Executive Director of the U.S. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Peter Lehner said on Tuesday that his group was excited about the opportunity to put in place "effective and aggressive" energy efficiency measures in China.
Speaking at a forum on Demand Side Management (DSM) - which focuses on the management of energy consumption - in China, Lehner said the NDRC had been collaborating with China's central and provincial governments on a wide range of DSM initiatives over the past decade, including training programs for officials, exchanges and study tours.
The NRDC has established a new non-profit organization in the United States - the China-U.S. Energy Efficiency Alliance - in hope that the alliance would facilitate coordination among DSM experts, providers of energy efficiency technologies and government officials to help China achieve its energy efficiency targets, he added.
The alliance is working with its Chinese partners to develop specific incentive programs that will best fit China's characteristics, he said.
"China is one of the most promising countries in the world for significant advances in sustainable energy and environmental policies," Lehner said.
Based on a thorough analysis of energy efficiency opportunities in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors, the NRDC believes that energy efficiency can meet between 29 to 56 percent of China's 2014 electric load growth forecast, which is the equivalent of avoiding the construction of 530 to 730 new coal-fired power plants.
China has achieved a remarkable average annual economic growth rate of nearly 10 percent over the last decade. Yet increasing prosperity and a rapidly growing economy have come dramatic and unsustainable increases in energy demand.
According to the Energy Research Institute of China's National Development and Reform Commission, the average electricity consumption in China jumped by 13 percent each year between 2001 and 2004. As the world's fastest growing energy consumer, two-thirds of China's energy comes from coal, which the government recognizes is not a long-term solution to meeting future energy needs.
Source: Xinhua
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