Post-2020 Climate Change Regime Formation

6  China’s transition toward a low-carbon economy

A review of the 11th Five Year Plan

Ye Qi and Hui-min Li

Introduction

China’s economic reform dates back to 1978 when the central government decided to turn the focus of the nation from political campaigns to economic development. From 1978 to 2000, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) was quadrupled, and the energy consumption was doubled. Thus the energy intensity was cut by half. As the nation entered the new century, the accelerated industrialization posed new challenges in energy use, the share of energy-intensive heavy industry increased quickly (Figure 6.1), and the overall energy intensity reversed from a decreasing trend to a sharp increase. The energy intensity (measured by energy consumption ...