chinese appliances is relatively inefficient compared to similar products in the developed economies. Therefore, the potential for energy savings through improving appliance efficiency is substantial. This study focuses particularly on the impact of more stringent energy efficiency standards for household appliances, given that such policies are found to be very effective in improving the efficiency of household appliances, and are well established both in China and around world (CLASP, 2006).