CITIES: STEERIN

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BILIT

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he twenty-first century is already an urban one. Cities are pivotal to sustainability concerns – globalization, climate change, food

security, environmental protection, and innovation.

Today’s urban actors, both citizens and their leaders, have a major responsibility as trustees of the future: their present actions will influence

the shape and structure of cities, so that the generations to come may live healthy and contented lives.

This volume takes the reader straight to the heart of how cities work, and identifies contemporary trends, mechanisms and tools that can influence

current strategies and choices.

The authors show that urbanization is not a problem per se for sustainable development, but rather that cities, in all their diversity and complexity, offer solutions as well as challenges.

The reader will be inspired by vital analyses of the next decade’s windows of opportunity for sustainable urban growth.

F E A T U R I N G

> Papers by leading international experts and scholars> New perspectives from 80 cities across fi ve continents> Multiple maps, charts, timelines and thematic focus essays> A wealth of ideas for specialists and non-specialists alike (policy-makers,

administrators, concerned citizens, development professionals, entrepreneurs,journalists, students, and others)

A PLANET FOR LIFE S U S TA I N A B L E D E V E LO P M E N TI N AC T I O N

978-81-7993-131-8

PIERRE JACQUET, RAJENDRA K. PACHAURI

LAURENCE TUBIANA, EDITORS

STEERING TOWARDSSUSTAINABILITY

PIERRE JACQUET, RAJENDRA K. PACHAURI

LAURENCE TUBIANA, EDITORS

STEERING TOWARDS

SUSTAINABILITY

PIER

RE JA

CQU

ET, RA

JEND

RA

K. P

ACH

AU

RI

LAU

REN

CE TUB

IAN

A, ED

ITOR

S

cHina: moving towardS energy eFFiciency e n v i r o n m e n Tp a r T 2

A p l A n e t f o r l i f e96

China’s sustained average growth of 10.1% per year over the past 15 years has been accompanied by a quadrupled energy consumption. Notably, energy consump-tion increased by 30% between the years

2000 and 2005 – an amount representing more than the total energy consumption of a country like India. Today, China’s energy consumption is equal to nearly two billion tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE). The Inter-national Energy Agency’s “business as usual” sce-nario forecasts an additional 55% increase in China’s energy consumption by 2030.

government policieSThe Chinese government has become progressively aware of the importance of energy-efficiency improve-ments to sustained, long-term economic growth. In fact, energy efficiency is seen as a way to limit environ-mental degradation caused by coal-based electricity production and to promote more sustainable devel-opment. Above all, it is seen as a way to limit China’s dependence on imported energy.

Three slogans related to the government’s energy policies over the last thirty years illustrate this growing awareness: the 1983-1993 slogan, “Developing energy production on a large scale

CHINA: MOVING TOWARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY NILS DEVERNOIS, SENIOR RESEARCH OFFICER, SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AFD (AGENCE FRANçAISE DE DéVELOPPEMENT) PARIS, FRANCE

The Chinese government has promoted industrial energy efficiency for nearly thirty years. In the last six years, it has developed energy consumption standards for all new construction. The next challenge is to extend and enforce these new standards in existing residential buildings throughout China.

while contributing to savinga energy,” followed by “Producing and conserving energy are equally impor-tant,” replaced in 2003 by “Energy conservation and diversification of energy sources are our priorities.” In 2003 the Chinese authorities decided to put energy and the environment at the heart of their economic development plan, and started working towards a more balanced development – reflected in the new slogan, “Building a society that uses natural resources frugally and is environmentally friendly.”

While emphasising the speedy development of renewable energies (China now being the leading producer of solar photovoltaic energy), the Chinese authorities have also made energy conservation a major strategic focus in their national policy. They have launched large energy-efficiency programmes in all sectors of activity. Over the course of their 11th Five-year Plan, energy savings should repre-sent 560 million of tonnes of coal equivalent (TCE).1 It is within this context that the Chinese authori-ties adopted the 2007 Energy Conservation Law of the People’s Republic of China. This relatively

1. TCE or tonne of coal equivalent is 0.07 of a toe or tonne of oil equivalent, and equal to 780 square metres of natural gas.

