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Prelims

Yi-Ming Wei
Hua Liao

Energy Economics

ISBN: 978-1-78756-780-1, eISBN: 978-1-78756-779-5

Publication date: 15 November 2018

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Wei, Y.-M. and Liao, H. (2018), "Prelims", Energy Economics, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-xxvi. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-779-520181013

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019 Emerald Publishing Limited

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ENERGY ECONOMICS

Title Page

ENERGY ECONOMICS

Understanding and Interpreting Energy Poverty in China

BY

YI-MING WEI

HUA LIAO

CENTER FOR ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY RESEARCH (CEEP), BEIJING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (BIT), BEIJING, CHINA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

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First edition 2019

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ISBN: 978-1-78756-780-1 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78756-779-5 (Online)

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List of Figures

Chapter 1
Figure 1.1. Gross World Product and Energy Consumption (1980–2012). 2
Figure 1.2. Structure of World Primary Energy Consumption in 2012. 3
Figure 1.3. Structure of Primary Energy Consumption in Selected Countries. 4
Figure 1.4. World’s Proven Oil Reserves and Distribution. 5
Figure 1.5. World’s Proven Natural Gas Reserves and Distribution. 5
Figure 1.6. World’s Proven Coal Reserves and Distribution. 6
Figure 1.7. China’s Energy Consumption Volume and Structure (1953–2013). 10
Figure 1.8. China’s Energy Production Volume and Structure (1981–2011). 11
Figure 1.9. China’s Energy Flow Chart 2012. 13
Figure 1.10. China’s Distribution of Coal in 2012. 15
Figure 1.11. China’s Distribution of Gas in 2012. 18
Figure 1.12. National Transregional Electric Power Exchange of China in 2011 (TWh). 19
Figure 1.13. Growth Rate Prospect for Major Economies (2013–2016). 22
Figure 1.14. World Petroleum Demand (2010–2014). 22
Figure 1.15. World Energy Price Trends (2011–2014). 23
Figure 1.16. The US Domestic Oil Production and Import from OPEC (2003–2013). 23
Figure 1.17. IEA Total Public Energy RD&D Expenditure (2002–2012). 24
Figure 1.18. Coal Consumption in China (2012) (Ton/Km2). 26
Figure 1.19. Distribution of People without Access to Electricity, 2010. 27
Figure 1.20. Electrification Rate of Energy Poverty Countries, 2009 and 2010. 27
Figure 1.21. Number and Percentage of Residents Relying on Traditional Use of Biomass in Energy Poverty Countries. 29
Figure 1.22. Per Capita Residential Energy Consumption and Electrification Rate of Energy Poverty Countries. 30
Figure 1.23. Fuel Poverty in the UK under the 10% Measure, 2001–2011. 31
Figure 1.24. Per Capita Residential Energy Consumption of Fuel Poverty Countries, 2011. 31
Figure 1.25. A Series of Problems Caused by Energy Poverty Restrain Economic and Social Development. 39
Figure 1.26. Strategic Proposals About Achieving “Sustainable Energy for All” Targets. 40
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1. China’s Per Capita Electricity Consumption of Households from (1985–2011). 57
Figure 2.2. China’s Total Residential Electricity Consumption by Urban and Rural (2000–2011). 58
Figure 2.3. China’s Per Capita Commercial Energy Consumption (1983–2011). 58
Figure 2.4. China’s Per Capita and Total Traditional Biomass Consumption of Rural Households (1990–2011). 60
Figure 2.5. China’s Total Residential Commercial Energy Consumption by Urban and Rural (2001–2011). 60
Figure 2.6. China’s Total Residential Coal Consumption by Urban and Rural (1997–2011). 61
Figure 2.7. Ratio of Solid Energy to Commercial Energy of Rural Household Sector (2011). 62
Figure 2.8. Proportions of Rural Households Differentiated by Major Cooking Energy Source. 63
Figure 2.9. Residential Electricity Price by Region (1996–2011). 64
Figure 2.10. Urban Retail Price Index of Coal and Its Products (2002–2011). 64
Figure 2.11. Rural Retail Price Index of Energy (1996–2011). 65
Figure 2.12. Ratio of Residential Energy Expense to Income Per Capita (1999–2011). 66
Figure 2.13. Percentage of Residential Fuel Expense to Income Per Capita in Urban Areas by Region (2011). 67
Figure 2.14. Percentage of Residential Fuel Expense to Income Per Capita in Rural Areas by Region (2011). 67
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1. China’s Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index (2000–2011). 98
Figure 3.2. Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index of China’s 30 Provinces (Mean Value of 2000–2011) (50–100). 98
Figure 3.3. Energy Service Availability Index of China’s 30 Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities (Means, 2000–2011) (20–35). 99
Figure 3.4. Energy Service Availability Index of China (2000–2011) (30–35). 99
Figure 3.5. Energy Consumption Cleanliness Index of China’s 30 Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities (Means, 2000–2011). 100
Figure 3.6. Energy Consumption Cleanliness Index of China (2000–2011) (15–20). 101
Figure 3.7. Energy Management Completeness Index of China’s 30 Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities (Means, 2000–2011) (10–20). 101
Figure 3.8. Energy Management Completeness Index of China (2000–2011) (15–20). 102
