Building Energy Efficiency Policy in Chinese Cities and Comparison with International Cities

Building energy efficiency policy in Chinese cities and comparison with international cities

Wei Feng, Hongyou Lu, Xu Liu, Luke Sherlock Xia Wang Nan Zhou & Virginie Letschert C40 Cities Chongqing University Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 3 Queen Victoria Street, City 174 Shazheng St, Shipingba One Cyclotron Road, MS90R2121 London, EC4N 4TQ Chongqing, 400044 Berkeley, CA 94720 UK China USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Jing Hou [email protected] Tsinghua University [email protected] Haidian District, Beijing, 100084 [email protected] China [email protected]

Keywords cities, renewable energy, buildings, energy efficiency policy,net U.S., the building sector represents about 40 % of the coun- zero energy try’s primary energy consumption (US EIA, 2018a), among which urban buildings energy consumption takes more than 90 % of the whole building sector energy use. China, Abstract as the top energy consumer and GHG emitter e country, has Buildings consume approximate 30 % of the world total prima- witnessed a fast increase of building energy use, due to the ry energy annually. With the fast urbanization in the world, fast-expanding construction activity and infrastructure de- urban buildings are the major energy consumer and green- velopment. By 2016, the building sector of China accounted house gases emitter around the world. In China, residential, for approximately 20 % of the country’s total primary energy commercial and public buildings in cities consume 80 % of consumption (Tsinghua University, 2018) and 25 % of GHG China’s building sector total energy use. To control the fast emissions (LBNL, ERI and RMI, 2016). Between 2001 and increase of building energy consumption, cities in China 2016, the energy consumption in China’s building sector more have issued policies to improve energy efficiency and reduce than tripled from 300 million tons of coal equivalent (Mtce)

CO2 emission. This paper presents four Chinese cities (Bei- to 906 Mtce (Tsinghua University, 2018). Cities in China, even jing, Fuzhou, Qingdao, and Shanghai Changning) in terms of though host 55 % of the country’s population, consume 80 % policy framework and experiences on energy efficiency and of the country’s primary energy in its building sector. With renewable energy utilization in buildings. Different aspects the continuous urbanization process and increase of people’s of policies in Chinese cities are discussed, including: existing living and comfort criteria, it is estimated that energy use in building retrofit, ultra-low energy buildings, and renewable urban buildings will continue to increase. Therefore, there is energy application. To contrast the Chinese cities’ policies, an immediate need to advance policy and improve energy ef- several international cities building energy efficiency poli- ficiency in buildings. cies and best practices are compared. Recommendations for The purpose of this paper is to introduce policies that Chi- Chinese cities to further develop building energy efficiency nese cities have taken to improve energy efficiency and encour- policies are given. age renewable energy adoption in buildings emanate by the Chinese central government. The paper firstly reviews Chinese central government past and on-going policies for energy effi- Introduction ciency in buildings. Then, this study selects four Chinese cities: Buildings consume approximate 30 % of the world primary Beijing, Fuzhou, Qingdao and Shanghai (Changning district). energy (IEA, 2017). With the rapid urbanization process, These cities are located in different climate zones and with dis- buildings in cities contribute a significant portion of energy tinct characteristics. The authors discuss the policy measures consumptions and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. In the that are chosen by each city. The paper follows by introduc-

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Table 1. Building Energy Efficiency Requirement in th13 Five-Year Plan (2016–2020).

Indicator 2015 2020 Five-Year Type Change Urban new building energy efficiency improvement (%) [20 %] Control Urban green buildings percentage in total new building 20 % 50 % [30 %] Control construction (%) Green materials percentage in urban new building construction [40 %] Projection (%) Existing residential building energy efficiency upgrades (m2) [500,000 m2] Control

Existing commercial building energy efficiency upgrades (m2) [100,000 m2] Control

Average residential unit heating energy intensity decrease (%) [-15 %] Projection

Urban level commercial building unit overall energy intensity [-5 %] Projection decrease (%) Urban building level renewable energy proportion of overall power 4 % 6 % (projected) [2 %] Projection (%) Energy efficient residential building in all residential buildings (%) 40 60 (projected) [20 %] Projection

Rural buildings that utilize energy efficiency measures in 10 (projected) [10] Projection developed areas (%)

Source: MOHURD, 2017.

