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To cope with global climate change and energy security, the realization of the low-carbon energy transition has become an inevitable choice for international carbon emission reduction requirements and energy structure adjustment. Vigorously developing renewable energy has become an essential part of energy policies in many countries. Under the incentive and guidance of renewable energy industry policy, China's renewable energy has developed rapidly, and energy structure has been optimized. However, many problems have been exposed. Can China's renewable energy industry policy effectively support low-carbon energy transition? This paper uses the method of theoretical analysis, combining literature analysis and data analysis. Based on the analysis of renewable energy policies in countries with relatively mature energy transitions, it analyzes the status quo, implementation effect, and problems of renewable energy policy in China and proposes policy suggestions. According to the research, the existing problems are as follows: (1) diminishing marginal effect of policies, (2) policy adjustment is not timely and lacks details and operability, (3) coordination conflicts between the old and new policies, (4) unreasonable policy supply structure, and (5) the negative impact of subsidy policy is increasing. Therefore, this paper argues that China's renewable energy industry policy cannot effectively support the low-carbon energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential electricity consumption has an important impact on China's construction of a low-carbon society. However, at present, little of the literature analyzes the influencing factors of residents' overall well-being from the perspective of micro investigation. Based on the micro mixed cross section data of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this paper empirically studies the impact of residential electricity consumption on residents' subjective well-being. In addition, in the heterogeneity analysis, we found that an increase in residential electricity consumption will improve the overall well-being of females and people with low levels of education, but it has no significant effect on males and people with high levels of education. Moreover, the increase in residential electricity consumption has improved the life satisfaction of young people and middle-aged people. Meanwhile, the increase in residential electricity consumption has a significant, positive impact on both low-income and high-income households. Further analysis shows that no nonlinear relationship exists between the increase in residents' power consumption and the improvement in life satisfaction. This paper enriches the research on residential energy and provides policy implications for the current Chinese government to save energy, reduce emissions, and improve residents' quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of decline in energy intensity in four Chinese industries—pulp and paper, cement, iron and steel, and aluminum. This paper attempts to answer the following key question: For the purpose of promoting energy efficiency, do prices, technology, enterprise restructuring and other policy-related instruments affect various sectors uniformly so as to justify uniform industrial energy conservation policies, or do different industries respond significantly differently so as to require policies that are tailored to each sector separately? In this paper, we examine this question using data for China's most energy-intensive large and medium-size enterprises over the period 1999-2004. Our results suggest that in all four industries rising energy costs are a significant contributor to the decline in energy intensity over our period of study. China's industrial policies encouraging consolidations and scale economies also seem to have contributed to reductions in energy intensity in these four industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy poverty has multidimensional and dynamic nature and is hard to measure quantitatively. This paper combines AF double-cut-off method, and the duration analysis approach to develop both the CUEP index and CMEP index and utilizes the Cox proportional hazard model to check the role of energy efficiency in poverty alleviation. Results are based on data in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2018. The findings suggest that 75.887% of households are deprived of CUEP, and nearly 50% of the residents are suffering from CMEP in China. Additionally, nearly 33.546% of the households are deprived only in the dimension of affordability, and there is an obvious overlap between the incidence of two indexes, of which 42.372% of the households simultaneously suffer from deprivation in affordability, accessibility, and availability. Finally, the improvement in energy efficiency reduces the duration of energy poverty and increases the state transition of energy poverty. The presented concept and approach could be expanded to investigate energy poverty in other developing countries and assist policymakers to assess the benefits of energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how aspects of national culture may shape the design and implementation of public policy, using the example of energy policy in China. It focuses on cognitive style and on political and legal culture. China’s energy policies display a combination of pragmatism, incrementalism, internal contradiction and ambiguity. This is consistent with evidence from experimental psychology and history that the development of Chinese and East Asian cognitive styles have taken a path distinct from those of Western civilizations with their Greek philosophical heritage. These variations of cognitive style between cultures are reflected in brain function and genes. Policy implementation also bears features from imperial times in the political culture of China’s Communist Party and the contemporary legal system. These arguments reinforce existing calls for caution when seeking to transfer energy or other public policy approaches between countries with different cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both supply- and demand-oriented solutions are important in cleaning up the electricity sector. However, their successful deployment calls for the removal of various barriers. This paper looks at China's electricity industry, one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, by relating the regulatory framework to the environmental dimension of sustainable electricity development. It develops an analytical framework by drawing upon the literature on the deployment of supply- and demand-side solutions, regulatory governance, and environmental policy integration. The paper finds that, in China's electricity sector, environmental considerations are subordinate to economic and development goals in policymaking and enforcement. Under the current regulatory framework, regulatory policies/instruments are not conducive to removing barriers to the effective deployment of the solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines China's policy and position in relation to the evolving climate change negotiations in order to explain how China is dealing with the dilemma of meeting its growing development needs while reducing GHG emissions. It argues that global climate governance requires steering and leadership to deal with the interlocked political process; that the developing countries (DCS) right to develop is challenged by the need for ecosystemic standards especially as climate change is seen as a zero-sum game as the more one country emits the less another one can. This is especially problematic as Industrialized countries (ICS) appear to be both unwilling and unable to increase growth without increasing emissions. This explains China's policy of insisting on its right to develop, of demanding that ics reduce their emissions and that they fulfil their obligations under the FCCC, while expressing its willingness to take on a voluntary target. The paper argues that China's state-led transition has eight unique characteristics that may allow it to lead as it moves beyond a no-regrets policy to a circular and green economy, cooperating with other DCS and mobilizing conscious green values in citizens. The question remains--will the initial success and scale of state-led transition lead the global green transition to a sustainable world? