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District Energy Systems in China
The People's Republic of China’s district heat network is the world’s largest. In 2015, it consumed more energy than the entire United Kingdom. While progress is being made, the total impact of energy use and emissions from district heating and even district cooling – on the Chinese economy, on local air quality and health, and on the overall well-being of China’s population – is nevertheless significant. China has great opportunities of lowering the environmental footprint of its district energy system. While the country has pursued assertive public policy decisions in recent years, it is essential to elevate…
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Partner Country Series - Gas Pricing: China’s Challenges and IEA Experience
…term, but notable challenges remained, particularly concerning gas pricing and the institutional and regulatory landscape. While China’s circumstances are, in many respects unique, some current issues are similar to those a number of IEA countries have faced. This report highlights some key challenges for China in its transition to greater reliance on natural gas, then explores in detail relevant experiences from IEA countries, particularly the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States as well as the European Union. Preliminary suggestions about how lessons learned in other countries could be applied to China’s situation are offered as well.
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The Role of Gas in Today's Energy Transitions
…push to improve air quality.Gas has substituted for coal-fired industrial and residential boilers in many urban areas, but the case for switching in the power sector is less clear. There has been relatively less switching in Europe since 2010, with the notable exception of the United Kingdom.However today’s combination of low gas prices and higher CO2 prices in the European Union is giving this process renewed momentum.In India, gas currently has a small share of the energy mix.Large-scale switching has been held back by supply constraints and affordability issues, as well as a la...
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Railway Handbook 2015
Produced in collaboration with the Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer The collaboration of the IEA and the UIC in collecting, elaborating, and presenting activity, energy, and CO2 emissions data was carried out for the fourth time through the release of the Railway Handbook 2015. For this edition, significant methodological improvements were implemented leading to better consistency between the different indicators presented in this Handbook, in addition to updates of the global data, as well as regional breakdowns for those regions that we consider the most relevant from the point of view of transport activity: European Union, USA, Japan, Russia…
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Railway Handbook 2016
Produced in collaboration with the Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer The production of the Railway Handbook 2016 has been an important opportunity to strengthen the collaboration between the IEA and the UIC. This relationship has served to enrich and improve the knowledge of activity, energy and emissions data associated with the railway sector. Part I of this year’s Handbook is dedicated to presenting the most significant data and trends concerning energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the rail sector, focusing on the most important Regions in terms of rail activity, namely EU 28, USA, Japan, Russia, India and…
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Will new PV manufacturing policies in the United States, India and the European Union create global PV supply diversification?
Renewables 2022 This report forms a component of Chapter 4 of Renewables 2022 and addresses a key question in renewable energy markets. The high level of geographical concentration in the global PV supply chain has led the European Union, India and the United States to introduce policy incentives to support domestic PV production. This could result in an unprecedented expansion of PV manufacturing outside of China in the next five years. However, diversifying manufacturing will be possible only if production costs fall to ensure competitiveness with the lowest-cost producers (e.g. in China and ASEAN countries) in both the short and…
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Biofuel Policy in Brazil, India and the United States
…sustainable biofuels. The sharing of best practices, the technical support and the capacity building that the GBA would bring are welcome additions to international efforts to expand sustainable biofuel production and use, a key step to decarbonising transportation and heat services with secure and affordable energy supplies. This report aims to inform and focus the Alliance’s work by sharing biofuel policy insights from Brazil, India and the United States. We find that these countries have expanded biofuel production and use by designing long-term strategies, implementing the right investment signals, supporting innovation, ensuring supplies are secure and affordable, addressing…
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Turning a Liability into an Asset: Landfill Methane Recovery in India
…generate electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to earn carbon emission reduction credits (e.g. 40% for the United States, 25% for Australia). Many projects in developing countries are taking advantage of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to earn carbon credits by capturing and combusting methane (e.g., the Sudokwon Landfill in Republic of South Korea, the Bandeirantes Landfill in Brazil and the Nanjing Tianjingwa Landfill in the People's Republic of China). These Landfill Gas-to-Energy (LFGE) projects provide a valuable service to the environment and a potentially profitable business…
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Cleaner Coal in China
Cleaner Coal in China China’s coal, mined locally and available at a relatively low cost, has brought enormous benefits to energy consumers in China and to those outside the country who enjoy the products of its coal-based economy. Yet from another perspective, China’s coal use has a high cost. Despite progress, health and safety in the thousands of small coal mines lag far behind the standards achieved in China’s modern, large mines. Environmental degradation is a real and pressing problem at all stages of coal production, supply and use. Adding to these burdens, emissions of carbon…
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Cleaner Coal in China
The People’s Republic of China’s rapid economic growth has aroused intense interest around the world. Policy makers, industrialists, investors, environmentalists, researchers and others want to better understand the issues that this populous nation faces as it further develops an already thriving economy largely fuelled by coal. This study sheds light on the Chinese coal supply and transformation sectors. China’s coal, mined locally and available at a relatively low cost, has brought enormous benefits to energy consumers in China and to those outside the country who enjoy the products of its coal-based economy. Yet from another perspective…