China sets cap on energy use

[bananas]

Source: Xinhua

China on Wednesday issued an energy development plan to cap primary energy consumption at 4.8 billion tonnes of standard coal equivalent per year by 2020.

The share of non-fossil fuels in its total energy mix will rise to 15 percent by the same year, according to a plan released by the State Council.

To meet the targets, annual coal consumption will be held at 4.2 billion tonnes until 2020, which is 16.3 percent more than the 3.6 billion tonnes burned last year, according to statistics from China National Coal Association.

Energy self-sufficiency rate will be boosted to around 85 percent and clean energy, such as natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy will be favored. Installed nuclear power capacity is expected to reach 58 million kilowatts by that year.

Read more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=253473

[bananas]

1. "Will the Chinese meet or even beat their target? Yes, for four reasons."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/19/3593567/china-climate-target-peak-coal-2020/

China To Cap Coal Use By 2020 To Meet Game-Changing Climate, Air Pollution Targets

by Joe Romm Posted on November 19, 2014 at 9:35 am

The Chinese government announced Wednesday it would cap coal use by 2020. The Chinese State Council, or cabinet, said the peak would be 4.2 billion tonnes, a one-sixth increase over current consumption.

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The 2020 coal peak utterly refutes the GOP claim that China’s recent climate pledge “requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years.” Indeed, independent analyses make clear a 2020 coal peak announcement was the inevitable outcome of China’s game-changing climate deal deal with the U.S. last week, where China agreed to peak its total carbon pollution emissions in 2030 — or earlier.

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Will the Chinese meet or even beat their target? Yes, for four reasons.

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The fourth reason the Chinese will meet — and likely beat — their CO2 commitment is that they know it can be done and that doing so will not only be critical to maintaining their political influence worldwide, but to their ongoing leadership in solar, wind, batteries, electric cars, and the other key job-creating industries of the future. That’s what their analysis shows, and that’s what other analyses show ...

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[Fred Sanders]

2. Once again showing there are pros and cons to competing economic and political systems.