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China’s energy consumption structure, which relies heavily on fossil fuels, has, on the one hand, weakened environmental sustainability at the national level, and also intensified the problem of climate change at the global level, on the other hand. It is therefore essential for policy-makers to adopt immediate measures to transfer to a trajectory of sustainable energy development with low carbon emissions. Using a decoupling index that describes the difference between energy consumption and economic development, this paper studied the process of decoupling in each province in China. Results showed that there was a phenomenon of weak decoupling in China as a whole, while North, Northeast, and East China have experienced rapid economic development and improved energy utilization efficiency, leading to a high level of decoupling. Neimenggu (Inner Mongolia) Province experienced both the highest energy consumption and economic growth, while Beijing and Guizhou Province showed the strongest decoupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of regional water and energy consumption is of great significance to improving regional resource utilization. This paper analyzed the water and energy footprints in different provinces of China, considering regional economic levels. The results indicate: (1) both the largest water footprint and water footprint per capita were in Xinjiang and agriculture had the largest value; (2) Shandong was the largest energy consumer, Ningxia had the largest energy footprint per capita, and coal occupied the largest proportion for the top five energy footprint provinces; and (3) the resource input–output efficiencies in Beijing and Fujian were high, while water and energy consumption were low and gross regional product was high, compared with the average value of China. The situations in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia were opposite. The change of consumption pattern for each inhabitant, the adoption of water-saving technology, and an increase to water-saving awareness would be helpful to decrease regional water consumption. An increase of regional energy use efficiency and a change to reduced energy consumption would contribute to the decreasing of regional energy consumption. More attention should be paid to renewable and clean Energies. In addition to solution from the local perspective, the virtual water trade and the energy product trade may relieve regional resource pressure in some extent, and the possible influencing should be considered at the same time. This paper could provide suggestions for regional resource utilization and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid growing number of automobiles, new energy vehicle is becoming one of approaches to mitigate the dependence of the auto industry on petroleum so as to reduce pollutant emissions. The Chinese government has promulgated a number of policies from the perspectives of industrial development, development plans, demonstration projects, fiscal subsidies and tax incentives with an aim to promote the new energy vehicle industry. This paper presents a comprehensive and critical review of the policy framework for new energy vehicles. The analysis shows that electric vehicle has been assigned a top priority in the future development of the automobile industry in China. Policy guidance and planning has played a vital role to the growth of new energy vehicle industry. However, this industry faces significant challenges related to technologies, industrial chain and social factors. Some core technologies are still in its infancy. Similarly, the market share of new energy vehicles is very small in spite of the preferential policies. The construction of supporting facilities and infrastructures has to be accelerated in order to accommodate the growing demands. There is a long way to go for the industrialization and popularization of new energy vehicles in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many uncertainties and risks in residential electricity consumption associated with economic development. Knowledge of the relationship between residential electricity consumption and its key determinant--income--is important to the sustainable development of the electric power industry. Using panel data from 30 provinces for the 1995-2012 period, this study investigates how residential electricity consumption changes as incomes increase in China. Previous studies typically used linear or quadratic double-logarithmic models imposing ex ante restrictions on the indistinct relationship between residential electricity consumption and income. Contrary to those models, we employed a reduced piecewise linear model that is self-adaptive and highly flexible and circumvents the problem of "prior restrictions". Robust tests of different segment specifications and regression methods are performed to ensure the validity of the research. The results provide strong evidence that the income elasticity was approximately one, and it remained stable throughout the estimation period. The income threshold at which residential electricity consumption automatically remains stable or slows has not been reached. To ensure the sustainable development of the electric power industry, introducing higher energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances and improving income levels are vital. Government should also emphasize electricity conservation in the industrial sector rather than in residential sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resource-development trajectory of developed countries after the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries can be portrayed as an ' environmental mountain' (EM). It is important for developing countries to decouple their resource use from economic growth and tunnel through the EM. In this study, we embedded the decoupling indicators for resource use and waste emissions into EM curves to quantify China's progress in tunneling through the EM over a specific time period. Five case studies regarding the conditions required for decoupling energy consumption, crude steel production, cement production, CO2 emissions, and SO2 emissions from economic growth in China were conducted. The results indicated that during 1985-2010 the trajectories of energy consumption, and CO2 and SO2 emissions in China met the requirements for tunneling through the EM, but the trajectories of cement and steel production did not. Based on these results, suggestions regarding China's environmental policies are provided to enable the country to tunnel through the EM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]