The People's Republic of China is both the world's largest energy consumer and the largest industrial country. China is currently the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and coal in China is a major cause of global warming. China is also the world's largest renewable energy producer, and the largest producer of hydroelectricity, solar power and wind power in the world. The energy policy of China is connected to its industrial policy, where the goals of China's industrial production dictate its energy demand management.
Being a country that depends heavily on foreign petroleum import for both domestic consumption and as raw materials for light industry manufacturing, electrification is a huge component of the Chinese national energy policy.
Summary
+ Energy in ChinaIEA Key World Energy Statistics 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2009 , 2006 IEA October, crude oil p.11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15 Population (million) Primary energy TWh Production TWh Import TWh Electricity TWh CO2 emissions Mt 2004 1,296 18,717 17,873 1,051 2,055 4,732 2007 1,320 22,746 21,097 1,939 3,073 6,028 2008 1,326 24,614 23,182 2,148 3,252 6,508 2009 1,331 26,250 24,248 3,197 3,503 6,832 2010 1,338 28,111 25,690 3,905 3,938 7,270 Change 2004–10 3.3% 50% 44% 272% 92% 54% Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, excludes Hong Kong.
Environment and greenhouse gas emissions
Between 1980 and 2000, China's emissions density (its ratio of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions to gross domestic product) declined sharply. The country quadrupled its GDP while only doubling the energy it consumed. No other country at a similar stage of industrial development has matched this achievement.
On June 19, 2007, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency announced that a preliminary study had indicated that China's greenhouse gas emissions for 2006 had exceeded those of the United States for the first time. The agency calculated that China's emissions from fossil fuels increased by 9% in 2006, while those of the United States fell by 1.4%, compared to 2005. The study used energy and cement production data from BP which they believed to be 'reasonably accurate', while warning that statistics for rapidly changing economies such as China are less reliable than data on OECD countries.
The Initial National Communication on Climate Change of the People's Republic of China calculated that carbon dioxide emissions in 2004 had risen to approximately 5.05 billion metric tons, with total greenhouse gas emissions reaching about 6.1 billion metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent.
In 2002, China ranked 2nd (after the United States) in the list of countries by carbon dioxide emissions, with emissions of 3.3 billion metric tons, representing 14.5% of the world total.Data source Dioxyde de carbone (), émissions en mille tonnes de (CDIAC) , United Nations. Retrieved 2005-04-09. In 2006, China overtook the US, producing 8% more emissions than the US to become the world's largest emitter of emissions. However per capita China was ranked 51st in emissions per capita in 2016, with emissions of 7.2 tonnes per person (compared to 15.5 tonnes per person in the United States). In addition, it has been estimated that around a third of China's carbon emissions in 2005 were due to manufacturing exported goods.
Energy use and carbon emissions by sector In the industrial sector, six industries – electricity generation, steel, non-ferrous metals, construction materials, oil processing and chemicals – account for nearly 70% of energy use.
In the construction materials sector, China produced about 44% of the world's cement in 2006. Cement production produces more carbon emissions than any other industrial process, accounting for around 4% of global carbon emissions. By 2023 most of its installed electricity capacity came from renewable energy.
National Action Plan on Climate Change China has been taking action on climate change for some years, with the publication on June 4, 2007, of China's first National Action Plan on Climate Change, and in that year China became the first developing country to publish a national strategy addressing global warming. The plan did not include targets for carbon dioxide emission reductions, but it has been estimated that, if fully implemented, China's annual emissions of greenhouse gases would be reduced by 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2010. Other commentators, however, put the figure at 0.950 billion metric tons.
The publication of the strategy was officially announced during a meeting of the State Council, which called on governments and all sectors of the economy to implement the plan, and for the launch of a public environmental protection awareness campaign.
The National Action Plan includes increasing the proportion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources and from nuclear power, increasing the efficiency of coal-fired power stations, the use of cogeneration, and the development of coal-bed and coal-mine methane.
In 2007 China stated that the (now reversed) one-child policy prevented 300 million births, saving 1.3 billion tons of emissions based on average world per capita emissions of 4.2 tons at 2005 level.
11th Five-Year Plan Beginning with the 11th, each of China's five year plans have sought to move China away from energy-intensive manufacturing and into high-value sectors and have highlighted the importance of low-carbon technology as a strategic emerging industry, particularly in the areas of wind and solar power. The plan set a national energy intensity target. of a 20% reduction. It was identified as a "binding target" and focused on throughout the Plan's implementation.Policymakers viewed emissions reductions and energy conservation as the highest priority environmental matters under the 11th Five-Year Plan.
12th Five-Year Plan Successful achievement of emissions and energy conservation targets in the 11th Five-Year Plan shaped policymaker's approach for the 12th Five-Year Plan, prompting expanded use of binding targets to capitalize on successes in these areas.