ing the experiences of international cities as well as their poli- As such, Chinese cities are making concerted efforts to im- cies which are compared to the ones of Chinese cities. Finally, plement their own building energy efficiency policies and pro- based on the policies comparison, recommendations are given grams to support the ambitions of the 13th FYP. The cities select- to Chinese cities for the adoption and implementation of build- edhere, Beijing, Fuzhou, Qingdao, and Shanghai’s Changning ing energy efficiency policies. District, are working to accelerate building energy efficiency policies aligned with their wider policymaking priorities. These 4 pilot cities who are the leaders in 4 different policies to im- Building Energy Policies in China plement China’s 13th FYP. Beijing is the first city in China pilot Reflecting on the importance of the building sector in de- and launch ultra-low energy new construction; Qingdao is the livering China’s emissions reduction targets, a range of en- pilot city to conduct residential building retrofit; Fuzhou has ergy efficiency policies have been established by China’s na- implemented very comprehensive policies to promote renew- tional 13th Five-Year Plan (FYP) (2016–2020), as shown in able energy utilization in buildings; and Shanghai Changning is Table 11, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The “Control” type of targets are mandated the first city and district participate voluntary existing building goals, and the “Projection” type of policies are reach targets, energy efficiency improvement. i.e., recommended to be reached by 2020. Beijing: Piloting Ultra-Low Energy Buildings The City of Beijing, located in China’s Cold Climate Zone, has a 2 1. Urban new building energy improvement is measured against the national and population of 22 million with more than 1 billion m construc- local building codes and standards. Performance will need to improve by 20 % dur- tion space exists (CABEE, 2017). In order to control energy ing the 13th FYP. Since energy efficiency codes and standards are often mandatory in China, any improvement in codes and standards will result in new construction use and reduce CO2 emissions from buildings, Beijing has de- performance improvements. veloped several policies to improve the energy efficiency of the 2. China has its own green building standards, often called “three-star standards”. city’s building stock, as outlined in the 2016 Beijing Civil Build- The standards specify three tiers, from low to high performance: one-star, two- th start, and three-star. Like the U.S. green building council LEED standards, the Chi- ing Energy Saving Development Plan for the 13 Five-Year Plan nese green building standards cover comprehensive building performance such as (Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural energy, water, indoor environment, and so on. This policy calculates the percentage of green buildings by taking the total floor space of buildings rated at least Development and Beijing Development and Reform Commis- “one-star” or above and comparing this with the total amount of new construction. sion, 2016). As the capital city of China, Beijing would like to 3. Green buildings materials represent energy efficient and environmental friendly be the first city to leap forward from the requirements of cur- materials applied in new construction. This policy measures the amount of floor th space of buildings which employ green building materials and compares this with rent building energy standards. In the 13 FYP, the city setup the total new construction floor area. a target on the promotion of “ultra-low energy buildings” and 4. Urban building level renewable energy proportion of overall power: This policy 2 requires the energy generated or saved by applying renewable technologies to take plans to build no less than 300,000 m of “ultra-low energy 6 % of total urban building primary energy demand by the end of the 13th FYP. buildings” by 2020. The ultra-energy buildings are defined 5. The percentage of energy efficient urban residential buildings refers to the ratio as 15 % or more efficient than the city’s current building -en of building floor space which meets energy efficiency codes and standards in new construction and retrofit, against the total urban residential stock. ergy efficiency standard. Policy actions are further elaborated 6. Rural buildings that utilize energy efficiency measures in developed areas: The in the Beijing Ultra-low Energy Building Development Action percentage target is calculated to use the floor area of rural buildings which adopt Plan (2016–2018), such as development pathways and stand- one or more energy efficiency measure compared with the total rural building stock. ards, building demonstration, and form industrial supply chain