Figure 3.9. Household Energy Affordability and Energy Efficiency Index of China’s 30 Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities (Means, 2000–2011) (5–20). 103
Figure 3.10. Household Energy Affordability and Energy Efficiency Index of China (2000–2011). 103
Figure 3.11. Changes in the Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index of Eight Economic Regions of China (2000–2011). 104
Figure 3.12. Energy Poverty Comprehensive Indexes of Eight Economic Regions of China (Means, 2000–2011). 104
Figure 3.13. Changes in Energy Service Availability Index of Eight Economic Regions of China (2000–2011). 105
Figure 3.14. Energy Service Availability Indexes of Eight Economic Regions of China (Means, 2000–2011). 106
Figure 3.15. Changes in Energy Consumption Cleanliness Index of Eight Economic Regions of China (2000–2011). 107
Figure 3.16. Energy Consumption Cleanliness Indexes of Eight Economic Regions of China (Means, 2000–2011). 107
Figure 3.17. Changes in the Energy Management Completeness Index of Eight Economic Regions of China (2000–2011). 108
Figure 3.18. Energy Management Completeness Indexes of Eight Economic Regions of China (Means, 2000–2011). 108
Figure 3.19. Household Energy Affordability and Energy Efficiency Index of Eight Economic Regions of China (2000–2011). 109
Figure 3.20. Average Index of Household Energy Affordability and Energy Efficiency Index of Eight Economic Regions of China. 109
Figure 3.21. Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index and Its Subindexes of Eight Economic Regions of China (Means, 2000–2011). 113
Figure 3.22. Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index and Its Subindexes of China’s 30 Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities (2011). 116
Figure 3.23. Distribution Map of China’s Regional Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index (2011). 117
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1. Connections between Household Energy Efficiency and Health. 124
Figure 4.2. China’s Residential Energy Consumption Per Capita (2000–2012). 130
Figure 4.3. Residential Energy Consumption Per Capita of EEA Member Countries and China in 2005 and 2010. 130
Figure 4.4. China’s Residential Energy Consumption Structure in Urban Areas (2005–2012). 131
Figure 4.5. China’s Energy Supply in Urban Areas (2000–2012). 132
Figure 4.6. China’s Central Heating in Urban Areas (2000–2012). 133
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1. Sample Sizes of Rural Households and Residents of the Survey. 151
Figure 5.2. The Proportion of Residents Using Various Types of Cooking Fuels (in 2011). 154
Figure 5.3. Rural Household Selection for Solid Fuel and Their Income. 155
Figure 5.4. The Proportion of Residents Using Various Types of Cooking Fuels in 2011, by Province. (A) Primary Cooking Fuel Choice in 2011. (B) Secondary Cooking Fuel Choice in 2011. 156
Figure 5.5. The Proportion of Residents Using Various Types of Cooking Fuels in Each Year of the Survey. 157
Figure 5.6. The Variation in the Proportion of Residents Using Fuels during 1989–2011. 158
Figure 5.7. The Variation in the Proportion of Residents Using Fuels of Each Province during 1989–2011. 159
Figure 5.8. The Shift of Primary Cooking Fuels Choice from 1989–2011 (%). 161
Figure 5.9. The Shift of Cooking Fuels Choice from 1997–2011 (%). 162
Figure 5.10. The Health Status of Residents in Different Exposure Levels. 165
Figure 5.11. The Health Status of Residents in Different House Sanitation. 166
Figure 5.12. The Prevalence of Respiratory Disease of Residents Using Various Types of Fuels. 167
Figure 5.13. The Prevalence of Respiratory Disease in Different Exposure Levels. 168
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1. Living Energy Consumption Ladder. 176
Figure 6.2. Comparison between Representative Countries’ Energy Consumption Structures of Domestic Household Sector. 177
Figure 6.3. The Percentage of Rural Residents’ Preference of Choosing the Main Cooking Energy at Five Different Economic Development Levels. 180
Figure 6.4. The Relationship Changing between Rural Firewood Living Consumption and Per Capita Income (1998 and 2007). 182
Figure 6.5. Relationship Changing between Rural Per Capita Traditional Living Biomass Energy Consumption and Rural Per Capita Net Income (1998 and 2007). 183
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1. Distribution of World Renewable Energy Development. 197
Figure 7.2. Trends of Renewable Energy Deployment in Different Regions (1965–2012). 201
Figure 7.3. Development Trends of Different Renewable Energy Sources (1990–2012). 202
Figure 7.4. Structure of Power Generation Capacity Combined with the Grid in India (2012). 203
Figure 7.5. Brazil Power Generation by Source in the New Policies Scenario. 204
Figure 7.6. Power Generation Structure in China (1995–2011). 205
Figure 7.7. Accumulated and New Installed Capacity of Wind Power in China during 2001–2012. 206
Figure 7.8. Distribution Map of Installed Capacity of Wind Power in China (2011). 206
Figure 7.9. Distribution Map of Solar Energy Resource in China. 208
Figure 7.10. Installed Capacity of PV Power Generation. 209
Figure 7.11. Framework for Sustainable EDI. 212
Figure 7.12. Regional Assessment Indexes for Clean Energy Development. 217
Figure 7.13. Regional Assessment Indexes for Renewable Energy Development. 218
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1. China’s Grain Losses during 1950–2012. 226
Figure 8.2. Final Power Portfolio (A: with CET; B: without CET). 245