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the post-Great East Japan Earthquake narratives and discourses related to various types of energies currently in use in East Asia. Methodologically, interpretive study and textual analysis of collected secondary literatures, media reports as well as some policy resources was conducted. It examines the factional interests, narratives, discourses and schools of thought influencing the outcome of energy issues or decisions as they are reported in the media or trade publications. It argues that decision-makers and policy implementers are not a hegemonic singular entity but encompass many factional interests and contesting agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the relationship between carbon emissions, economic growth and, energy consumption, in USA and China from the perspective of Granger causality, in a multivariate framework controlling for financial development, urbanization, and trade openness. Econometric techniques employed include unit root tests, Toda and Yamamoto Granger causality, and generalized impulse response and variance decomposition analysis for the time horizon 1980-2017. Test results indicate that governments of the USA and China cannot implement sturdier strategic energy policies in the long run without inhibiting the growth of the economy because of the bidirectional causative linkage between economic growth and energy use. A causal link does not exist between carbon emissions and financial development for both countries. Nevertheless, in the USA, there exists a unidirectional Granger causality controlling from energy consumption to financial development. In both economies, urbanization Granger causes CO2 emissions and energy use but the reverse does not hold. An upsurge in energy consumption and carbon emissions will lead to a surge in trade openness but not vice versa for China. A noteworthy result is that there is a substantiation of unidirectional causality from energy consumption to carbon emissions in both countries. In the USA, impulse response and variance decomposition analysis disclosed the effect of financial development is projected to have diminutive magnitude whiles in the future, energy use, economic growth, trade openness, and urbanization would influence carbon emissions significantly. The impacts of trade openness and financial development are expected to be of little importance in China. The general findings implied that urbanization, economic growth, and energy consumption influenced CO2 emissions significantly in the USA and China. Understanding these similar and contrasting situations is essential to reaching a global agreement on climate change affecting IMF's top 2 biggest economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to climate change, governments are developing policies to move toward ultra-low-energy or ‘zero-energy’ buildings (ZEBs). Policies, codes, and governance structures vary among regions, and there is no universally accepted definition of a ZEB. These variables make it difficult, for countries such as China that wish to set similar goals, to determine an optimum approach. This paper reviews ZEBs policies, programmes, and governance approaches in two jurisdictions that are leading ZEBs development: Denmark and the state of California in the United States. Different modes of governance (hierarchy: principal–agent relations, market: self organizing and network: independent actors) are examined specifically in relation to policy instruments (prescriptive, performance or outcome-based). The analysis highlights differences in institutional conditions and examines available data on energy performance resulting from a building policy framework. The purpose is to identify ZEBs governance and implementation deficits in China and analyse alternative governance approaches that could be employed in China, which is currently developing ZEBs targets and policies. Conclusions suggest that the ZEBs governance structure in China could benefit from widened participation by all societal actors involved in achieving ZEBs targets. China's ZEBs policies would benefit from employing a more balanced hybrid governance approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the ten years since committing to clean energy transition, China has formulated a large number of policies and programs to achieve some very ambitious targets. This paper argues that the dearth of empirical studies concerning the implementation of these new policies and programs has created a knowledge gap between official policy documents, which are vague and lacking in specifics, and official policy outcomes, which are unreliable. In particular, the merits and limitations of flexible implementation with regard to desirable outcomes need to be debated and clarified. This paper calls for more empirical investigation in four areas as a starting point: (1) the nature and extent of flexibility in the implementation; (2) implementation strategies and their impacts; (3) factors that shape the behavior of local officials responsible for implementation; and (4) the relationship between the central-local relation and policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time-varying dynamics of the transition to renewable energy reflect the effectiveness and efficiency of energy policy. This paper investigates renewable energy transition behavior in China using Markov regime-switching models. Two distinct phases, expansion and contraction, are identified based on the growth rates of renewable energy consumption share. We find that since China started its new-energy national strategy in 2005, there has been an extended period in which it has been in the expansion state, although it occasionally reverts to a contraction state. Intriguingly, we uncover that the timing of transition state changes can be explained by the changes in policy-related, market-based instruments and risk-related indexes. These findings present implications for policymakers in developing more precise and effective policies, that drives investment choices to align with the goal of a sustainable energy system. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural household energy consumption is an important component of national energy consumption. This paper explores the rural household energy consumption status and influencing factors on different sources of rural household energy consumption in western China. Using data from a survey of 240 households conducted in 2017, this study finds that rural households' energy consumption structure in the study area is a combination of traditional biomass energy and commercial energy sources. Fuelwood is the most commonly used fuel in the study area, while modern energy sources only occupy a low proportion. Rural household energy consumption is influenced by various factors. Individual perceptions of climate change, social trust and networks, and households' socio-economic and demographic factors (gender, age, education, income per capita, household size, household location, and number of household appliances) are identified as having significant effects on rural households' consumption of biomass and commercial energies. The research results provide implications for policy makers to formulate related rural energy policies to improve the rural energy consumption structure and future energy policy design in China and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2017, the Chinese government released the first special plan for the development of geothermal energy, named “ The 13th five-year plan for geothermal energy development and utilization (2016–2020) ”, which promotes the development of geothermal energy to the national energy strategic level. As a stable and low-carbon renewable energy, it is significant to develop geothermal energy to relieve air pollution and supply continuous base load power. This paper first introduces the resource endowments of geothermal energy in China, the current status and development targets of geothermal energy use, as well as series of related policies on China's geothermal energy. Then the economic, environmental and social benefits of geothermal energy development are analyzed respectively. Next, based on the PESTEL framework, this paper analyzes the unfavorable factors in the development of geothermal energy in China. Fourth, based on the PESTEL analysis results, we give some countermeasures and solutions for the future development of China's geothermal energy from two aspects of technology and policy. Finally, based on the above analysis, the corresponding conclusions and policy recommendations are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the decoupling states between CO2 emissions and transport development in China from 1994 to 2012. The results indicate that, at the aggregate level, the Chinese transport sector is far from reaching the decoupling state. Negative decoupling or non-decoupling years account for 72.2% of the study period. At the disaggregated level, the decoupling states between CO2 emissions and eight primary fuels are as follows: raw coal and coke are in the absolute decoupling state; crude oil, gasoline and diesel are in the weak negative state; and the other three types (kerosene, heavy fuel oil, and natural gas) are in the strong negative decoupling state. Policy implications underneath the identified decoupling states are also revealed to help China build a more sustainable transportation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently China's wind power industry is challenged by many problems such as wind power integration and wind curtailment, which seriously hinders the development of onshore wind power. Since China's policy has a direct and significant influence on wind power industry, it is vital to analyze and evaluate published policies. This paper explores in detail 134 China's onshore wind power policies from 2005 to 2015 so as to provide analytical support for future formulation and implementation of wind power policy. Based on policy summary from equipment manufacturing industry, wind farms and power grid industry, this paper evaluates the policies from the perspective of overall plan, support policy and policy implementation using fitting method, game theory and empirical analysis. The results indicate that China's wind policy is gradually becoming perfected, for example, there are more reasonable objectives and improved support policies. However, many problems remain to be solved, like unreasonable planning, imperfect support policies, immature trading systems and uncoordinated actions among interest related parties. Furthermore, combined with international experiences, suggestions on improving China's wind power policy are proposed from seven aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although energy supply security is an important long-term goal of the eu, member states are in control over external supplies and their domestic energy mix, and an overarching institutional structure is lacking. In this paper, we focus on the availability of oil and gas and the risks of supply disruptions for the eu. The last two decades have been marked by a decrease in fossil fuel production and increasing import dependence. Proven oil and gas reserves in the eu are very limited. Especially in the case of oil the outlook of both global and own eu reserves looks bleak. At the same time, global trends show an increasing demand for energy in the coming decades, concentrated mainly in developing countries, specifically in China. The Persian Gulf area and the Caspian Sea region hold some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, and these will make them increasingly significant in global markets. These factors create a setting for the eu of demand- and supply-induced and structural scarcity. The persistence of Arab patrimonial rentier states and societies are a domestic and geopolitical source of instability. These states’ Sovereign Wealth Funds are used by ruling elites to divert assets from socioeconomic development towards individual profit. Emerging Asian economies involved in the me and the cea, especially China, will influence the regions’ future geopolitical and geo-economic reality. China relies on resources for domestic development and the resource-rich Middle Eastern countries have long been a destination from which to acquire them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence on the relevance of modeling adequately the seasonal character of coal and electricity production across Chinese regions. Unlike other work, this paper relaxes the assumption of deterministic seasonality, allowing for time and regional variation in this economy. More specifically, we analyze and distinguish the type of seasonality around the year that prevails in the case of coal and electricity production of each individual Chinese province. Our results indicate that for the majority of the provinces seasonality is stochastic in both types of energy considered. Our findings provide new evidence of a Lunar New-Year effect in February and Summer as well as Winter effects in coal and electricity production. However, in terms of seasonal patterns and their evolution over time, there are significant differences between the Northern Southern regions. Besides for each type of energy, regional clusters matter for the appropriate design of energy-development policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses Chinese sub-national governments' implementation strategies to meet national energy efficiency targets in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010). Previous research has focused on the ways governance practices and decision-making structures shape implementation outcomes, yet very little attention has been given to what strategies local leaders actually employ to bridge national priorities with local interests. To illustrate how local leaders work politically, this paper highlights specific