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(Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural This has been formally acknowledged by MOHURD (Fuzhou Development, 2016). City, 2017). Now, according to Fuzhou local MOHURD, a fur- In addition, subsidies are provided by the Beijing govern- ther 100 million m2 floor space are targeted for delivery during ment (through the Beijing Government Finance Bureau) for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). buildings that are qualified to be “ultra-low energy consump- Specifically, because of its good solar resources, Fuzhou has tion demonstration buildings” (Beijing Government, 2017). setup local financial incentives to support the installation of Eligibility requirements are published by the Beijing govern- 1.66 million m2 of floor space served by solar-thermal hot water ment and the final qualification of will be determined by a projects in demonstration buildings. The demonstration projects panel of building experts (Beijing Government, 2017). During cover residential, commercial, and public buildings. Three types 2017–2018, the subsidy levels from the government decreased of solar water heating systems are widely used in Fuzhou: single- annually as the market became increasingly mature, as shown family solar hot water systems, centralized solar hot water sys- below: tems with discontinuous water usage, and centralized solar hot water systems with continuous water usage. In addition, the city • The first year’s demonstration buildings (constructed before has mandated that residential buildings less than 12 floors and October 8, 2017): a subsidy of RMB 1,000/m2 (132 Euro/m2) public and commercial buildings such as hospitals, schools and construction floor space is provided. One building in total hotels must install centralized renewable solar hot water system. should not apply for subsidies of more than RMB 30 million Fuzhou also completed 2.08 million m2 of floor area of (4 million Euro). ground-source heat pump demonstration buildings. These • The second year’s demonstration buildings (constructed be- demonstration projects have mainly adopted two technolo- tween October 9, 2017, and October 8, 2018): a subsidy of gies: surface-water-source heat pump systems (the most com- RMB 800/m2 (105 Euro/m2) construction floor space is pro- mon) and underground-water-source heat pump systems. In vided. One building in total should not apply for subsidies addition, Fuzhou has installed a total of 150,000 kW of solar of more than RMB 25 million (3 million Euro). photovoltaic system by 2015. To facilitate the adoption of renewable technologies, Fuzhou • The third year’s demonstration buildings (constructed be- works with building owners and energy service companies (ES- tween October 9, 2018, and October 8, 2019): a subsidy of COs) to encourage the use of Energy Performance Contracting RMB 600/m2 (79 Euro/m2) construction floor space is pro- models for renewable energy projects (through incentives, pub- vided. One building in total should not apply for subsidies licly soliciting ESCOs on building energy efficiency projects), of more than RMB 20 million (2.6 million Euro). such as ground-source heat pumps, solar thermal hot water, As a result, by the end of 2017, nine building developments air-source heat pumps for hot water, and solar photovoltaic sys- were acknowledged as ultra-low energy consumption dem- tems in existing buildings. onstration projects in Beijing with a total floor space of ap- Moving forward, Fuzhou plans to continue the promotion and proximately 100,000 m2 – a third of the overall ultra-low energy application of the building-level renewable energy systems with demonstration building target (Beijing Daily, 2017). Beijing has a focus on innovation and refinement. Demonstration of renew- spent RMB 100 million (13 million Euro) on subsidies to sup- able energy application in building will also be carried out in port these nine demonstration buildings. some newly built social housing units in Fuzhou. With the Fujian Beijing efforts in pursuing “ultra-low energy” buildings play Academy of Building Research, Fujian Construction Group, and an important role in achieving Beijing’s overarching goals of other public and private institutions, the city also plans to update building energy efficiency, as established in its th13 FYP, con- standards of solar thermal technologies design, installation and trolling energy use of the residential buildings under 41 Mtce project completion inspection. By the end of 2020 the city has by 2020 and reducing new residential buildings energy inten- committed to, at a minimum: study the forms, operation, and sity per floor space by 25 % compared to the 2015 level (Beijing maintenance mechanism for different building types and further Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Devel- demonstrate solar thermal and air-source heat pump systems. opment and Beijing Development and Reform Commission, 2016). Qingdao: Existing Residential Building Retrofit Qingdao, in Shandong Province, is an important harbor city Fuzhou: Renewable Energy Utilization in Buildings located in China’s Cold Climate Zone, with a total population Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian Province, is a south-eastern of 9.3 million (2017). As heating (supplied through coal-based coastal city located in China’s Hot Summer Warm Winter Cli- district heating network) is the main energy consumption re- mate Zone. It has a total population of 7.6 million (2016) with quirement for buildings, the local government has focused on a total existing building stock of 372.2 million m2 floor area. improving the thermal integrity of the city’s buildings, especial Because of Fuzhou’s good renewable energy resources, the city for inefficient existing building stock. As such, Qingdao partici- has participated in the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural pates in MOHURD’s existing building retrofit pilot city program. Development (MOHURD)’s Building-Level Renewable Energy The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015) reported that Qingdao ret- Demonstration Program, and the city received special funding rofitted 7.8 million m2 of existing residential building stock, from the central government to implement renewable energy saving 28,000 tonnes of coal equivalent (tce) in energy and projects in buildings (MOF and HOHURD, 2009). Since 2009, 75,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 5 years, as shown in Table 2. renewable energy sources have been integrated to a total of The government of Qingdao has therefore incorporated 5.6 million m2 floor area in Fuzhou’s demonstration buildings. residential building upgrade as an important step in the city’s

