Research On Potential And Policy System Of Building Energy Efficiency In China

Building energy consumption has accounted for20~40%of the primary energyconsumption across the world, even for45%in some developed regions. The buildingsector, along with the industry sector and the transport sector, has been a major contributorto final energy consumption of China for the advance of industrialization, urbanization andnew countryside construction. In particular, the building sector possesses the largestpotential of energy saving among all sectors. However, there are few studies toquantitatively clarify and elaborate the general situation of building energy efficiency inChina as well as its relevant policy system. Hence, this paper attempts to analysis andevaluate the status quo of building energy efficiency in China by an integrated approachcombining multiple qualitative and quantitative methods. First, the research status ofbuilding energy efficiency was identified on the basis of a bibliometric analysis. In order todetermine the overall situation and characteristics of China’s building energy consumption,a building energy consumption model was proposed with a life cycle assessment. Moreover,based on the policy scenario analysis, the energy-saving potential of the building sector inChina was obtained. Additionally, the cost-benefit analysis was employed to specific greenbuilding projects to underline insufficient incentives for energy conservation of variousstakeholders in the building sector. Finally, a comparative analysis ofbuilding-energy-related policy instruments between China and other countries wasconducted to optimize the design of energy policy system of China.The major conclusions of this paper are as follows:a) The whole life-cycle energy consumption of buildings in China exhibits a mountingtrend for recent years, and energy from building materials production phase and theoperation phase of buildings, especially from rural residential buildings, should be givenmore attention;b) China’s building sector has great potential of energy saving. Appropriate policyincentives could mitigate and even reverse the rapid growth of building energyconsumption in China. In an alternative policy scenario, the building sector would beexpected to achieve about130Mtce,310Mtce and550Mtce of energy saving in2020,2025and2030respectively. Particularly, the operation phase of buildings is responsible for60~70%of the total energy saving;c) Insufficient incentives for building energy conservation challenge the promotion of building energy efficiency in China. However, a combination of internal stimulations, suchas information intervention, and external incentive mechanisms, for instance reasonablefinancial support and economic benefit for various stakeholders, can effectively improvethe demand for building energy saving as well as the active involvement of relatedenterprises and consumers.d) The policy focus of building energy efficiency in China should be adjusted fromenhancing energy efficiency to controlling total quantity of energy consumption in thebuilding sector. Portfolios of voluntary and mandatory policy instruments can maximize theeffect of attempts to reduce building energy consumption of China. What’s more, centraland local governments should supervise and guarantee the implement of related policiesrather than merely concern about the establishment of policy instruments. Therefore, thesefindings will help facilitate the reduction of building energy use as well as the gradualurbanization and sustainable development for China in a long run.