China

China has developed one of the most comprehensive and effective sets of energy efficiency policies and programs in the world. This has been an arduous task over decades, involving the government, businesses, and civil society. Although success has abounded in many areas, China’s programs are not perfect, and the development process has often been one of improving, adjusting, and reinforcing. Some of the strengths of China’s effort have been (a) good organization, (b) focus on overcoming implementation difficulties at local levels as well as development of national policies and programs, (c) an effective blending of market-based energy efficiency investment and service mechanisms with new law-based regulations, and (d) investments in institutional development to provide the foundation for long-term gains. The process, experience, and results of the 40-year effort provide an amazingly rich bank of lessons for other countries with aspirations for energy efficiency gains, which this report strives to describe. One of the most telling macro indicators of China’s success is the reversal of a trend of increasing energy use per unit GDP beginning in 2006 and continuing thereafter, delinking growth in energy consumption from growth in GDP. Energy use per unit GDP had fallen during the 1980s and 1990s, in part due to energy conservation efforts but mainly due to economic structural change as China’s economy began to mature. This changed in the early 2000s, however, as yet more rapid industrial growth brought increases in China’s energy intensity. China’s leadership recognized that this continued resource-intensive development over the long haul was physically almost impossible, economically inferior, and environmentally unacceptable. With calls to build a less resource-intensive society, the country sharply increased its efforts to improve energy efficiency, building on past programs and adding new ones in a comprehensive effort. The focus was on achieving results. The trend of increasing energy intensity was bent downward, and energy intensity began to decline again, even as rapid industrial and economic growth continued.