ECEEE SUMMER STUDY PROCEEDINGS 515 3-129-19 FENG ET AL 3. POLICY AND GOVERNANCE ambitions to achieve the Building Energy-Efficiency and Green the promotion of retrofits more broadly within the city, given Building Tasks in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). It plans to the inherent reliance on limited government funding. Whilst retrofit at least a further 10 million 2m of residential buildings, retrofit projects were financed and rapidly implemented in three achieving 40 % energy-efficiency improvements, saving at least major urban districts, suburban districts did not receive central th 34,000 tce in energy, and reducing CO2 emission by at least government incentives in the 12 FYP – meaning that some 92,000 tonnes over 5 years (Table 2). By realizing these policy suburban districts, due to the lack of financial incentives, did ambitions, Qingdao aims to showcase their national leadership not implement any residential retrofit projects during that time. in residential building energy efficiency by 2020. In order to address the policy challenges identified in the Between 2016 and the middle of 2018, Qingdao retrofit- 12th FYP, Qingdao has set the ambition of moving away from a ted 11.3 million m2 of existing residential buildings, thereby reliance on government subsidy-driven retrofit models towards upgrading approximately 136,000 resident apartments, sav- a mixed subsidy model with wider private participation. The ing 56,500 tce of heating energy, and reducing 150,000 tons of government, therefore, intends to switch from up-front retrofit

CO2 emissions. From 2018 to 2020 the Qingdao government payments to providing an assessed retrofit subsidy at project plans to retrofit an additional 15 million m2 of residential build- completion. The policy encourages ESCOs and district heating ings, covering approximately 180,000 residential apartments. supply companies to work in partnership with local residents It is planed that this retrofit policy project will save 75,000 tce and Homeowner Associations (HOAs) to identify projects and of energy annually and approximately 200,000 tons of CO2 implement retrofits. ESCOs are active to seek retrofit opportu- emissions. Including the 11.3 million m2 of retrofits that took nities by working with HOAs. Through the partnership to work place between 2016 and 2018, Qingdao will significantly over- with ESCOs, district heating companies can further reduce achieve its 13th Five-Year Plan (FYP) retrofit targets. their operation cost, and avoid upgrade the heat plans as the During the 12th FYP, existing residential buildings were ret- buildings before more efficient. Financial incentives are provid- rofitted in Qingdao, mainly subsidized and managed by the ed by central government, municipal government, and district government. The subsidy was paid as an up-front installment government at a ratio of 1:1:1. The maximum central govern- to a retrofit implementation company, once an appropriate ment subsidy is RMB 45/m2 (6 Euro/m2), which is matched by project has been identified. For heat metering retrofits, the municipal and district governments. This reduction in govern- central government provided RMB 18/m2 in addition to local ment subsidy from the 12th FYP to the 13th FYP aims to utilize government contributing RMB 4–10/m2 (0.5– 1.3 Euro/m2). limited funding to promote retrofits across more districts and For comprehensive retrofits, including both building envelope a greater floor space of building stock. The target is to improve and heat metering, central government provided RMB 45/m2 government spending efficiency and reduce government sub- (6 Euro/m2) whilst local government contributed RMB 255/m2 sidy as a share in overall retrofit expenses. (34 Euro/m2). As government subsidies covered the majority of retrofit costs, including envelope insulation, heat metering, and Shanghai (Changning District): Better Buildings China thermostats, local residents rarely needed to pay retrofit costs themselves. This means that retrofits were implemented in -ar program – Existing Commercial and Public Building eas received incentives (mostly in urban districts), while subur- Upgrade ban districts that did not receive incentives did not conduct any Changning District, located in West Downtown of Shanghai residential retrofits. Also, as local residents usually don’t need is one of the city’s transportation and commercial centers. The to pay the retrofit, the program is well accepted by residents. district is in China’s Hot Summer Cold Winter Climate Zone, It was also during this period that challenges were found in with a total population of 690,571 (2017). In order to reduce Qingdao when implementing residential retrofit policies. The commercial and public building energy use, Shanghai has im- government’s subsidy-oriented model potentially constrained plemented a series of policies to measure, audit, disclose, and

Table 2. Retrofitting existing residential building in Qingdao during the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plan.

