Archive for 1.1 General Energy Concerns

China’s New National Energy Commission: Policy Implications

Abstract On 27 January 2010, China announced the establishment of a new institution  under the State Council—the National Energy Commission. The institution is like a cabinet within the Cabinet. The National Energy Commission is housed in the State Council, suggesting the rise of power of the government. Out of 27 ministers, 12 are on board in the newly established National Energy  Commission. Most notably, ministers of Foreign Affairs, State Security,  Finance, Environmental Protection, Commerce, Land and Resources, and  Water Resources are among the 21 members. Moreover, the military is also represented. The establishment of such a super-ministry at this time reflects Chinese leaders’ concern for energy efficiency, energy security, and environmental protection. By establishing this super-ministry, China’s leadership attempts to better coordinate energy policy in order to get intra-agency cooperation on strategic initiatives on carbon emission reduction and energy efficiency improvement. The National Energy Commission is tasked to produce China’s energy development strategy, review issues of energy security and development, and coordinate domestic energy exploration and international energy cooperation. The establishment of such an institution on energy policy is certainly a step in the right direction to tackle energy security and environmental issues in China.  But it remains to be seen how this super-ministry actually operates and whether it can produce desired results.
Author EAI Background Brief No. 504; Bo Zhiyue; 5 February 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/BB504.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

Understanding Energy in China: Geographies of Energy Efficiency

Abstract Geographies of Energy Efficiencies is APERC’s second phase energy project on ‘Understanding Energy in China’. The first part of this report identified energy efficiency and conservation as a priority of China’s national energy policy. Our objective here has been to explore how China is pursuing energy efficiency and conservation and to what result. This report provides information on the implementation of China’s energy efficiency and conservation policies that we expect will be of interest to both Chinese and international audiences. This work is published by the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre as an independent study and does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the APEC Energy Working Group, individual member economies, or other contributors. We hope that it will serve as a useful basis for discussion and analysis both within and among APEC member economies for the enhancement of energy security, the promotion of regional cooperation, and in furthering sustainable development.
Author APERC Report (Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre), Mardrianto Kadri – APERC Senior Researcher, APERC Workshop, Bali, Indonesia, 16 November 2009
Publisher
Link The full report can be found here http://aperc.ieej.or.jp/file/2010/9/26/APERC_China_2009_rev.pdf

The summary can be found here http://aperc.ieej.or.jp/file/2010/9/26/4_China_06_EWG38.pdf

Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

Growing Chinese Energy Demand

Abstract Only a few years ago Chinese government leaders were optimistic that their country could quadruple its GDP between 2000 and 2020 while only doubling energy consumption. For any other developing country this would be considered an unrealistic goal, as energy consumption during development tends to grow as fast as or even faster than GDP. Yet, China had quadrupled GDP while only doubling energy use from 1980 through 2000, so government officials reasoned they could do it again. However, China is already off track in meeting its 2000-2020 energy consumption goals, and the country is now at a point where it will be nearly impossible to prevent energy consumption from more than doubling. Energy use, instead of growing half as fast as GDP, has grown notably faster than GDP on average since 2000. Notwithstanding, China s government, as well as major energy statistics agencies including the International Energy Agency (IEA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), have been so captivated by the original, optimistic story line that their forecasts have not caught up to the reality of what is happening in China. In this report, the authors examine the period from 1980 through 2000 and explain why it was unusual for the Chinese energy industry. Then, they look at the changes in China since 2000, including in the critical electric power generating sector. Using a simple thought experiment, they illustrate that even with very conservative assumptions about Chinese GDP growth and income elasticity of electricity demand out to 2025, the country will experience much higher coal demand and emit much greater volumes of carbon emissions than forecast by IEA and DOE. This leads to some final thoughts on the implications of future Chinese energy demand on global energy markets.
Author Center for Strategic and International Studies, James P. Dorian and Malcolm Shealy, 2007
Publisher
Link http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/071211-shealy-growingchineseenergy-web.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