List of Tables

Chapter 1
Table 1.1. World Renewable Energy Development (2010–2012). 4
Table 1.2. Producers, Net Exporters, and Net Importers of Natural Gas in 2012. 8
Table 1.3. Population without Access to Modern Forms of Energy Services in 2011. 10
Table 1.4. China’s Installed Generating Capacity in 2013 (GW). 12
Table 1.5. The Ranks of the Country of the Import Oil of China (2012) (Million Ton). 16
Table 1.6. Country-Level Actions for the SE4All Initiative. 33
Table 1.7. Contribution of Improved Household Energy Practices to MDGs. 35
Table 1.8. Interventions Proposed by the WHO to Reduce IAP. 36
Table 1.9. Measures to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution Health Risks. 38
Chapter 2
Table 2.1. Energy Poverty and Millennium Development Goals. 44
Table 2.2. International Assessment Indicators and Measurement Methods. 47
Table 2.3. Energy Service Levels. 49
Table 2.4. Power Requirements of Energy Services (for an Average Sized Five-member Household). 51
Table 2.5. Energy Services and Access Levels. 52
Table 2.6. Proportions of Rural Households Differentiated by Major Cooking Energy Source. 62
Chapter 3
Table 3.1. China’s Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index. 78
Table 3.2. China’s Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index Weight. 94
Table 3.3. Energy Poverty Comprehensive Index of China’s 30 Provinces and Eight Economic Regions (2000–2011). 96
Table 3.4. Energy Poverty Subindexes of Chinese 30 Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities and Eight Economic Regions. 111
Table 3.5. Changes in Energy Poverty Index of China’s 30 Provinces, Autonomous Regions, and Municipalities between 2000 and 2011. 114
Chapter 4
Table 4.1. Number and Proportion of Fuel-poor Households by Nation. 126
Table 4.2. Energy Poverty-relevant Policies and Actions in Various Countries. 128
Table 4.3. Dose–Response and Valuation Estimates for PM10 and SO2. 138
Chapter 5
Table 5.1. The Proportion of Rural Households and Residents Using Various Types of Cooking Fuels (in 2011). 153
Table 5.2. The Self-rated Health Conditions of Residents Using Various Types of Fuels. 163
Table 5.3. The Gender Differences of Residents’ Health Status. 164
Chapter 6
Table 6.1. Categories of Chinese Provinces and Cities at Different Economic Development Level. 179
Table 6.2. Number of People Holding Household Appliances in Chinese Urban and Rural Areas. 181
Table 6.3. Contributions of Key Factors to the Change of Residential Electricity Consumption. 187
Table 6.4. Contributions of Key Factors to the Change of Residential Consumption Structure. 189
Table 6.5. Results of Granger Causality test. 190
Chapter 7
Table 7.1. Hydropower Development Situation in Main Countries in Different Years. 198
Table 7.2. Wind Power Development Situation in Main Countries in Different Years. 199
Table 7.3. Distribution Situation of Solar Energy Resources in China. 208
Table 7.4. Utilization Scale of Different Kinds of Biomass Energy in China. 210
Table 7.5. Definition and Data Resources of Indictors. 214
Table 7.6. Statistic Characteristics of Indicators. 216
Chapter 8
Table 8.1. The Impacts of Floods on Transportation and Electricity during 2006–2012. 224
Table 8.2. Regression Analysis for Hydropower in the Selected Nine Provinces. 229
Table 8.3. Hydropower Generation of China in Each Scenario in 2020 and 2030 (Billion kWh). 231
Table 8.4. Worldwide Main Large-scale Power Outages and Their Causes. 234
Table 8.5. Account Description and the Related IO Codes. 237
Table 8.6. Impacts on China–Japan’s Socioeconomic Indexes under Different Scenarios. 240
Table 8.7. Impacts on Sector Outputs and Difference Ratio under Base Case. 242
Table 8.8. Categories of Key Sectors, Output Share, and Difference Ratio of Impacts. 243
Table 8.9. Impacts on Key Sectors in China and Japan under the Base Case (Unit: %). 244
Chapter 9
Table 9.1. Power Sector Reform Measures in Selected Countries. 257
Table 9.2. Brief Overview of Two Case Projects in South Africa. 258
Table 9.3. Brief Summary of China’s Policies for Supporting the Construction of Energy Facilities in Rural Areas. 267