Retrofitting existing residential building in Qingdao Achieved during 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015) 7.8 million m2 Saved 28,000 tce

Avoided 75,000 tonnes of CO2 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020) Planned 10 million m2 Save 34,000 tce

To avoid 92,000 tonnes of CO2 Achieved between 2016–mid 2018 11.3 million m2 (first half of the 13th FYP) Saved 56,500 tce

Avoided 150,000 tonnes of CO2 Planned between mid-2018 to 2020 15 million m2 (second half of the 13th FYP) Saved 75,000 tce

Avoided 200,000 tonnes of CO2 Source: Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, 2016.

516 ECEEE 2019 SUMMER STUDY 3. POLICY AND GOVERNANCE 3-129-19 FENG ET AL reduce commercial and public building energy consumption. will combine building owner energy audit or self-reported data In the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020), Shanghai plans to in- with online monitoring data to ensure high data quality (Mao, clude all commercial and public buildings with a floor space of 2018). Verified energy data will then be used for benchmarking more than 10,000 m2 in a city-wide energy online monitoring building energy performance. In the long run, it is hoped that platform. Furthermore, the city targets to retrofit an additional the process can be fully automated with data quality control 10 million m2 of inefficient commercial and public buildings. mechanisms. The Changning District, located in West Downtown Shanghai The Shanghai government provides subsidies for demonstra- is one of the city’s transportation and commercial centers, as tion buildings that satisfy prescribed retrofit requirements. For well as being at the forefront of Shanghai’s efforts to develop a a residential building that meets or exceeds the requirement to low-carbon economy. By 2020, the Changning District plans to improve energy use intensity by 50 % compared with its own have retrofitted a total of 1.5 million 2m of existing commercial existing energy use baseline, CABEE will work closely with the and public buildings. As such, the district has been working to Changning District to provide technical assistance. establish a comprehensive set of existing building retrofit policies, as well as advanced financing models. Support for the district’s energy-efficiency policy work has come from the World City Characteristics Bank – Global Environment Fund. The cities selected in this paper have its own distinct charac- In 2016, the district committed to be the first pilot project for teristics, as shown in Figure 1. Some city goes beyond the cen- the Better Buildings Challenge program in China. The Better tral government’s target to explore new policy areas, some city Buildings China Program has taken inspiration from the U.S. adopts mandated, administrative measures to achieve desirable DOE Better Buildings Initiative. It represents a comprehensive results, while other cities begin to experiment and test various voluntary energy efficiency program for China’s building sec- market-oriented policies and programs. The cities presented tor, launched in partnership between the China Association here demonstrate diverse, dynamic, and vibrant development of Building Energy Efficiency (CABEE) and Lawrence Berke- in China’s building energy efficiency. ley National Laboratory (LBNL) in 2016. Through the Better As the capital and political center of China, Beijing has been Buildings Challenge, the district aims to achieve an overall at the forefront of the China’s building policies. As discussed 20 % energy saving across its commercial and public build- above, during the 13th FYP, Beijing’s focus is “ultra-low energy ing sector in ten years. By committing participating the Better buildings”, which has been discussed by the central govern- Building Challenge program, Changning District is working ment, but local cities have not received any specific goals, tar- closely with the Energy Foundation (EF), LBNL, and CABEE gets, or policy directions. Beijing’s efforts in this arena is critical to introduce building energy improvement best practices and for the central government to “test the water” and identify pos- conduct existing building retrofit and energy performance data sible policy pathways, potential technologies, as well as imple- disclosure. The district also has an intermediate target: 10 % mentation barriers. In addition, through Beijing’s pilot work in energy savings within five years of joining the Better Building “ultra-low energy buildings”, the local government can build up Challenge. the capacity and accumulate experiences that can be beneficial In order to achieve these targets, the district is developing a for a future larger-scale expansion. As China prepares to devel- comprehensive set of supporting policies and incentives. The op its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), Beijing’s work in “ultra- Changning District has been taking leadership in benchmark- low energy buildings” is exploratory and forward-looking. ing and disclosure policy in order to better identify building Fuzhou is distinctive among Chinese cities not only because stock for retrofits. Under discussion has been a policy to in- of its great renewable resources, but also because of its imple- clude commercial and public buildings larger than 10,000 m2, mentation of integrating renewables in buildings. It mandated or with energy use greater than 500 tce, in a formal benchmark- residential buildings less than 12 floors and public and com- ing and disclosure process. Buildings would be ranked for en- mercial buildings must install centralized renewable solar hot ergy use performance, based on Shanghai’s Guide to Energy water system. The scope of government-promoted renewable Efficiency Operation for Large-Scale Commercial Buildings and technologies is wide as well, covering three types of solar wa- categorized by building types. Outcomes of the building energy ter systems as well as two types of ground-source heat pumps. benchmarking will be disclosed on the government’s website to Through mandated efforts, strong implementation, and multi- incentivize efficient building and encourage the below-average ple available technologies to choose from, Fuzhou has become buildings to improve. Building owners would then receive their one of the best cities that integrated renewables in buildings. energy bill and ranking results to provide incentive for energy Unlike Beijing – focusing on innovative building policies conservation. In fact, outstanding performance would be rec- or Fuzhou – emphasizing on renewables, Qingdao has made ognized at awards events. This is important because it will give significant progress in existing residential building retrofits. high-efficient buildings a great publicity opportunity, share best During the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015), this was mostly practices, and disseminate market and technology solutions. driven by government policies, programs and fiscal incentives. This policy recommendation has now been approved by the However, moving on to the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020) Shanghai Development and Reform Commission and the im- and future, Qingdao government recognizes that the unsus- plementation process started, with the energy data disclosure tainability nature of relying on fiscal incentives for retrofits. The policy enacted in the district’s public building sector. Chang- local government aims to move away from a government-led ing District plans to further develop its district building en- retrofit program to a market-oriented retrofit program by uti- ergy data monitoring system based on the Shanghai municipal lizing energy service companies and other financial and busi- building energy data monitoring platform. Such development ness models.

