Sustainable Energy in China: The Closing Window of Opportunity (Directions in Development)

This timely new book uses historical data from 1980 and alternative scenarios through 2020 to assess China's future energy requirements and the resources available to meet them. Current trends are putting China on an unsustainable and insecure energy growth path, characterized by the use of enormous quantities of "dirty" coal and an alarming oil import dependence. The authors find that what is urgently needed is a high-level commitment to an integrated, coordinated, and comprehensive policy that is set in the framework of the energy law currently being prepared.

China's remarkable economic growth has been supported by a generally adequate and relatively low-cost supply of energy, creating the world's largest coal industry, its second-largest oil market, and an electic power business that is adding capacity at an unprecedented rate. However, in fueling that impressive economic growth, the energy sector has increasingly stressed the natural environment, placed heavy demands on domestic energy sources, and exposed the country to risks of dependence on foreign petroleum supplies. If energy requirements continue to double every decade, China will not be able to meet the energy demands of the present without seriously compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own energy needs.

This title uses historical data from 1980 and alternative scenarios through 2020 to assess China's future energy requirements and the resources to meet them. It calls for a high-level commitment to develop and implement an integrated, coordinated, and comprehensive energy policy. The authors recommend eight building blocks to reduce energy consumption growth well below the targeted rate of economic growth, to use national resources on an economically and environmentally sound basis, and to establish a robust energy system that can better ensure the security of a diverse supply of competitively priced energy forms. Sustainability calls for persistence of effort, greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, and better standards enforcement.

Achieving these goals will require policy initiatives that restrict demand and create a 'resources-conscious society', reconcile energy needs with environmental imperatives, rationalize pricing, and tackle supply security. While the challenges are daunting, China has a unique opportunity to position itself as a world leader in the application of cutting-edge energy developments to create a sustainable energy sector effectively supporting a flourishing economy and society.

This report proposes the development of a coordinated and comprehensive national policy within the Energy Law that is presently under preparation based on four foundational themes: reducing energy growth below economic growth, making better use of national energy resources, safeguarding the environment, and making the energy system robust to withstand potential disruptions. It stresses that the policy measures and program to achieve sustainability will have to be the subject of careful consultation within government and extend to mobilizing China's civil society. The scope of and potential for fruitful international cooperation is also explored, but the detail must be worked out in a cooperative framework. The main body of the report is arranged in six chapters. The first examines what the projections say about the future of China's energy consumption and concludes that urgent action is needed to avoid locking the country into an unsustainable energy development path. Chapter two evaluates end-use efficiency and finds that a less energy-intensive path can be founded on the most advanced technologies. The third chapter examines the damaging environmental impacts of the huge prospective energy growth, which dictate the need for a less-intensive path, a larger share of clean energy sources, and dramatically more clean coal. Chapter four assesses security of energy supply and proposes means to improve it and ensure the safety of national energy supply sources and networks. The fifth chapter emphasizes getting right the pricing fundamentals of the sector. The last chapter draws conclusions from the first five on matters requiring urgent policy attention and proposes development of a coordinated and comprehensive national policy for energy sustainability Ch. 1. Introduction -- Ch. 2. China's Energy Future : The Challenge Of Recent Trends -- Ch. 3. Reining In Future Energy Consumption -- Ch. 4. Greening The Energy Sector -- Ch. 5. Securing Energy Supply -- Ch. 6. Getting The Fundamentals Right -- Ch. 7. Shaping The Future Toward Sustainability -- App. A. Gross Domestic Product And Energy Consumption In China, 1980-2005 -- App. B. Biomass Energy Use In China -- App. C. The Chinese System For Energy Statistics : History, Current Situation, And Ways To Improve The System -- App. D. Energy Costs As A Proportion Of Gross Domestic Product : Estimates For China, Japan, And The United States -- App. E. Feedback From The Dissemination Workshop -- App. F. Life-cycle Costs Of Electricity Generation Alternatives With Environmental Costs Factored In -- App. G. International Experience Of Insecurity Of Energy Supply -- App. H. Strategic Oil Reserves For China -- App. I. Predominant Approaches For Setting Regulated Tariffs For Gas And Electricity Transmission And Distribution -- App. J. Lessons From International Experience : Relevant Examples Of Losses Derived From Unsound Energy Pricing -- App. K. Gas Price Formation And Gas Subsector Reform -- App. L. Pricing System To Support Adequate Implementation Of State Council Document No. 5 On Power Subsector Reform. Noureddine Berrah ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.