A long-standing history of cooperation between the Energy Charter Secretariat and the National Energy Administration of China has recently intensified reflecting China’s global energy investment interests. China gained Observer status to the Energy Charter Conference in 2015 when it signed the International Energy Charter political declaration in The Hague. In 2017, the International Energy Charter-China Electricity Council Joint Research Centre was established in Beijing. The Energy Charter Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) has been also active in China, holding IAP sessions in Beijing in 2015 and 2017 and assisting the Energy Charter Secretariat with the publications related to the energy sector in China.
The China Energy Efficiency Report is the third Publication of the Energy Charter Secretariat, developed in cooperation with China that followed the Report on the Compatibility of Chinese Laws and Regulations with the Energy Charter Treaty and The China Investment report published in 2015 and 2017 correspondingly.
China is a pivotal country in the energy sector as both a major energy producer and as the world’s largest energy consumer. The country is a global leader in producing renewable energy and taking action to improve energy efficiency. Successful implementation of energy efficiency policies have helped to dramatically curb growth in China’s energy demand alongside structural shifts in the economy and demographic changes. Effectively managing energy demand is central to China’s economic development agenda and its efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and control dependency on imports. Energy efficiency policies and measures will make an important contribution to the achievement of the country’s targeted 15% energy intensity improvement and total energy consumption cap of less than 5Gtce, to be delivered between 2016 and 2020 by the 13th Five-Year Plan, alongside economic restructuring and productivity improvements.
China’s Energy Efficiency Report details alignment with the Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects (PEEREA). Effective alignment will facilitate the country’s smooth accession to the PEEREA and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). PEEREA is a political agreement and its focus is on practical implementation of political commitment to improve energy efficiency though market-based approaches and effective policies and measures