Energy efficiency was a headliner at the G20 in China this month. At the Energy Efficiency Forum in Shaoxing on September 6, Brian Motherway, Head of Energy Efficiency at the International Energy Agency (IEA), released the agency’s special report on Energy Efficiency in China. The report, written with assistance from the Energy Research Institute of China, is the IEA’s first publication dedicated to energy efficiency in that country.
Among other observations, the report reveals that over the past decade China has deployed energy efficiency measures at a faster rate than any other country. Energy efficiency policies have helped unlock significant energy savings for Chinese industry, and energy service companies are thriving in what has become the world’s largest energy service market. In addition to energy savings, China’s energy efficiency improvements significantly aided the country combat air pollution and climate change. Beginning in 2006 with the 11th Five-Year Plan, China’s framework policies for improving energy efficiency have been some of the world’s most important efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions over the last ten years.
Despite the enormous energy efficiency gains, Chinese industry remains 50 percent more energy intensive than IEA countries. There is still much to be done in terms of increasing energy efficiency in China, and progress is set to continue under the 13th Five-Year Plan.
Click to read and download the Energy Efficiency in China Special Report. Stay tuned for the IEA’s upcoming Energy Efficiency Market Report 2016, which will be launched by Executive Director Fatih Birol in Turkey on 10 October at the World Energy Congress.