implementation methods officials use to strengthen formal incentives and create effective informal incentives to comply with energy efficiency mandates. The analysis is drawn from 53 interviews conducted in June and July of 2010 in Shanxi, a major coal-producing and energy-intensive province. Findings suggest that local government leaders conform to national directives by "bundling" the energy efficiency policy with policies of more pressing local importance or by "bundling" their energy efficiency objectives with the interests of groups with significant political influence. Ultimately, sub-national government officials frame policies in ways that give them legitimacy at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand Response (DR) has been extensively developed and implemented in the US and Europe. However, DR hardly exists in many developing countries for similar problems such as rigid power market and state monopoly. With the increasing imbalance between supply and demand in China's power industry, the government has issued new policies on DR and approved the first batch of pilot cities. China is setting a good example of how to encourage DR under monopolistic electric market and open up the market to aggregators and DR suppliers. This paper summarizes the current DR status, feasible DR market schemes and DR pilot projects in China. First, electric power system reform, renewable energy policies and power industry development are reviewed, highlighting the problems associated with the current dispatch mechanisms of DR policies and markets. New DR programs and DR-related policies are also introduced. On this basis, the driving forces and challenges associated with DR in China are analyzed. The major challenge is the lack of a suitable market mechanism for the current Chinese power industry. Hence, this paper presents six feasible strategies that fully utilize the existing policies. Additionally, the latest DR applications in different pilot cities are summarized and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambitious targets of peaking CO2 emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality before 2060 (Goal 3060) have emerged as the driving force in the development of China's low-carbon energy policy. Adopting a systematic review approach, this article provides a timely analysis of key Chinese renewable energy and energy efficiency policies under Goal 3060 across five sectors: electricity, industry, transportation, buildings, and local governments. In addition, the review identifies challenges to be addressed and offers policy recommendations. There are five main conclusions: (1) expedite the development of market-based and network-based governance systems; (2) pursue the harmonization of policies by avoiding contradiction and fragmentation; (3) develop new policies, especially in the building and transportation sectors; (4) embrace surveillance technologies to improve implementation and compliance; and (5) ensure just transition by implementing policy to reduce the negative socioeconomic impacts on fossil fuels-based communities and workers. This review serves as a useful guide for scholars interested in China's clean and low-carbon energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With important implications for global climate change mitigation, the development of a cap-and-trade emission trading scheme (ETS) in China is embedded in distinctive political, economic, and institutional contexts and has been attracting increasing attention in recent years. To offer a clear perspective on current research progress, this paper systematically reviews the recent literature on China’s ETS from three main aspects: mechanism design, policy and regional linkages, as well as impact assessment. The current research consensuses are summarized based upon detailed literature analyses and commentaries, and together with observations of international experience and China’s actual condition, the paper provides policy proposals for the development of China’s national ETS during 2016–2020. Finally, several important controversies in the current literature are discussed with regard to the practical demands of China’s ETS development. Five pressing topics that need to be further studied in the coming years are highlighted, including cap setting, allowance allocation among sectors and enterprises, carbon pricing, policy package and unified carbon market construction, as well as ex-ante and ex-post impact assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper examines how the efficacy of energy-saving policies can be improved through learning. Effective allocation of energy-saving targets is key to achieving China’s reduction targets for energy intensity. Despite growing research interest in the energy-saving target allocation system, details regarding the logic and rationale behind the modifications to the system since the 11th FYP period remain unclear. This paper contributes to the previous literature by applying the concept of policy learning to an analysis of how and from what sources the Chinese government has learned to improve its energy-saving target allocation system over the 2006–13 period. Our study finds that the Chinese government has developed a distinct policy style of “learning from multiple sources” that involves three primary sources: previous experience, local practice, and expert knowledge. Although the extant literature has previously identified these three sources of learning, most of this literature has focused on only one—or at most two—sources of learning at any given time. The uniqueness of policy learning in the energy-saving target allocation system consists of the co-existence of these three sources of learning in one case. This learning-oriented policy style is characterized by reflexivity, which allows current policies to be adjusted in a timely manner in order to alleviate prospective risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DSPV (Distributed solar PV) power, either located on rooftops or ground-mounted, is by far one of the most important and fast-growing renewable energy technologies. Since the second half of 2012, China has shifted from LSPV (large-scale solar PV) to DSPV and a series of policy to promote DSPV power deployment have been put in place. Unfortunately these policies were not well performed due to myriad constraints on DSPV power deployment across the country. Building mainly on non-academic sources including government documents and presentations, industry reports and presentations, media reports, and interviews, this paper firstly provides a comprehensive review of China's policy on DSPV passed between the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2014, then barriers associated with DSPV deployment are identified. This is followed by an account and discussions of recent policy changes since Sep 2014, and major local incentives. In addition, policy performance is briefly reviewed. At the end of the paper, conclusions and policy implications are provided. This paper provides an understanding of the recent DSPV policy progress in China and insights for policy makers in other economies which are experimenting DSPV power policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to assess the viability of wind energy projects in China, this paper takes a real options approach by accounting for flexibility over deployment of the technology in response to a stochastic non-renewable energy cost. The