China Energy – A Guide For the Perplexed

Abstract The purpose of this policy analysis is to make visible the internal dynamics of the Chinese energy situation, which most observers glimpse only second hand as the impact of demand on world markets, the behavior of Chinese firms abroad and the effect of Chinese emissions on the global environment. Our hope in doing so is to facilitate energy policy cooperation between China and other countries, more rational conception of and reaction to China’s energy behavior by markets and governments, and more effective prioritization of the energy reform agenda in China, the United States, and elsewhere.
Author Trevor Houser; Daniel H. Rosen; May 2007
Publisher
Link http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/rosen0507.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

Evaluation of China’s Energy Strategy Options

Abstract Developed by energy experts from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, this report analyzes how energy investment can be redirected, energy supply developed, and energy efficiency increased to meet China’s high-level national development goals—increasing energy security, maintaining economic growth, and improving standards of living and the health of its citizens. The report prioritizes energy policies according to their effectiveness in helping China reach its national development goals and describes in detail what China’s government must do to enact such policies.
Author China Sustainable Energy Program, May 2005
Publisher
Link http://www.efchina.org/csepupfiles/report/2006102695218686.4335721472912.pdf/NEP_LBNL_EN.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

Insights & Commentary: China’s 12th Five-Year Plan

Abstract On the eve of the National People’s Congress, Greenpeace calls for China to strengthen and improve the 12th Five-Year Plan’s language and data on energy, environment taxation, industrial and agricultural pollution, and other environmental issues. The government must fully demonstrate its commitment to a “green transformation” and seize the opportunity of the next five years to reverse the trend of environmental destruction and degradation. Only then will China be on the path of green, sustainable development, vital to not only its own future but also the global environment.
Author Greenpeace 2011
Publisher
Link http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/Global/eastasia/publications/reports/others/2011/greenpeace-commentary-twelfth-five-year-plan.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable China Energy Outlook

Abstract The report “Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable China Energy Outlook” is part of the global study “Energy [R]evolution” , produced by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC). According to this report, China can achieve rapid economic growth without jeopardising the climate, through the use of renewable energy, combined with energy efficiency.
Author Greenpeace, 2007
Publisher
Link http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/Global/eastasia/publications/reports/climate-energy/2007/energy-revolution-sustainable-china-energy-outlook.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

Climate and Energy Policy in the People’s Republic of China: An Overview Concerning Chinese Domestic Laws, and the Instruments and Measures of Climate Change Mitigation

Abstract This paper aims to summarize China’s policies and measures to address Climate Change, and to introduce major determinants and consequences of that policy, as well as the actors involved in the policy process. An overview of sector-based mitigation policies is also given. The report is focused on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies, as these involve major mitigation strategies and embrace many of the key components aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Author Heinrich Boell Stiftung, China, Dirk Rommeney, June 2008
Publisher
Link http://www.cn.boell.org/downloads/HBF_China_Climate_Policy.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

China: Peak Energy and the Limits to Economic Growth

Author ASPO presentation; Minqi Li, November 4, 2011
Publisher
Link http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_151-200/WP189.pdf
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers

The Institutions of Energy Governance in China

Abstract International collaboration, in any form, requires trust, and such trust is built on understanding. In the case of collaboration in the field of energy, potential partners need to have an appreciation of frameworks for energy governance in each others’ countries. Only then can they accurately interpret the data, the statements and the declared commitments provided by other parties. Nowhere is this ignorance of greater relevance to today’s challenges than the case of China. The size and rate of growth of China’s economy, of its energy demand, of its energy imports and of its atmospheric emissions of various types make this country an essential major partner in any regional or global discussions relating to the production and consumption of energy. Yet such is the size, diversity, complexity and lack of transparency characterising China’s energy sector that external parties find it very difficult to interpret the information emerging from the country and the actions and statements of the government. No shortage of information exists. Indeed it might be argued that there is too much information on China’s energy sector: too much information and not enough understanding. The premise of this paper is that an improved understanding of the institutions of governance of China’s energy sector will allow us to better appreciate current structures and policies, past policy decisions and outcomes, and the possible trajectories for future policies and policy outcomes. In short, it should provide us with valuable insights into events, trends and behaviours.
Author Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI); Philip Andrews-Speed; January 2010
Publisher
Link http://www.ifri.org/?page=detail-contribution&id=5842&id_provenance=88&provenance_context_id=16
Attachment
1 Energy and Climate, 1.1 General Energy Concerns, 1.1.3 International and Foreign Think-tanks, Research Institutes, NGOs and Individual Researchers