In September 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to peak China’s carbon emissions “before 2030” and archive carbon neutrality “before 2060” in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

With support from Energy Foundation China, the China State Construction Academy completed the research in 2019. After analyzing energy consumption patterns of public and residential buildings in Qingdao, Shandong Province, researchers developed a roadmap to support the city achieving green development and carbon peaking in the buildings sector. The research can also be helpful for other northern cities in China when they plan how to peak carbon emissions related to buildings.

With support from Energy Foundation China, this research was conducted in 2019 by the Center of Science and Technology and Industrialization Development, a think tank for China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Based on the current practice of green finance for energy conservation and green buildings, the research team analyzed financing behavior of the buildings sector, including how financial instruments had been used, before they proposed recommendations for enhanced green finance in the sector. The report can be helpful for future research on the synergy of green finance and buildings.

With support from Energy Foundation China, the Shenzhen Emissions Exchange released this research report in February 2020 to provide tailor-made policy recommendations for the city’s green growth and finance. The report analyzed the core elements and key process of establishing a green enterprises pool, especially screening criteria and evaluation methodology of eligible green enterprises, based on existing green evaluation standards in China and abroad. Taking into consideration of green development plans and industrial characteristics in Shenzhen, the research also put forward how to define green enterprises and choose screening criteria and methodologies, before it suggested how to establish and implement a green enterprises pool for Shenzhen, a metropolis of 12 million people in South China.

This report was published by Shenzhen Emissions Exchange in May 2019, with support from Energy Foundation China. After reviewing green finance standards and practices domestically and internationally, as well as fund operation in China, this research report summarized core requirements for green private equity and venture capital funds, and proposed policy recommendations on how China’s green fund standard should be with respect to standard indicators, labeling requirements, and evaluation and certification by third parties. As part of the National Green Finance Standardization Program, this report proposed a system for standardized green fund evaluation and certification, which is conducive to guiding the sustainable growth of green funds, encouraging more responsible green investors, and thus increasing industry financing.

In 2019, Energy Foundation China supported the China National Institute of Standardization to provide scientific evidence for the revision of China’s energy efficiency standards for variable refrigerant flow (VRF) air conditioners. The resulting report analyzed the latest energy performance and sales statistics of VRF products in the market, collected and studied VRF-related energy standards of different countries and regions, compared VRF energy efficiency indicators of Integrated Part Load Value and Annual Performance Factor, and examined the cost-effectiveness of various VRF products. This technical report was used to support the ongoing revision of the minimum energy performance standards for VRF air conditioners in China.

This report summarizes cooling energy use patterns in six types of public institutions in China, collects and analyzes major energy-saving solutions in improving cooling efficiencies, and provides case studies to showcase their real-world application. The report was published by the China Quality Certification Center in March 2020, with support from Energy Foundation China.

In 2020, Energy Foundation China supported the China Energy Efficiency and Investment Consultancy Service Center to assess the carbon and environmental performance of Chinese-built industrial parks along the “Belt and Road.” In this report, researchers analyzed the development status of these industrial parks and built an evaluation index system to quantify how green the parks were. They also summarized lessons learned through two case studies, before they provided recommendations to industrial park stakeholders regarding how to achieve sustainable development.

In 2020, Energy Foundation China supported the Guangdong Provincial Academy of Environmental Sciences to design a medium- and long-term air quality strategy for the Pearl River Delta region in the province. In this report, researchers first identified the air quality and pollution control gap between international leading level and the current practice in the Pearl River Delta region, one of the most densely urbanized areas in the world, then they proposed pathways for the region and the entire Guangdong Province to achieve WHO-III air quality standards by 2030–2035. The report provides forward-looking guidance and impetus for regulators at all levels to raise air quality ambition and enhance green development in Guangdong.

In 2020, with support from Energy Foundation China, Tsinghua University completed this research on how to achieve air quality standards and carbon emission peaking with a single set of policies at the city level.