Energy Conservation and Pollution Reduction

While striving to explore more clean methods to generate electricity, the NEA has also attached great importance to saving energy; raising energy efficiency is a favored method.

Energy conservation remains crucial to China’s development of a low-carbon economy, Wu Yin points out, stressing, “Only by conserving energy can China explore sustainable development.”

In 2010 China surpassed Japan as the world’s second largest economy, but the embarrassing fact is that while they achieve almost same GDP, China’s energy consumption is about 4.6 times that of Japan, prompting comments that it is high time China’s economic growth model was revisited. “Our individual energy consumption is lower than the world’s average level, or about half of that prevailing in developed countries and one-fourth that of the U.S.; if one day our per capita energy consumption is equivalent to that of the U.S., we Chinese will be using up 80 percent of the total energy on earth,” cautions Wu Yin.

How to save energy? Wu Yin believes that energy management guidelines are needed to guarantee a sufficient supply for basic needs, limit over-consumption and encourage conservation.

Wu offers examples: “Recently the National Development and Reform Commission asked for public feedback on a system of charging for residential electricity on a progressive basis, which means prices would increase with consumption growth. In the industrial sector, a strict standard of energy consumption per unit production is already in place to curb energy-guzzling businesses.”

According to Jiang Bing, the NEA will step up efforts to ensure energy is conserved and pollution reduced during the whole process of exploration and utilization. It will also strive to achieve balanced development by ensuring efficient energy exploration and enhanced energy supply management.

Seven Priorities of China's Energy Development from 2011 to 2015

1. Promote efficient utilization of fossil energy

Fossil energy remains the main energy resource. Efforts will be directed to the upgrading of coal mining enterprises, acceleration of oil and natural gas exploration and the development of thermal power.

2. Speed up the development of non-fossil energy sources

Hydropower and nuclear power construction will be accelerated, and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass energy will be promoted to ensure the non-fossil energy consumption to increase to 11 percent of the total energy consumption by 2015.

3. Enhance the construction of energy transmission networks around China to better distribute the energy resources available to the country

4. Accelerate the development and application of new energy technologies

Reinforce research and development of advanced energy technologies based on the current needs.

5. Conserve energy and reduce pollution during energy exploration and utilization

Promote efficiencies in energy exploration and utilization, energy supply management, and energy conservation and pollution reduction in key areas to achieve balanced development.

6. Strengthen international

cooperation

Reinforce exploration of foreign energy resources; bring in more foreign investment for the development and utilization of China’s energy resources; and expand international energy trade.

7. Deepen energy system reform

Improve mechanisms to give full play to fiscal and taxation advantages in the energy market, and strengthen energy legislation and the energy management system to promote the sustainable development of China’s energy industry.