Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Energy Conservation and Emissions
Reduction in Energy-Intensive and
High-Carbon Sectors
Yuezhong Zhu
Abstract
During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the Chinese government set out a series of
energy conservation and emissions reduction initiatives involving pricing, finance,
taxation, currency and industry, involving a collection of economic, legal and
regulatory, and executive measures. The government has made unprecedented
endeavors to promote energy conservation and emissions reductions. Major
measures, such as the campaign to save energy at thousands of firms and the
implementation of 10 top energy saving projects, targeted the industrial sector,
especially major energy-consumption industries and enterprises. As for industries
that have the potential to consume more energy, like the transportation, business
and civil sectors, the main thrust of the initiatives was to comprehensively enhance
construction mechanisms, including legal and regulatory, standards and marks;
while encouraging research, investment and the spread of key technologies.
During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the national energy consumption of
industrial added value fell by 26.1 %, the energy saved amounted to 0.63 billion
tons of coal equivalent and the reduced carbon emission amounted to 1.46 billion
ton of CO
2
, which laid a solid foundation for achieving the goals set for the 12th
Five-Year Plan. Looking at the 12th Five-Year Plan, or to 2020, China will remain
in the development phase of rapid industrialization and urbanization, so the
industrial sectors are the major areas listed in the energy saving and emissions
reduction agenda. There are many methods to save energy and reduce emissions,
such as improving energy efficiency, developing a recycling economy, optimizing
the energy supply structure, exploring and popularizing low-carbon technology.
