Fact Sheets

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ChinaFAQs_US_China_Renewable_Energy_Partnership.pdf

Key Points:

• The US-China Renewable Energy Partnership (USCREP) is matching US cleantech firms with opportunities in Chinese markets.
• The USCREP undertakes tasks in the key areas of improving wind and solar technologies, integrating renewable power with existing electric power grids, developing international standards and testing protocols for new energy technologies, and collaborating on policies to spur advancement of renewable energy technologies.
• American companies, such as Boston-based Second Wind, are already benefiting from USCREP-fostered cooperation in terms of potential job creation and expanding exports.

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ChinaFAQs_11th_5-Year_Plan_Energy_Conservation.pdf

Key Points

• China’s mounting energy demand spurred by rapid economic growth prompted important energy-saving measures in its 11th Five Year Plan.
• Researchers found that many projects conceived to improve energy intensity were on track to meet or surpass their goals, while others have lagged.
• The study offers recommendations for strengthening future efforts.

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ChinaFAQs_China's_Energy_and_Carbon_Emissions_Outlook_2050.pdf

Key Points

• A new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory finds that, with a continuation of current policies, China’s energy consumption will reach a plateau before 2040 (95% of plateau level by 2030 or 2035) and its CO2 emissions will peak around 2030.
• Many sectors will “saturate” as China reaches its maximum amounts of residential and commercial floor area, roadways, railways, appliances per household, and associated energy-intensive structural materials (iron and steel; cement) in the time period between 2030 and 2035. The result will be the slowing of energy demand growth as it becomes driven by replacement needs instead of new demand in the market.
• The report suggests that, by continuing to strengthen the implementation of its energy efficiency policies and programs, to provide incentives to switch to less energy-intensive industries and less carbon-intensive energy supply technologies, and to innovate to improve and expand financial incentive mechanisms, China will be able to meet its goal of reducing CO2 emissions intensity by 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2020 as announced in the Copenhagen Accords.

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ChinaFAQs_U.S_China_at_the_Summit.pdf

Questions Addressed:

1. What are the U.S. and China doing together to make progress on climate and energy issues?
2. What are the opportunities and challenges for U.S. – China business cooperation on clean technology and public-private partnerships?
3. What did the U.S. and China agree to in Cancun?
4. What important steps is China taking on climate and energy?
5. What steps can we expect China to take in the coming year?
6. Are the United States and China’s Cancun commitments sufficient to avert catastrophic climate change?

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ChinaFAQs_China's_New_Emissions_Inventory.pdf

Key Points

• China is expected to release its second national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in 2012.
• In the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, China pledged to start reporting its emissions every two years going forward.
• Although producing the inventory poses a significant challenge, a recent study concludes that China is developing a reporting system that should make the inventory reliable enough for outsiders to assess whether China is making progress toward meeting its Copenhagen pledge to curb emissions.
• Both China and the United States have developed special expertise in various aspects of emissions reporting. Collaboration on this issue could bring mutual benefits and help deepen trust between the two nations.

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ChinaFAQs_Atmospheric_Changes_Reveal_Chinas_Energy_Trends.pdf

Key Points

• At a measuring station near Beijing, US and Chinese scientists are collecting unique measurements of carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in air that has passed over one of China’s most industrialized, urbanized regions. This record provides an independent view of China’s efforts to improve energy efficiency.
• Comparing CO₂ levels with carbon monoxide (CO) levels serves as an independent indicator of overall trends in efficiency of fuel combustion in this critical region.
• The record shows a pattern of improved combustion efficiency from 2005 to 2008, consistent with energy efficiency policies pursued under the 11th Five Year Plan, in particular the goal to reduce energy intensity by 20%.

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ChinaFAQs_U.S_China_Collaboration_on_Energy_and_Climate.pdf

Key Points

• Collaboration between the United States and China, the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, will be key to scaling up the technologies needed to curb climate change and reduce costs.
• The two nations have collaborated for over 20 years on energy and climate issues, and recently agreed to a new, wide-ranging set of cooperative efforts.
• Collaboration can deliver tangible benefits to both nations and the world at-large, including new markets for U.S. technologies, better monitoring of China’s emissions, and lower global costs of controlling emissions.

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ChinaFAQs_Taking_Steps_to_Capture_Carbon.pdf

Key Points

• “Carbon capture and storage” (CCS) is one widely-discussed approach to curbing global greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is to capture the carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced by power, chemical and steel facilities and then store it underground.
• Both the U.S. and China are interested in CCS because they rely heavily on burning coal to produce electricity. Coal is the source of some 80% of China’s emissions of carbon dioxide.
• Collaboration between the U.S. and China on CCS could help speed technology development.
• Cooperation is key to driving down costs for U.S. utilities and taxpayers, and enabling the U.S. to continue to benefit from its vast coal reserves, a source of energy independence and employment.

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ChinaFAQs_Fast_Track_to_Curbing_Emissions.pdf

Key Points

• China is investing heavily in building 10,000 miles of high-speed passenger rail over the next decade that will carry trains traveling at up to 217 miles per hour.
• The system, which will connect most of China’s major cities, could produce significant gains in energy efficiency if travelers shift to the new trains from aircraft and autos.
• High-speed rail could also help unclog China’s rail freight lines, leading to more energy-efficient cargo transport, according to a recent analysis.

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ChinaFAQs_Fuel_Economy_Standards_in_China.pdf

Key Points:

• In 2004, China adopted its first nation-wide fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles. They are considered to be the world’s third toughest, behind Japan’s and Europe’s.
• The standards – which called for average auto efficiency to improve by 15% by 2010 over 2003 levels – have produced significant gains, even though Chinese cars have become heavier, more powerful, and are more often equipped with automatic transmissions and pollution-control devices that can reduce efficiency.
• China has since expanded the standards to cover light-duty trucks, and is eyeing further measures to improve the fuel economy of its motor vehicles.