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Shanghai’s Changning District is the first city district in China Environmental Action 2016–2021 Strategy and Action Plan. to implement a pilot program called “Better Buildings Challenge” Under this plan, existing residential sector GHG emissions based on similar experience and program in the United States. are required to reduce 40 % by 2030 (City of Sydney, 2017). The program is not mandated, but a voluntary program that The City of Stockholm plans to be fossil-fuel free by 2040, and calls for an overall 20 % energy saving across its commercial it established stringent building codes, which set maximum and public building sector in ten years. Changning’s experience and aspirational energy use intensity on buildings. Building will provide important insights for other Chinese cities and energy consumption in the New York City (NYC) will be re- encourage other cities to adopt similar market-led programs to duced by 30 % over the next decade in order to achieve the improve building energy efficiency. goal of reducing NYC’s emissions 80 % below 2005 level by 2050 (NYC, 2018). The city plans to retrofit public and private buildings and reduce GHG emissions by 3.5 million metric International Comparison tonnes (Mt) per year by 2025 (NYC, 2014). In addition, the Many cities around the world have developed aggressive City of Paris adopted a new and ambitious Air Quality, En- policies to control’s building energy use or to reach a carbon ergy, and Climate Action Plan in 2018 with the goal to be car- neutral future. For example, Toronto has adopted the aggres- bon neutral and 100 % powered by renewable energy by 2050. sive goal of 100 % of new buildings being near-zero emissions Since 2016 the city has been conducting residential building by 2030 with 100 % of existing buildings being retrofitted retrofits, with a goal of retrofitting 1,000 condo buildings by by 2050 (C40 Cities, 2017). Portland set a goal of achieving 2020 (C40 Cities, 2018). These international experiences are net-zero carbon emissions in all new buildings and homes targeted, comparable, and may provide useful insights for by 2030, and supplying 50 % of all energy used in buildings Chinese cities to pursue and achieve their building sector from renewable resources in its Climate Action Plan (2015) policy goals (Table 3). (City of Portland, 2015). Seattle has made the pledge to be The Beijing government is taking actions to cultivate a vi- carbon neutral by 2050 and has set up comprehensive poli- brant market and supply chain to support the increased con- cies for both new construction and existing buildings, such as struction of ultra-low energy consumption buildings. This mandate large building energy use benchmarking and man- leadership activity could prepare the city government for the datory tune-ups, and required LEED Gold Certification for implementation of policies that mandate the scaled adoption large new city-funded projects and major renovations (Se- of ultra-low energy consumption buildings, thereby aligning attle Mayor Jenny A.Durkan, 2018). The City of Sydney has with similar policies in other major cities around the world, as set a series of environmental targets and actions through its seen in Table 3. Furthermore, by sharing technical knowledge

City Policy Highlights City-level

Exploring a "stretched" energy standard and additional savings Beijing (Ultra-Low Buildings) Pilot policies which could be adopted for the 14th FYP

Central-level Mandate renewables in new buildings

Fuzhou Central Government Financial incentives Policy Targets (Renewables)

Implementation guidance and tech supports

Qingdao Transform from government managed retrofit to market-oriented (Res. Retrofits)

Voluntary program Shanghai (Comm. Retrofits) Market-oriented apporoach

Figure 1. City Policy Highlights.

