Policy Paper: Analyzing Steps to a Low Carbon Economy in China

This policy paper examines the steps taken by China to transition towards a low carbon economy, focusing on the country's efforts to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable energy practices. The paper highlights the significant role of fossil fuels in global energy consumption and the urgent need to limit temperature rise. It analyzes China's economic growth and its impact on energy use, detailing the government's initiatives, including energy conservation programs, the closure of inefficient power plants, and the promotion of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. The paper also explores pilot programs for low-carbon city development and supportive economic policies, such as energy management organizations. It provides an overview of the challenges faced and the progress made, with a focus on China's contributions to reducing sulfur dioxide emissions and setting carbon dioxide emission peak targets. The paper references various studies to support its findings and provides a comprehensive analysis of China's strategies for achieving a low-carbon future.

POLICY PAPER
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A POLICY PAPER ON STEPS TO A LOW CARBON ECONOMY
Background
Fossils fuels represent to the tune of 81% of energy that is used all around the world. Even with
the increasing attention on renewable sources, the amount of fossil fuels in the energy matrix has
changed to a very little extent since 1990. Even as well as acting as the supply of our needs of
energy, the fossil fuels is one main carbon emission source which fuel changes in the climate
(Cheshmehzangi, Xie & Tan-Mullins, 2018).
The heritage of human movement on planet implies that a few dimension of environmental
change is presently inescapable. Be that as it may, there is still time to restrict the degree of
temperature to rise below 2°C, rather than the 3 to 5°C ascent we are as of now confronting. For
this to occur, we should accomplish zero net greenhouse-gas emissions universally before the
centuries over (Jabbour et al., 2015).
Somewhere in the range of 1980 and 2000, China accomplished a quadrupling of its total
national output (GDP) with just a multiplying of energy utilization. In light of patterns of these
two decades, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA 2004) assessed that China's
carbon dioxide discharges would not get up to speed to the world's then biggest carbon producer,
the United States, until 2030 (Zhang, 2016). China's use of energy, be that as it may, flooded
after the turn of century, nearly multiplying somewhere in the range of 2000 and 2007.
In spite of comparable rates of monetary development as in the past two decades, the rate of
development in use of energy amid this period dramatically increased (Zhang, 2000). Therefore,
China turned into the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide in 2007. To turn around this
hidden pattern, China, for the first time, fused an info requirement into its five-year monetary

arranging. Specifically, the legislature required that amid the Eleventh FYP period (2006– 10),
energy use per unit of GDP ought to be cut by 20 percent
Action Program for top 1000 Enterprises Energy Conservation
Industry represents around 70 percent of China's all out energy utilization. To accomplish
China's 2010 objective of diminishing energy power by 20 percent, the administration put much
effort into changing the example of modern development. China investigated modern
arrangements that empower innovative advancement, fortify contamination controls and advance
mechanical updating as well as protection. On saving of energy, it set up the Top 1,000
Enterprises Energy Conservation Action Program in April 2006, including 1,008 developments
in nine key energy provider as well as energy buyer mechanical subsectors (Zhang, 2000). Every
endeavor expended no less than 180,000 tons of standard coal equal (tce) in 2004 and together
they represented 33 percent of national and 47 percent of mechanical use of energy. The program
meant to spare 100 million tce aggregately amid the Eleventh FYP (2006– 10).
In a bid to aid attaining energy saving as well as carbon power decrease objectives of Twelfth
FYP (2011– 15), in December 2011, the NDRC and 11 other Central Government associations
presented the 10,000 Enterprises Energy Conservation Low Carbon Action Program—an
extension of Top 1,000 program. The expanded program included 16,078 undertakings,
including modern and transportation activities that in 2010 devoured 10,000 tce or more and
substances in different parts that expended something like 5,000 tce (Iceland, 2011). Together,
these ventures devoured somewhere around 60 percent of country's energy that year. The
program expected to spare an aggregate 250 million tce amid the period 2011– 15.