difference between the latter and the R&D-enhanced cost of renewable energy operation may be thought of as a benefit from using wind. On the other hand, the Chinese government provides feed-in tariffs to encourage further adoption of wind, which should be included as a cost. This work, thus, shows that there is substantial options value to China's wind energy program, which is bolstered if the cost of carbon dioxide emissions is internalized. Moreover, by varying the rate of feed-in tariffs, the model may be used to show plausible ranges for the feed-in tariffs, which could be a useful policy insight. Furthermore, the study hypothesizes that with the likelihood of renewable energy to replace non-renewable energy, wind power in China can potentially reduce CO 2 emissions by approximately 6.4% by 2020 comparing to the 2005 level and highlights the significant role of wind power in China's emission targets and energy security. This is a relevant paper, especially given the importance of a sustainable energy transition for China. More generally, using the real options approach from a policy perspective could provide insights about the viability of renewable energy programs and robustness of feed-in tariffs rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both developed and developing countries have committed to reduce their emissions through the increased use of renewable energy. This paper aims to compare renewable energy deployment in developed and developing countries represented by Australia and China. The paper firstly argues the validity of comparison of renewable energy deployment in Australia and China. Then, the governance structures in both countries are compared; the paper also compares management mechanisms in terms of funding and incentive support, renewable energy grid-connection and coordination between different levels of governments in both countries. Moreover, the current status of renewable energy development in two countries is summarized. From the study, it can be concluded both countries have set a Renewable Energy Target and promulgated legislation and regulations to enlarge the scale of renewable energy; China shows a stronger commitment to renewable energy than Australia. However, Renewable Energy Certificate mechanism is implemented more effectively in Australia than in China. The paper suggests: augmenting and rebuilding the electricity network and strengthening coordination between different levels of governments for both countries; enhancing manufacturing facilities and incentives for the solar and wind industry for Australia, while developing more-detailed implementation legislation and renewable power quota system for China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a conceptual study that examines the viability of the construction of the Kra Isthmus within the context of the five dimensions of megaproject success of Sovacool and Cooper (The governance of energy megaprojects: politics, hubris, and energy security, )-social (governance), technological (systems), democratic (politics), externalities (economics, ecology), and risks assessments (accountability), and its possible impact on China's strategic energy supply chain. One of the objectives of this study is also to discuss the current impacts, perceived benefits, and risks of China's dependence on its multinational and transnational pipelines. China could see the construction of Kra Canal as an alternative option for its strategic sourcing activities especially crude oil and gas at much lower costs. The megaproject would become a passageway that connects the Indian Ocean, Andaman Sea, and the Gulf of Siam at the choke point of Isthmus region in Thailand. However, this megaproject could also trigger the internal conflicts of Thailand, and affect the ASEAN countries' political and economic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the domestic sources of the internationalization of national oil companies (NOCs) in China and India. It argues that – counter to notions of state-led internationalization – the going abroad of NOCs reflects a pattern of ‘coopetition,’ i.e., the co-existence of cooperation and conflict between increasingly entrepreneurial NOCs and partially supportive and interventionist home governments. In China, the state has predominantly assumed the role ofresource supplier, rarely stepping in as aveto player. In India, the NOC–government relationship has been more adversarial, with the state intervening more often as aveto playerthan its Chinese counterpart and only slowly emerging as aresource supplier. These patterns of internationalization can be explained by how two major trends have been playing out in the two countries: (1) the marketization of NOCs, and (2) the reform of the governance of overseas investments. The findings matter to theory and policy. First, they unpack the relational dynamics of business–government relations in hybrid models of capitalism beyond notions of top-down and bottom-up dynamics. Second, our analysis shows that the state intervenes in the international energy strategies of emerging economies as the occasional veto player rather than actively leveraging NOC internationalization for geopolitical goals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Contagion tests through mean and volatility channels are developed based on an exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic model to investigate the effects of China's 2009–2020 solar power policies on the economic performance of different sectors. By examining the fluctuations in the daily stock prices of nine major economic sectors in China, we show the transmission mechanisms of policy shocks and find evidence that China's major solar energy policies, including feed-in tariffs, solar subsidies, and market-based instruments, have significant effects on most of the studied sectors in China through both mean and volatility contagion channels. Among the three types of policies, feed-in tariffs and solar subsidies are found to be the most effective instruments in improving sector performance, while market-based instruments have the least effect. The risk premium effect is weak, but the asymmetric effect is strong, suggesting that market volatility responds considerably less to positive news than to negative news for the majority of sectors investigated. • The highlights of this paper include. • The impacts of China's 2009–2020 solar industry policies on its sector performance. • Policy contagion is developed to identify how policy shocks affect economic sectors. • Feed-in tariffs and solar subsidies are found to be effective instrument. • Significant asymmetric effect is observed in major economic sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The recent rapid development of distributed PV (photovoltaic) industry in China closely ties to the relevant policies support. This paper reviews some main points of relevant policies including financial support, technology innovation and management improvement. Scenario analysis both in residential sectors and industrial and commercial sectors are taken into account. We calculate IRR (internal rate of return) and static payback period of a specific distributed PV system in China's five cities located in different resource areas. In order to provide a realistic reference for investors, the historical data from real projects are used to calculate the generating capacity. The impacts of relevant policy variables such as subsidies, benchmark