Abbreviations

AGECC UN Secretary General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change
ARPH Annual Review of Public Health
BERR UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
BMJ British Medical Journal
CDM Clean development mechanism
CO2 Carbon dioxide
DECC The Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK
DEFRA UK Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
EEA European Environment Agency
EHP Environmental health perspectives
EHS English Housing Survey
GBD The Global Burden of Disease
IEA International Energy Agency
JAMA Journal of the American Medical Association
LWS Living in Wales Survey
MME Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil
NDRC National Development and Reform Commission
NEA National Energy Administration
NEJM New England Journal of Medicine
NGO Non-governmental organization
NIHCS Northern Ireland House Condition Survey
NOX Nitrogen oxides
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
PPP Purchase power parity
REN21 Renewable Energy Policy Network for the Twenty-first Century
SHCS Scottish House Condition Survey
SO2 Sulfur dioxide
UN United Nations
WHO World Health Organization

Preface

In response to the challenges that were posed by energy poverty, a myriad of international organizations, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization, are in the process of legislating policies and plans. China, as the largest developing country, is being challenged with more complicated and severer energy poverty problems.

Energy consumption, energy structure, and energy capacity are the three key indicators of energy poverty measurements, which reflect economic development, resident health, and social equity of a specific country or region. There has been a discernible difference among various countries and regions. Most developing countries have a serious problem that their energy consumption per capita is far below the level in developed countries, yet it does not mean that energy poverty has been eliminated in rich areas. Overall, the essential characteristics of energy poverty in those countries are embodied in the following three aspects: (1) lower energy consumption; (2) inferior energy structure; (3) weaker energy capacity.

Energy poverty has considerable, even irreversible consequences for resident health. Over one-third of the global population mainly relies on solid fuels, such as coal and firewood, and one-fifth has no access to electrical services. Besides, inefficient use of traditional biomass results in serious waste of resources. In 2010, more than one million people died of indoor air pollution caused by combustion of solid fuels; this accounts for 12.5% of the total premature deaths.

Human society could hardly proceed without energy. However, a series of problems caused by energy poverty constrain development, affect the social equity, and aggravate the environmental pressure. China has presented itself by structural and regional differences in energy production and consumption. It is of great significance to alleviate, even eradicate, energy poverty for a sustainable development in the long run.

“Energy Economics: China’s Energy Poverty Research,” is a new achievement of CEEP-BIT on the basis of our efforts that have been long devoted to the poverty-related research. We hope that this book serves to call academy and authorities’ attention to energy poverty, and it could provide policy support and decision basis for the government to ultimately eliminate energy poverty. Based on the analytical framework of energy economics, this book discusses crucial perspectives of energy poverty around the following issues:

  • (1)

    The latest progress in energy development in the world and in China has been comprehensively summarized and sortied out.

