Energy conservation in China's Twelfth Five-Year Plan period: Continuation or paradigm shift?

Abstract

The release of the Twelfth Five-Year Guideline for National Economic and Social Development in March 2011 marked the beginning of China's Twelfth Five-Year Plan (12th FYP) period (2011-2015). Energy conservation continues to be a national priority. Since the release, new energy conservation policies and programs have been announced by many central ministries in accordance with the 12th FYP. Is this the beginning of a new paradigm or merely a continuation of the 11th FYP model? This paper describes and analyzes key changes in energy conservation since 2011, including a more conservative national energy conservation target, a more logical way of breaking down the target, new sectoral targets, ..