The government has given conservation top priority in its
long-term energy policy, with the country feeling the pinch of
supply shortages since last year.
The new philosophy represents a distinct shift from a previous
focus solely on energy exploitation.
The transformation, however, will be a decade-long and
challenging campaign that requires an overhaul of the whole
economic structure, huge investment in upgrading oil refineries and
power plants, and cultivation of energy-saving habits.
Last week, the State Council approved a draft of China's energy
development program for 2004 to 2020. It is the nation's first
long-term energy policy in almost half of a century.
Remarkably, the program lists energy conservation as its first
concern, along with other principles such as optimization of the
energy consumption mix, promotion of environmental protection and
energy security.
"The mode of economic growth should be transformed. Efforts
should be made to foster an energy conservation-oriented economy
and society," Xinhua News Agency quoted the State Council
report.
Experts said the concept of energy conservation has always been
more symbolic than a serious consideration of the matter.
"Now, the government has reached consensus following the current
energy shortfall," said Hu Jie, an engineer with a research
institution of the China National Petroleum Corp. "Reliance on
heavy energy consumption to drive the economy is not
sustainable."
China at present is suffering from the most serious energy
crunch since the late 1980s.
Two-thirds of the nation's area have been afflicted with
brownouts and regular blackouts since last year. Supply failure is
attributed to insufficient construction of new plants in the past
years, and rampant consumption rises in energy-intensive industries
such as steel, aluminum, cement and chemicals.
The electricity shortfall has triggered a chain reaction in the
supply of coal and oil: the coal stockpile dropped to a two-decade
low in April, while crude oil imports rose by a record 59 percent
year-on-year in May.
Government officials have started to worry that the energy
shortage and increasing imports would become a bottleneck hindering
economic growth, as well as a threat to the environment and to
national security.
China has ample room to improve efficiency in energy consumption
to alleviate the impact of the supply shortfall. According to a
report by the State Council's Development and Research Center,
China spends 13 percent of its GDP on energy, almost double the
level of the United States.
As an important move for energy conservation, Ni Weidou, a
thermal engineering professor with the Chinese Academy of
Engineering, said China should optimize the economic structure,
relying less on energy-intensive industries such as steel and
aluminum.
"There should be a balance between industrialization and energy
consumption," said Ni.
Meanwhile, new investment should be poured into improving
efficiency in power generation, transportation and housing.
Coal consumption per kilowatt-hour in Chinese power plants is 22
percent more than that in the United States, according to Ni.
In the booming housing sector, only 2.5 to 5.0 percent of new
housing meets energy conservation standards.
The Development Research Center's report indicates that China
could decrease its energy consumption from 3.2 billion tons of coal
equivalent to 2.4 billion tons by 2020, should effective
energy-saving approaches be taken.
The challenge, however, is that there is a lack of economic
incentives and legal systems to make energy conservation efforts
rewarding. For example, the cost saved by increasing coal-use
efficiency may not justify a huge investment in energy-saving
facilities, said Ni.
Education in energy-conservation consciousness is also
lagging.
"This is not an overnight strike, but long-term hard work," said
Hu.
(China Daily July 5, 2004)