Compulsory closure of relatively small power plant and constructing bigger units
The development of bigger, more efficient and cleaner units, before the finish of 2012, 75.6
percent of fossil fuel– fuel units had limits of 300 MW or higher, contrasted and 42.7 percent in
2000 . The cumulative effect of closing little, inefficient control plants and building bigger, more
efficient ones saw the normal grams of standard coal expended per kilowatt hour (gce/kWh) in
power produced decrease to 326 gce/kWh by 2012—a 12.8 percent decrease contrasted and the
2005 dimension of 374 gce/kWh
As the Chinese economy enters the 'new typical', the arrangement of structure more efficient
fossil fuelled control plants is being displaced by limitations on all-new coal age offices. On 23
March 2016, the National Energy Administration requested 13 common governments to quit
issuing endorsements for such plants until the finish of 2017. It likewise guided 15 regions to
stop the development procedure for new coal--fuelled control plants that had just been affirmed
Zhang, 2015). This was an outcome fundamentally of changed economic situations for fossil-
fuelled control utilities, which face a more noteworthy danger of advantage write-downs and
planned resource stranding because of relocation by sustainable power sources, falling usage
rates and lower than anticipated interest for power.
Using renewable energy
The Chinese Government at first upheld sun powered energy through 'Brilliant Sun' speculation
appropriations. Following quite a while of just exploiting abroad requests to drive down the
expense of assembling sun oriented boards, a sun based power advertise was made, with the
foundation of sunlight based power feed-in tariffs in July 2011 (Zhang, 2015). By examination,
wind control had benefited from offering based tariffs since 2003. In August 2009, nonetheless,

this steady arrangement for wind control was supplanted with feed-in tariffs. Under the new
strategy, four territories were assigned for wind energy advancement dependent on the nature of
wind energy assets and conditions for building development. On-lattice tariffs were set as needs
be as benchmarks for wind control ventures.
Pilot program for low carbon city development
China started trying different things with low-carbon city improvement in ve territories and
eight urban communities on 19 July 2010. The analysis was extended to a second bunch of 29
territories and urban areas on 5 December 2012. These pilot urban areas and regions are making
efforts towards:
 fortifying mechanical rebuilding and innovative redesigning;
 improving the energy blend as well as energy efficiency;
 organizing the utilization of open transport (Trusts, 2011)
 advancing efficient open transport frameworks; and
 upgrading the urban scene
All the while, these urban areas have, in any case, stood up to an assortment of issues and
difficulties, including however not restricted to the nonattendance of sound carbon bookkeeping
frameworks, absence of low-carbon specific assessment frameworks, insufficient government–
undertaking collaborations and unnecessary spending reliance ashore concessions. While these
are territories that need improvement, there are empowering signs that the low-carbon
experimental run program is moving the correct way
A NDRC assessment uncovered that in 2012, 10 areas of two clumps of pilots had effectively
diminished their carbon force by 9.2 percent contrasted and their 2010 dimension and contrasted

and the national normal of 6.6 per penny (Price, Wang & Yun, 2010). Moreover, all pilot areas
and urban communities have set 2030 or before as the objective for the carbon dioxide outflows
top despite the fact that this was not commanded by Central Government at the time the test
cases programs were propelled. Shanghai and Suzhou are among the 15 pilot areas and urban
areas that have set 2020 as the year for their top in carbon dioxide emanations. Ningbo, a key
mechanical port city in Zhejiang territory, set its pinnacle outflow target as of 2015
Supportive economic policies
From 1997 during when the World Bank presented the idea of energy the board organizations
(EMCs) to China, the administration has likewise pushed forward this component to advance
energy reserve funds. The framework grants EMCs RMB240 for each ton of standard coal
comparable spared, with extra pay of no under RMB60 for each ton of standard coal
proportionate spared by nearby governments (Liu & Kokako, 2010). China had just three EMCs
in 1998. By 2005, that number had expanded to more than 80, and to more than 800 by 2010. As
if a consequence of these motivations and the expanding number of firms to which they apply,
the absolute yearly energy funds by EMCs expanded to 13 million tce by 2010—up from
600,000 tce in 2005
Because of these approaches, recently introduced desulphurisation limit in 2006 alone was more
noteworthy than the joined aggregate over the past 10 years, and had achieved 30 percent of
absolute introduced heat limit (Ma, 2011). Coal-fuelled control units introduced with FGD
expanded from 53 GW in 2005 to 630 GW by 2011. That year, the extent of coal--fuelled units
with FGD rose to 90 percent of complete introduced warm limit—up from simply 13.5 percent in
2005. Before the finish of 2009, China had diminished its sulfur dioxide discharges by 13.1

percent contrasted and its 2005 levels, 3 and had met its 2010 focus of a 10 percent cut one year
in front of timetable.

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