Page 21 - Energy Efficiency Policies in China and India - A Research Paper
P. 21
Energy efficiency policies in
China and India
Energy efficiency policies in China:
experiences and recommendations
1. Current status of energy efficiency in China
1.1 Overall energy intensity
China has successfully decoupled energy consumption from economic growth. From 1980 to
2015, while China’s economy increased 25-fold, energy consumption increased only 6-fold.
Energy intensity-measured as the amount of primary energy required to produce a unit of
gross domestic product (GDP)- decreased by over 70% during the same period, from 3.4
tce per 10,000 CNY (in year 2005 CNY)( (approx. USD 1504)2 in 1980 to 0.93 tce per 10,000
CNY in 2015 (Figure 3). This is one of the best achievements in reducing energy intensity
worldwide (Figure 4). As seen in Figure 4, China’s energy intensity has reduced by around 60%
since 1990. The second largest reduction was in the United Kingdom while India reduced its
energy intensity by about 40% over the same period. For Brazil, its energy intensity has been
increasing since 1990 instead of decreasing.
Figure 6: Contributions to China’s emissions reductions
Source: IEA ( 2015b)
2The exchange rate used here is the current rate 1 US$ to 6.647 CNY, July 2016.
06 Research Paper
China and India
Energy efficiency policies in China:
experiences and recommendations
1. Current status of energy efficiency in China
1.1 Overall energy intensity
China has successfully decoupled energy consumption from economic growth. From 1980 to
2015, while China’s economy increased 25-fold, energy consumption increased only 6-fold.
Energy intensity-measured as the amount of primary energy required to produce a unit of
gross domestic product (GDP)- decreased by over 70% during the same period, from 3.4
tce per 10,000 CNY (in year 2005 CNY)( (approx. USD 1504)2 in 1980 to 0.93 tce per 10,000
CNY in 2015 (Figure 3). This is one of the best achievements in reducing energy intensity
worldwide (Figure 4). As seen in Figure 4, China’s energy intensity has reduced by around 60%
since 1990. The second largest reduction was in the United Kingdom while India reduced its
energy intensity by about 40% over the same period. For Brazil, its energy intensity has been
increasing since 1990 instead of decreasing.
Figure 6: Contributions to China’s emissions reductions
Source: IEA ( 2015b)
2The exchange rate used here is the current rate 1 US$ to 6.647 CNY, July 2016.
06 Research Paper