price, electricity price and tax on economic performance of distributed PV system are discussed. The results show that distributed PV system with high generation efficiency has produced good economic benefit in both two scenarios under China's current policies. The current policy instruments on distributed PV industry are efficient. At the end of the paper, policy recommendations are offered as references for the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, the population is expected to continue to grow together with construction of new buildings. Consequently, the energy demand required by the building sector will inevitably rise. This paper focuses on the Chinese residential sector and describes the structure by using the EfB—energy for buildings model. Using this tool it is possible to simulate the trend of the energy demand until 2030. A range of different scenarios – at national and regional level – is presented and discussed, including government plans and the application of some proposed recommendations. The analysis suggests that the energy consumption in this sector will not stop its growth and in 2030 it will comprise between 9500 and 14,000 PJ. Meaningful energy savings can be achieved with the introduction of more aggressive policies and behavioural change. Many difficulties have been faced in this work because of the complexity and rapid evolution of the Country; anyway, it can be considered as a starting point for future research. Among further improvements, the paper suggests the introduction of a more complete description of the building types, the association of the floor area evolution to the construction sector activity and the inclusion of economic and environmental evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is vast, abundant and particularly plentiful in energy sources, due to which it has obtained remarkable achievements on economy. However, its energy structure is too simple to support the sustainable development of economy as coal still contributes to the majority of energy consumption in China. As a consequence, Renewable Energy Law was enacted in 2005, and Chinese government announced a series of policies to boom renewable energy industry. Subsidy policy is one of the major forms of these policies. This paper aims to present these subsidy policies and to analyze their effects according to relative data in energy industry 2005–2013, to find out the deficiencies and enlighten possible policy improvements. The original intentions and abstracts of 5 different levels of subsidy related policies are summarized, and the effects in reality are attentively analyzed. It can be concluded that subsidy policies have different short-term effect on different renewable energies, and they all show some negative effect to a certain extent. 6 core problems are summarized in this paper, and remedy strategies are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roof is an effective energy efficiency measure to reduce the building cooling load in summer and heating load in winter, in addition, it can add ecological benefit and landscape value to the community. Therefore, it has attracted extensive attention worldwide. This paper studies the selection of planting materials, plant configuration patterns and plant growth medium of the green roofs in China, and presents the researches on ecological benefits, thermal performance, and applications of the green roofs in China. This paper also introduces and analyzes the green roofs development policies in China, including the incentive mechanism, laws and regulations, and finally presents the analysis and suggestions on their application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the research topics of China's energy transition policy and predicting future research trends are crucial for policymakers to make informed decisions and advance the energy transition. This study applied the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to extract 26 major research topics from the 13,976 abstracts of Chinese policy research papers in web of science (WOS), conceptualized the five most popular topics and used the ARIMA model to predict trends over the next 36 months. The results show that except for Economic and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption (Topic13), which will first experience unanticipated fluctuations and then show strong growth capacity, all other topics will continue to remain positive growth trend. Research and Development (Topic3) is driven by the urgency of China's energy transformation. Economic and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption (Topic13) is driven by the potential for the development of renewable energy. Economic Impact of Climate Change (Topic26) is driven by the climate change debate. Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Energy Consumption (Topic7) is driven by a discussion of their relationship and the mechanisms influencing them. Regional Efficiency and Productivity Analysis (Topic19) is driven by regional differences in China's energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is often referred to as a global benchmark for the energy transition. Regarding energy sustainability, China's strategies and policies might be viewed as either highly innovative or detrimental. Considering the Chinese economy, population, consumption, and pollution rates, the country's energy transition decisions are deemed major determinants for the present and future global energy sustainability, resilience and related conditions. This paper aims to provide a measure and definition of these phenomena to characterize selected aspects, highlighting China's global and regional status. To this end, an interval-based composite indicator assessment is reviewed, indicating that China holds a mid-tier status in terms of energy sustainability relative to global standards. Therefore, energy security standards serve as the foundation for China's transition path to ensuring a clean, renewable and sustainable energy supply and resilience in the future conditional to universal and democratic energy justice achievement. • China's energy transition, resilience and sustainable development are analyzed. • An interval-data composite indicator is constructed. • The global and regional status of China in energy change is measured. • Energy security standards serve as the foundation for China's transition path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing transformation of the world's energy system requires detailed power-system models that help plan a cost-effective and reliable integration of variable renewables and demand-side resources. The quality and depth of the results of these models depend on the existence of trustworthy, complete, and high-resolution data on extant electric power assets and the demand they serve, wind and solar resources, and projections on costs and performance of technologies that could be developed during the next three decades. This paper assesses the quality of China's power system's publicly available data compared to the U.S. It concludes that despite growing use of power system models to inform and analyze Chinese energy policy, the availability of necessary data is still a significant barrier that severely limits the transparency, replicability, relevance, and usefulness of their results. • Ongoing energy system transformation requires detailed power-system models. • Usefulness of models' results depends on