In January 2012, as part of its 12th Five-year Plan, China published a report 12th Five-year Plan on Greenhouse Emission Control (guofa No. 41), which establishes goals of reducing carbon intensity by 17% by 2015, compared with 2010 levels and raising energy consumption intensity by 16%, relative to GDP. More demanding targets were set for the most developed regions and those with most heavy industry, including Guangdong, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Tianjin. China also planned to meet 11.4% of its primary energy requirements from non-fossil sources by 2015.
The plan will also pilot the construction of a number of low-carbon Development Zones and low-carbon residential communities, which it hopes will result in a cluster effect among businesses and consumers.
To facilitate carbon trading and to more broadly help assess emissions targets and meet the transparency requirements of the Paris Agreement, the Plan improved the system for greenhouse gas emissions monitoring. This was the first time that carbon emissions trading had featured in one of China's Five-Year Plans.
The plan also provided for the development of an ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission corridor to increase the integration of renewable energy from the point of generation to its point of consumption.
In addition, the Government will in future include data on greenhouse emissions in its official statistics.
Carbon trading scheme In a separate development, on January 13, 2012,China set to launch first caps on emissions New Scientist, 2012-01-17 the National Development and Reform Commission announced that the cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen, and the provinces of Hubei and Guangdong would become the first to participate in a pilot carbon cap and trade scheme that would operate in a similar way to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. The development follows an unsuccessful experiment with voluntary carbon exchanges that was set up in 2009 in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.
Fossil fuels
Coal
+ Coal in China (Mt)IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2015, 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2009 , 2006 IEA coal production p. 15, electricity p. 25 and 27 Production Net import Net available 2005 2,226 47 2,179 2008 2,761 nd 2,761 2009 2,971 114 3,085 2010 3,162 157 3,319 2011 3,576 177 3,753 2015 3,527 199 3,726 Excludes Hong Kong
Coal remains the foundation of the Chinese energy system, covering close to 70 percent of the country's primary energy needs and representing 80 percent of the fuel used in electricity generation. China produces and consumes more coal than any other country. Analysis in 2016 shows that China's coal consumption appears to have peaked in 2014. According to Global Energy Monitor, China's government has limited the hours of 40% of coal-fired power stations built in 2019, due to overcapacity in electricity generation.
As part of China's efforts to achieve its pledges of peak coal consumption by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, a nationwide effort to reduce overcapacity resulted in the closure of many small and dirty coal mines. Major coal-producing regions like Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shanxi instituted administrative caps on coal output. These measures contributed to electricity outages in several northeastern provinces in September 2021 and a coal shortage elsewhere in China. The National Development and Reform Commission responded by relaxing some environmental standards and the government allowed coal-fired power plants to defer tax payments. Trade policy was adjusted to permit the importation of a small amount of coal from Australia. The energy problems abated in a few weeks.
In 2023, China accounted for about two-thirds of the global increase in coal capacity, commissioning 47.4 gigawatts (GW) of new coal plants. This level of expansion represents the largest annual increase in coal capacity initiated by any country since 2015.
Petroleum
China's oil supply was 4,855 TWh in 2009 which represented 10% of the world's supply.Energy in Sweden 2010, Facts and figures Table 47 Global supply of oil, 1990–2009 (TWh)
Although China is still a major crude oil producer, it became an oil importer in the 1990s. China became dependent on imported oil for the first time in its history in 1993 due to demand rising faster than domestic production. In 2002, annual crude petroleum production was 1,298,000,000 barrels, and annual crude petroleum consumption was 1,670,000,000 barrels. In 2006, it imported 145 million tons of crude oil, accounting for 47% of its total oil consumption. By 2014 China was importing approximately 7 million barrels of oil per day. Three state-owned oil companies – Sinopec, CNPC, and CNOOC – dominate its domestic market.
China announced on June 20, 2008, plans to raise petrol, diesel and aviation kerosene prices. This decision appeared to reflect a need to reduce the unsustainably high level of subsidies these fuels attract, given the global trend in the price of oil.Rise in global oil price dents China's petrol subsidy policy
Natural gas
China's natural gas supply was 1,015 TWh in 2009 that was 3% of the world supply.Energy in Sweden 2010, Facts and figures Table 50 Global supply of gas 1990–2009 (TWh)
CNPC, Sinopec, and CNOOC are all active in the upstream gas sector, as well as in LNG import, and in midstream pipelines. Branch pipelines and urban networks are run by city gas companies including China Gas Holdings, ENN Energy, Towngas China, Beijing Enterprises Holdings and Kunlun Energy.
China was top seventh in natural gas production in 2010.IEA Key energy statistics 2010 and IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2011 October pages 11, 21