Legal Research On Energy Conservation Voluntary Agreement

As a new kind of energy conservation mechanism, Voluntary Agreement (VA) came out in the 1990s and now it becomes a popular non-compulsory measure in the world. It is adopted by many countries to facilitate cooperation between governments and industries and promote industries improve energy efficiency voluntarily. Two steel companies in Shandong were chosen to do first test in China, and the test shows very good effect. After that, a series of tests were started. This article selects related legal problems of VA for discussion, hoping to offer some help to further research.In theoretic level, the article first analyses the background, status and further development of system briefly, then focuses on the justice, rationality and feasibility to clarify fundamental theory problems. In practical level, based on international experiences, the article gives a universal system framework for the first time, which includes VA's participants, types, contents, negotiating and fulfillment process, validity, modification and termination, liability for breach of agreement, dispute settlement, legal nature and application. Based on this framework and China's reality, article then points out the main obstacles for spreading VA in China, and designs a system which suits particular situation of our country.The difference between VA and common contract is the main clue through the whole article. VA restricts, not guarantees enterprise's freedom in energy using, which brings out discussion about justice and rationality. VA does not have equal parties, which brings special rights and obligations. Special modification, termination and dispute settlement procedures also reflect their differences. After comparing to typical civil and administrative contract, I get the conclusion that VA is a special kind of contract in the area of administrative law. Later system design for China is based on this conclusion, and it also emphasizes these differences mentioned before.