reliable, complete high-resolution data. • Paper proposes criteria to assess the quality of publicly available data for models. • Publicly available data for China's electric power system is scant and low quality. • Filling data gaps will inform decisions for a sustainable electric power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With environmental problems have become a global concern, large number of environmental policies have been enacted worldwide. Though improving personal willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection is key objective of environmental policies, existing literature overlook the micro relevance of environmental policies and lacks the exploration of the relationship between environmental policies and WTP and related mechanisms. To fill the research gap, this study took China's energy-related environmental policies as a typical example, drew wisdom from policy feedback theory to develop a theoretical framework, and used CGSS 2018 data to analyse interpretative effect and resource effect of related policies on WTP. The empirical results show that policies have a positive impact on WTP of approximately ¥1.19, but this impact comes with complex mechanisms. On the one hand, policies increase energy knowledge, thus improving WTP (interpretative effect); on the other hand, policies alleviate energy poverty, which further reduces WTP (resource effect). The positive interpretative effect is larger than negative resource effect. The robustness of findings is confirmed by adjusting the samples, measurements and models. This study is among the first to examine the influence mechanism of environmental policies on personal WTP through the lenses of interpretative and resource effects and reveals an unexpected consequence of policies. Accordingly, this study provides policy recommendations for environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a major energy consumer, however, related empirical research on China's unequal energy consumption is very limited. Therefore, according to the data from 30 provinces and cities, this study aims to establish a simulation model to analyse the Gini coefficient (the Lorenz curve) of China's energy consumption, and identify the main factors affecting the Gini coefficient through dynamic scenario analysis. During the simulation cycle (from 2022 to 2081), the average Gini coefficient of energy consumption fluctuates between 0.30 and 0.41, which indicates the inequality is slightly high. But the maximum value fluctuation ranges from 0.40 to 0.50, which indicates the inequality is high. The author also found that three factors—technological level, government subsidies, and growth rate of energy supply—can significantly affect the Gini coefficient of energy consumption. It is necessary to promote the technological level, increase subsidies for energy production, and promote the growth of total energy supply to significantly reduce inequity in energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper brings together the key concepts of policy learning and central-local relations to examine how the efficacy of sustainability policies can be improved, with a particular reference to pricing policies for wind energy in China. Based on our comparative case studies of three provinces, Guangdong, Shanghai and Xinjiang, we critically examine how central-local relations may facilitate or impede policy learning. Our analysis focuses on policy changes at the national level, including the move away from the tendering policy to a fixed-price policy in 2009, and the diversity of local policy responses, which include a local fixed-price policy in Guangdong, a two-tiered model in Shanghai and a de facto fixed-price policy in Xinjiang. We have three major key findings. First, we found that technical and conceptual forms of policy learning have taken place in China, but the progression towards the highest form of policy learning, social learning, is limited. Secondly, we found that the established fabric of central-local relations has created facilitating conditions for as well as limitations to the advancements towards social learning. A national policy framework, a multi-level governance system, institutional arrangements for knowledge creation and learning, and a more participatory form of governance for civil society are some of the facilitating conditions. However, over-centralization, the inertia against institutional changes and the failure to recognize the need for a more deliberative decision-making process are identified as key barriers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: China''s PV industry has developed rapidly in recent years due to the dramatic demand from the world market. In contrast, until 2010 China''s domestic PV market has been very small due to lack of sufficient incentives in the country to promote domestic PV deployment. However, since early 2009 many incentives have been implemented in China. The paper makes an analysis on China''s solar PV incentive policies, particularly the national FIT scheme. Policy recommendations are made with regard to the promotion of the domestic solar PV market, including the construction of an effective national FIT scheme, the imposition of renewable portfolio system as well as the establishment of sound technical and administration standards for the grid-connection of PV systems. The paper contributes to the academic literature over China''s solar PV power policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently, energy production in China fell behind energy consumption. This poses important challenges for the rapidly growing Chinese economy. As a consequence, the causal relationship between energy consumption and GDP is an important empirical issue. This paper examines Granger causality between energy consumption and GDP in China using province-level data. The current paper extends the Granger causality analysis employed in previous studies by taking into account panel heterogeneity. Specifically, four different causal relationships are examined: homogeneous non-causality (HNC), homogeneous causality (HC), heterogeneous non-causality (HENC), and heterogeneous causality (HEC). HC and HNC hypotheses are rejected for causality in either direction, from GDP to energy or from energy to GDP, which implies that the panel made up of Chinese provinces is not homogeneous. Then, heterogeneous causality tests (HEC ad HENC) are conducted for each province. For the causality running from GDP to energy, 19 provinces exhibit HEC and 11 provinces exhibit HENC. For the causality running from energy to GDP, 14 provinces exhibit HEC and 16 provinces exhibit HENC. The results suggest that the Chinese government should incorporate a regional perspective while formulating and implementing energy policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Overcapacity in China's coal industry has serious negative impacts on the rational allocation of coal resources and stable operation of the national economy. Since 2016, the Chinese government has implemented a series of de-capacity policies to optimise coal production capacity. Timely policy effect assessment is of great significance to the government to guide high-quality development of the coal industry. This paper first reviews the dilemma encountered by China's coal industry prior to 2016, and then analyses the progress and effect of coal industry de-capacity. The main results are as follows: (1) The capacity reduction