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cHina: moving towardS energy eFFiciency chapTer 5

A p l A n e t f o r l i f e 97

comprehensive law sets out energy efficiency measures and objectives for various sectors of activity, and defines responsibility for implemen-tation and monitoring.

It is worth noting that the 11th Five-year Plan sets out a very ambitious objective of reducing the national economy’s energy intensity2 by 20% in 2006-2010, entailing an average reduction of 4% per year. In its annual report, China’s National Bureau of Statistics cites a 4.59% decrease in energy intensity in 2008, whereas the reduction achieved during the first year of the Plan was only 1.2%.

tHe urban contextChinese cities have undergone massive growth over the last 30 years. Currently, 43% of China’s total popula-tion lives in cities. There are nearly 17.5 billion square metres of urban buildings,3 of which 65% are residen-tial buildings. Over the last dozen years, approximately one billion square metres per year have been built, of which more than 600 million square metres of residen-tial buildings.

China has had energy consumption standards for new buildings since 2000. While the compliance rate for these standards was very low initially – about 2% in 2001 – it has since improved significantly, as provincial as well as national authorities conduct regular inspec-tions. Thus, the percentage of compliant new buildings rose from 21% in 2005 to nearly 90% in 2009. Taking these measures into account along with the enormous increase in total structures, 20% of all Chinese build-ings are now energy-efficient, compared to only 1% or 2% in 2000.

The Chinese authorities also launched several energy-efficiency retrofitting programmes to optimize energy consumption in existing buildings. In fact,

2. Energy intensity = energy consumption divided by unit of GDP.

3. There are 42 billion square metres of buildings in all of China. As a comparison, France has nearly three billion square metres of buildings, of which nearly 800 million square metres is residen-tial and commercial space.

according to the objectives of the 11th Five-year Plan, the entire building sector must reduce its energy consumption by 110 million TCE, of which one-third or approximately 27 million TCE will come from improving energy efficiency in existing buildings. The Chinese authorities have concentrated their efforts in the Northern provinces where the climate is harsh. The priority targets are 3.2 billion square metres of buildings with central heating systems. The five-year objective aims to renovate 150 million square metres, which will double to 300 million square metres in the next five-year Plan. It is worth noting that 150 million square metres represent only 6% of the residential buildings that could be renovated in the region, and that these energy-efficiency programmes depend upon heavy national subsidies. The latter are enhanced by provincial and municipal subsidies, which cover up to 75% of the costs.

In addition, the Chinese authorities have targeted about twenty “pilot towns” across China for various energy-efficiency experiments. The selected towns include some in China’s temperate region (where four months of heating and six months of cooling are needed), even though retrofitting operations will not take place there until the 12th Five-year Plan. These pilot experiments call for installing energy-consump-tion monitoring systems in the government’s office buildings and in large public and private buildings.

new approacHeS to move ForwardChina, like most countries, faces the usual barriers in moving from small-scale pilot projects to a full-scale programme. International experience has shown that successes occur in the experimental phases, and come primarily from initiatives developed at the local or regional level – rarely from national implementations. Experience has also shown that success in changing scale depends on a new approach and three essential factors: (1) identifying which technical and economic aspects of energy-efficiency measures to implement; (2) conceiving suitable financing mechanisms; and (3) mobilizing new participants in the programme.

e n v i r o n m e n Tp a r T 2

A p l A n e t f o r l i f e98 A p l A n e t f o r l i f e98

Solving technical and economic issues is the basic sine qua non. Knowledge of technical requirements is critical (should the building envelope be partially or totally insulated? What interventions are needed in heating, cooling or lighting systems? and so on), as well as what energy savings can be achieved for the money invested. Such analysis permits building owners to identify clearly the work to be done and the time needed for a return on their investment. It also allows decision-makers to identify the economic, technical and energy challenges resulting from various levels of retrofitting. Therefore, it helps guide energy-efficiency policies in a given climate region.

