Building energy consumption quotas: a policy tool toward sufficiency?

Panel: 1. The dynamics of limiting (energy) consumption

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Shan Liu, Division of Building Energy Efficiency, Center of Science and Technology & Industrialization Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
Adam Hinge, Sustainable Energy Partnerships, USA
Shan LiuGuo, Division of Building Energy Efficiency, Center of Science and Technology & Industrialization Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, ChinaSiyue
Siyue Guo, TsinghuaUniversity Building Energy Research Center, China
Bin Hao, Shenzhen Institute of Building Research, China
Yuanyuan Lu, Shenzhen Institute of Building Research, China

Abstract

As the level of building construction has grown in China over the past decade, with annual building construction levels surpassing two billion square meters of new construction each year, China has been investigating new regulatory mechanisms to reduce building energy use.One method being considered as part of the government policy to reduce the growth rate of building energy consumption (and resulting greenhouse gas emissions), is the development of “energy consumption quotas” for buildings, essentially setting an energy intensity limit for different building types within a given climate zone.

Experts and regulators in China have been investigating limits, or quotas, on the amount of energy that can be used by the building sector; then a target is set for total building energy use in a province or city, which can then be extended down to apply to individual buildings.

The building energy quota concept has been advanced into a Chinese National Standard promulgated in 2016 (the National Standard for Civil Building Energy Consumption, GB/T 51161-2016).

This paper focuses on how quota consumption limits have been applied in other industries, methods for developing appropriate quotas for different building types, potential compliance mechanisms for enforcing the quotas, and prospects for implementation in the near future.