is mainly distributed in the central and southwestern regions. Most of the coal mines are state-owned, and there is a prominent worker resettlement problem. (2) The capacity optimisation policy has accelerated the implementation of the overall spatial planning of China's coal supply. China's coal production centre has shifted from the central and eastern regions to the west, and the industry's high-quality development pattern has taken shape. (3) China's coal industrial profitability has constantly been improving, industry concentration has increased significantly, and coal mining has become safer. (4) Due to the regional heterogeneity, the de-capacity policy effect has significant differences in coal production capacity and employee reduction in various regions. Finally, regarding the optimisation of China's coal production capacity, some policy implications are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This research studies the low carbon transition of the electric power sector in China using a multi-level perspective (MLP) of niches, socio-technical regime, and landscape, as well as literature on innovation systems. Three lines of thought on transition process are integrated in the paper to probe the possible transition pathways in China. A MLP analysis is presented to understand the current niches, regime, and landscape of China’s power sector. A brief analysis on the future macroscopic socio-economic transition in the process of industrialization, urbanization, and modernization of Chinese society and its implication on power landscape are depicted to prove the urgency and magnitude of transition in China and why systematic transition management is needed. Five transition pathways, namely reproduction, transformation, substitution, reconfiguration, de-alignment/re-alignment, and reconfiguration, with their possible technology options are presented. The paper goes further to propose an interactive framework for managing the transition to a low carbon energy system in China. Representative technology options are appraised by employing innovation theory to indicate the logic of policymaking within the framework. Institutional gaps in realizing the transition are also addressed. The work presented in the paper will be useful in informing policy-makers and other stakeholders and may provide references for power sector transition management in other countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since 2005, there has been dramatic progress in China''s wind power industry. The annual growth rate of newly constructed capacity reached a miracle of 105% and the total installed capacity has increased from 1.27GW in 2005 to 44.73GW in 2010, which has exceeded the target of China''s energy long-term planning for 2020. During the 11th Five-Year-Plan (FYP), the Chinese government has issued a series of polices to promote and regulate the development of wind power industry, which is the underlying force driving its rapid development. This paper is a systematical review on the current status and policies of wind power industry in China. Firstly the current status including achievements and shortcomings is presented, and then the relevant polices and regulations released during the period of 11th FYP are reviewed. Meanwhile, the main approaches of the policies and regulations in promoting the development of wind power industry are discussed and the issues of the current policies are analyzed. Finally, the paper concludes on the perspectives of wind power policies in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The issues of energy shortage and environmental pollution caused by energy subsidies are more serious in a massive energy-consuming country like China. Since the Group of 20 summit meeting on September 4, 2016, government leaders have confirmed that they will phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. In this paper, we construct a computable general equilibrium model to analyze the impact of different de-subsidization policies based on possible reduction targets, mitigation routes, and reform periods. The results show that a nonlinear tendency in gross domestic product will emerge with the increasing intensity of de-subsidization targets. Moreover, there is a general macroeconomic recession both in output and consumption, where the prices have generally increased. The results also show that various mitigation routes of de-subsidization policy are slightly significant economically. However, the total removal of energy subsidy in one year will obtain an opposite conclusion with better social welfare and gross domestic product, but more carbon emissions and energy consumption. Overall, a medium target (50-90%) with an average reduction during 2010-2030 could be more suitable for China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between the green economy and green jobs in China through the following question: Can the current GHG mitigation policies in China’s power generation sector bring more jobs to China? Using both analytical and input–output models this paper analyzes the direct and indirect employment impacts of two main mitigation policies in the power generation sector. This paper proves that the above-mentioned question is not simple. Mitigation policies in China’s power generation sector from 2006 to 2009 caused a total of 44 thousand net jobs losses. However, as the share of renewable energy that has an indirect employment impacts increased in 2010, the policies from 2006 to 2010 actually resulted in 472 thousand net job gains. This paper asserts that to ensure the co-existence of green economy and green jobs in China’s power generation sector, policy makers should further promote solar PV, biomass and wind technologies. In 2010, for every one percent increase in the share of solar PV generation there could be a 0.68% increase in total employment in China, larger than any other power generation technology. Finally, this paper argues that a matching educational system and personnel structure is also needed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Low carbon electricity is essential for China''s low carbon development. In the paper low carbon electricity is defined as an economy body manages to realize its potential economic growth fueled by less electricity consumption, which can be characterized by indexes of GDP electricity intensity and CO2 emissions per unit electricity generation. IRSP is proposed by Hu to implement power planning on state level in deregulated power sector and is used in the paper to study China''s power planning into 2030. A business-as-usual scenario is projected as baseline for comparison while low carbon electricity development based on IRSP is studied. Results show that, with IRSP, China could save energy by 1.5 billion toes and reduce CO2 emission by 5.7 billion tons, during 2010–2030. Super Smart Grid (SSG) must be constructed as the physical foundation of IRSP. The main components of developing SSG in China are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article the author discusses aspects of China's energy future consisting oil, natural gas and nuclear power sectors. He comments on the issues related to the country's energy sector development which include the objective of energy policy, energy source endowment in relation to population size, and the locations of energy sources and consuming market. It notes that China's 6th Five Year Plan of 1981-1985 is the pillar of its energy policy.