Enigin Update - Conflicts as China Pushes for Energy Efficiency
CHINA is the world’s second largest economy so their efforts to raise the country’s energy efficiency is important for their own and the worlds economy.
They have so far managed to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 19.06 percent between 2006 and 2010 on the 2005 levels, however China’s energy-saving progress does not call for too much complacency among policymakers.
China is in fact about one percentage point short of its own target of cutting energy intensity by 20 percent within five years, which means more challenges are ahead for further energy efficiency progress.
As we have reported previously, the fast paced expansion of the Chinese economy produced a stuttering in their energy efficiency goals, which in the past this has lead to many local governments taking draconian energy conservation measures to achieve their targets while promoting the expansion of the economy.
Local officials need to change their outlook to make real progress, and until they do it is unlikely that China will reach its energy-efficiency goal and sustainable growth.
The recent achievements are largely because the country has picked the low-hanging fruit by shutting down outdated power plants and energy-guzzling industrial facilities. Chinese policymakers will now find it difficult to make the same gains in energy efficiency as the opportunities for such quick wins dissipates.
Reports suggest that the Chinese government plan to reduce energy intensity by 16 percent during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period.
Critics have voiced concern that this new target does not look particularly ambitious, and they worry that it offers a quick fix to local governments that have not paid enough attention to slashing their energy intensity.
With China’s rapid urbanisation and rocketing living standards it all adds to the country’s ravenous demand for energy not expected to slow any time soon. Last year, China consumed 3.25 billion tons of standard coal equivalent, which was up 5.9 percent from the previous year.
Further increases in energy efficiency over the next five years will incur higher costs, slowing economic development and hence causing a conflict of goals for local authorities.
Enigin Distributors globally can help industry, commerce and the governmental sector to become energy efficient and save energy, money and the environment through implementing energy saving solutions from Enigin.
Picture of Shanghai by Stephen Hanafin