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Table 3. Comparable International Building Energy Efficiency Experiences for Chinese Cities.

Chinese Cities Policy Goals Comparable International City Experiences Beijing Promote ultra-low Toronto: zero emissions buildings framework energy buildings Seattle: low-energy buildings policy pathway Stockholm: buildings in the context of a fossil fuel free city New York City: Ultra-low energy buildings in a high-density urban environment Fuzhou Integrate and Durban: Energy Office Solar to install rooftop PV implement renewable Lagos: distributed solar energy projects (e.g., Lagos Solar) energy in buildings Barcelona: solar thermal ordinance Mexico City: solar thermal in hospitals Yokohama: Yokohama Smart City Project Seoul: Solar City Seoul 2022 Vancouver: Renewable City Action Plan New York City: Clean Energy Program Washington: Clean Energy DC Plan Qingdao Market-led retrofits Toronto: Residential retrofit programs (High Performance New Construction in existing residential Program, the STEP Program) and related financial services buildings Portland: Green Building Policy, Home Energy Score Program, and energy retrofit programs provided through Energy Trust of Oregon Chicago: Retrofit Chicago Energy Challenge “one-stop shop” Sydney: Residential Apartments Sustainability Plan empowering the city Paris: Eco-rénovons Paris, public purchasing, and coordinated consultancy Shanghai Better Buildings Los Angeles: Better Buildings Challenge Challenge Program in China

through channel such as the Energy Foundation China, C40 As the first pilot for the China Better Buildings Challenge China Buildings Program, and other city-networks, such policy Program, the Changning District has much to learn from in- work could help facilitate and strengthen a growing alliance ternational experience as well as the potential to demonstrate in the wider Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area regarding ultra-low domestic success. In partnership with CABEE, this project energy buildings – helping to scale and deepen the impact of therefore provides the opportunity to prove the case for and this work. build up the core support capacities of the challenge. Indeed, Fuzhou has made significant strides in utilizing renewable en- the U.S. Better Buildings Initiative, and its replication at city ergy in buildings. To continue a strong record in the promotion levels, rely on strong central advisory and outreach functions. of building-integrated renewable installations, further specific These act as the go-to place for technical, financial, networking, requirements, guidance, and mandates will help Fuzhou to scale and communications in relation to building energy efficiency. the impact of the city’s policies and projects. Table 3 provides By adopting and adapting such functions, CABEE, the Chang- several examples of how other international cities are integrating ning District, and other stakeholders involved in supporting renewable energy in their buildings. For example, Vancouver’s the China Better Buildings Challenge, can begin to scale impact Renewable City Action Plan established 27 actions for buildings and participation in much the same way as has been achieve in to improve efficiency and integrate renewables in buildings, the the United States. goal is to support Vancouver’s goal to achieve 100 % of the energy used is delivered from renewable sources by 2050. Overall, Qingdao has made a great effort to reduce energy Conclusion use in buildings by decreasing heating energy loss in winter. This paper discussed building energy efficiency policies in four However, it can also gain further knowledge from a range of Chinese cities. The Chinese cities demonstrated policy imple- international cities on residential building retrofit policies. mentation in different areas with target setup and supporting For example, Toronto also setup policies to retrofit residential policies. Experience from international cities provide impor- buildings. It developed financial incentives to engage owners, tant insights to motivate Chinese cities to expand and scale- designers/engineers to participate buildings retrofit. Low inter- up their ultra-low energy buildings, adopt renewable energy est loans, tax deduction are often combined with government technologies by using different policy and market mechanism, incentives and the retrofit program get multiple stakeholders’ and help the Chinese cities make the transition from the gov- participation. Such experience can help to further enhance ernment-led to market-led building retrofits. It is found that Qingdao’s retrofit work, particularly as the city moves away building energy efficiency policies developed by Chinese cities from government subsidy retrofit models and towards a greater are mainly driven by government through incentives, standards emphasis on the role of market capital, where the city can learn development and so on. Market mechanism from listed inter- from international experiences on market mechanisms in de- national cities would be helpful for Chinese cities to combine livering energy efficiency. with government driven policies.