Conceiving new financing mechanisms is equally critical to the success of this change in scale. They should supply the resources necessary to respond to identified needs. Taking account of the amounts at stake, financing mechanisms cannot include long-term project subsidies, and favour recourse to the banking system owing to its ability to leverage funding. Furthermore, financing mechanisms should adapt to the range of elements that require financing, and to the needs of various participants and the multi-tude of beneficiaries. Financing mechanisms should encourage participation and should favour, as much as possible, the partial recovery of investment costs via energy (and thus money) savings. In addition, the financing mechanisms should favour the creation and growth of an energy-efficiency retrofitting market.

Finally, the successful transition from small-scale projects to large-scale programmes depends on mobilizing a large number of stakeholders. Various governmental ministries and administrative offices at the national, provincial and municipal levels must become involved. In many countries, govern-ment bureaucracies have difficulty working cross-functionally, especially when leadership is not clearly defined. Obviously, these efforts call for close association with the banking sector, as well as energy producers, energy service companies, project owners, construction companies, installers, manufacturers

and professional associations, as well as universities, laboratories and research scientists. These various participants should enter into a dialogue, learning to work together and to adapt to one another, to meet the set objectives. That dialogue is possible only if the government supports the creation of a framework for discussion and cooperation. In fact, the government should focus on defining energy-efficiency policies and programmes, as well as leading networks of stakeholders. It should also support jointly defined financing means and mechanisms, and promote policy implementation by all public and private economic agents. Its role is critical in addressing long-term energy and environmental concerns in a way that market forces alone cannot do.

These innovative approaches have already been investigated, in a 2006 research programme launched by the provincial authorities of Hubei and the City of Wuhan with the support of AFD4. The programme targeted public and commercial buildings. The first results were presented at a seminar in Wuhan in May 2009. The Franco-Chinese seminar was co-organized by AFD and the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Development. It brought together many of the stakeholders and participants described above, as well as representatives from all of the provinces in the Chiang Jiang (Yangtze) region. During a working group meeting held in Paris in October 2009, the Chinese authorities confirmed their government’s interest in pursuing this innovative approach and in developing discussion and cooperation groups in Wuhan and one other province. As a concrete demon-stration of the approach’s ability to achieve scale, the City of Wuhan simultaneously offered to carry out the retrofitting of one million square metres. n

4. AFD is the Agence Française de Development, the French bi-lateral development bank for aid and cooperation.

CITIES: STEERIN

G TO

WA

RD

S SUSTA

INA

BILIT

Y

he twenty-first century is already an urban one. Cities are pivotal to sustainability concerns – globalization, climate change, food

security, environmental protection, and innovation.

Today’s urban actors, both citizens and their leaders, have a major responsibility as trustees of the future: their present actions will influence

the shape and structure of cities, so that the generations to come may live healthy and contented lives.

This volume takes the reader straight to the heart of how cities work, and identifies contemporary trends, mechanisms and tools that can influence

current strategies and choices.

The authors show that urbanization is not a problem per se for sustainable development, but rather that cities, in all their diversity and complexity, offer solutions as well as challenges.

The reader will be inspired by vital analyses of the next decade’s windows of opportunity for sustainable urban growth.

F E A T U R I N G

> Papers by leading international experts and scholars> New perspectives from 80 cities across fi ve continents> Multiple maps, charts, timelines and thematic focus essays> A wealth of ideas for specialists and non-specialists alike (policy-makers,

administrators, concerned citizens, development professionals, entrepreneurs,journalists, students, and others)

A PLANET FOR LIFE S U S TA I N A BL E D E V E LO P M E N TI N AC T I O N

978-81-7993-131-8

PIERRE JACQUET, RAJENDRA K. PACHAURI

LAURENCE TUBIANA, EDITORS

STEERING TOWARDSSUSTAINABILITY

PIERRE JACQUET, RAJENDRA K. PACHAURI

LAURENCE TUBIANA, EDITORS

STEERING TOWARDS

SUSTAINABILITY

PIER

RE JA

CQU

ET, RA

JEND

RA

K. P

ACH

AU

RI

LAU

REN

CE TUB

IAN

A, ED

ITOR

S