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As most city policies are still in the implementation stage, LBNL, ERI, RMI. (2016). Reinventing Fire China: A Roadmap data on energy savings and cost-benefit analysis of these pol- for China’s Revolution in Energy Consumption and icies are not immediately available yet. It would be helpful Production to 2050: https://rmi.org/insight/reinventing- for future work to collect policy related data and conduct a fire-china/. data-driven analysis on building energy efficiency policies in Mao , Q. (2018 ). Interview of Mr. Mao from Changning Low Chinese cities. Carbon District by Jing Ge, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Housing and Urban- References Rural Development. (2009). Implementation Plan Beijing Daily (2017). “Nine Ultra-Low Energy Buildings in of Application of Renewable Energy in Buildings in Beijing Received Incentive Rewards”, December 20. [In Demonstration Cities. July 6. [In Chinese] http://www. 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October de-blasio-commits-80-percent-reduction-greenhouse- 9. [In Chinese] http://www.bjjs.gov.cn/bjjs/xxgk/qtwj/ gas-emissions-2050-starting-with/#/0. gcjsltz/396931/index.shtml. NYC. (2018). “A Roadmap for New York City’s Buildings”. Re- Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural trieved from NYC Built to Last website: http://www.nyc. Development and Beijing Development and Reform gov/html/builttolast/pages/strategies/strategies.shtml. Commission. (2016). Beijing Civil Building Energy Saving Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Plan for the 13th Five-Year Plan. October 31. Development. (2016). Building Energy Conservation and [In Chinese] http://www.bjjs.gov.cn/bjjs/gcjs/jzjnyjcjg/ Green Building Development Plan during the 13th Five- jzjnyqcgx/zcfgjxgwj/407109/index.shtml. Year Plan. [In Chinese] http://www.cnenergy.org/hb/ C40 Cities. (2017). “Cities100: Toronto – Accelerating Climate jzyth/201612/t20161228_410679.html. Action to Reduce Emissions”. Retrieved September 14, Seattle Major Jenny A.Durkan. (2018). Sustainable Buildings & 2018 from Cities100 website: http://www.c40.org/case_ Sites. Retrieved from Seattle Major Jenny A.Durkan: https:// studies/cities100-toronto-accelerating-climate-action-to- www.seattle.gov/environment/climate-change/building- reduce-emissions. energy/city-facilities/sustainable-buildings-and-sites. C40 Cities. (2018). Paris: A new 2050 Climate Plan for a fair, Tsinghua University. (2018). Annual report on China building equitable and resilient transition. Retrieved from https:// energy efficiency. [in Chinese] Tsinghua Building Energy www.c40.org/blog_posts/paris-a-new-2050-climate-plan- Research Center. P101–108. for-a-fair-equitable-and-resilient-transition. U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2018). “How much CABEE. (2017). China Building Energy Consumption energy is consumed in U.S. residential and commercial Research Report. December. buildings?” May 3: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq. City of Portland. (2015). Climate Action Plan: Local php?id=86&t=1. Strategies to Address Climate Change. June: https://www. portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/531984. City of Sydney. (2017). Environmental Action 2016–2021 Acknowledgements Strategy and Action Plan. Retrieved from http:// The U.S. authors recognize Lawrence Berkeley National Labora- www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ tory’s support from United States Department of Energy under file/0007/284749/Environmental-Action-strategy-and- Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and C40 Cities. We also action-plan.pdf. thank other colleagues from LBNL, C40, China Center of Science Fuzhou City. (2017). The 13th Five-Year Plan Development Technology and Industrial Development (CSTID), local Mo- Plan in Fuzhou’s Building Sector. [In Chinese] February: HURD in Beijing, Fuzhou and Qingdao, Shanghai Low Carbon http://fgw.fuzhou.gov.cn/zz/ztxx/sswghzt/201707/ Office, Architecture 2030, Energy Foundation, Rocky Mountain P020170725571458171652.pdf. Institute (RMI), Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC), IEA. (2017). Key World Energy Statistics 2017. https://www. Shenzhen Institute of Building Research, World Resources Insti- iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/ tute (WRI), The Paulson Institute, China Academy of Building KeyWorld2017.pdf Research (CABR), Adam Hinge, ICF, and many others.

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