    Analysis of the research shows that: (1) the global economy is heading upwards and the uncertainties in international energy market are decreasing; (2) the global energy pattern is changing profoundly, and the US has taken substantial steps in seeking energy independence; (3) China is challenged with energy saving and carbon reduction by both total amount control and intensity control; and (4) China is taking great efforts in tackling the increasingly worse air pollution. Furthermore, the world’s energy poverty is mainly with the following characteristics: (1) developing countries have a low level of electricity service, which adds more difficulties to addressing global poverty; (2) household energy in developing countries relies on traditional biomass, which causes prominent environment and health problems; and (3) energy poverty population living in developed countries is with a high proportion of energy expenditure, which affects the overall social equity.

  • (2)

    Proper measurement and assessment methods for China have been proposed.

    According to the status quo of China’s economic and social development as well as the energy supply–demand relationship, along with the international understanding of energy poverty, “energy poverty” in this book is defined as the inaccessibility to modern energy services, especially to those abundant, affordable, high-quality, environmentally friendly energy services. Our research results show that: (1) differences of household energy use in urban and rural areas are notable and the energy poverty in rural area is prominent; (2) geographical differences in rural household energy use are obvious and the energy consumption is dominated by solid fuel; (3) rural energy facilities are inefficiently used, while clean cooking utensils are of low prevalence; and (4) household energy prices are increasing and there are disparities in the proportions of household energy expenditure between urban and rural.

  • (3)

    Energy poverty in different regions of China has been assessed.

    Comprehensive regional assessment framework of energy poverty in China is constituted of 11 secondary indicators and 26 tertiary indicators by 4 categories. The assessment results indicate that: (1) overall energy poverty presents itself in a downward trend; (2) energy service availability has been improved; (3) there is no strong tendency toward a cleaner energy consumption structure; (4) Energy management system is not complete; and (5) affordability and high-efficiency in household energy use have been improved. Meanwhile, China’s regional energy poverty is characterized by the following features: (1) comprehensive energy poverty situation in middle reaches of Yellow River and Yangtze River is relatively significant; (2) energy service availability of the middle reaches of Yangtze River is weak; (3) middle reaches of Yellow River have not performed well in using clean energy; (4) energy management systems of the eastern coastal and northwestern regions are not complete; and (5) the northeastern and southwestern regions have not performed well in achieving affordability and high efficiency of energy use.

  • (4)

    Impacts of energy poverty on residents’ health have been estimated.

    Similar to economic poverty, energy poverty has certain influences on residents’ health. This book discusses the impacts of energy poverty on urban residents’ health and finds that: (1) energy poverty still exists in China’s urban areas to some degree, which has negative effects on residents’ health; (2) solid fuels’ combustion, household energy inefficiency, and indoor thermal discomfort are the three critical factors which might influence residents’ health in urban areas; and (3) it is crucial to improve energy structure and to induce household energy behavior to eliminate energy poverty.

  • (5)

    Utilization of solid fuels in rural areas and its impacts on rural people are investigated.

    Compared to urban areas, China’s rural areas are less developed and the situation of energy poverty is prominent. Based on the data of China Health and Nutrition Survey, the characteristics of the consumed energy for cooking in rural areas are investigated as follows: (1) rural people mainly rely on solid fuels; (2) household income has great impact on the choice of energy sources for cooking; (3) great differences occur in the energy consumption for cooking in different rural areas; (4) diversity of rural energy consumption for cooking has been progressively realized; and (5) dependence of rural people on solid fuels is decreasing.

    Community health has been affected by solid fuels in rural areas. Toxic gas and inhalable particles, which are from solid fuels combustion in simple cooking stoves, are the primary threats to community health. Women chiefly in charge of cooking are faced with great harm. Besides, the impacts of solid fuels on human health are also usually determined by many other factors such as sanitation of living condition and personal preference.

  • (6)

    Relationship between energy poverty and economic development is analyzed.

    Energy poverty is closely related to economic development and poverty. This book takes energy poverty and economy as a unit, discusses the impacts of per capita income, education, climatic condition, and energy price on energy poverty, and confirms the interactions between energy poverty and economic development.

    The results demonstrate that: (1) there is an interaction between energy poverty and economic development; (2) the energy structure in developed countries and areas is becoming cleaner; (3) economic development promotes living electricity consumption, and the elasticity of per capita electricity consumption with respect to per capita GDP is 0.95; and (4) economic development is helpful in changing resident energy structure, and if other conditions stay as usual, the share of electricity consumption for living increases by 0.0617% as per capita GDP increases by 1%. Due to the positive correlation and casual relationship between energy poverty and economic development, it is an effective way to further alleviate or even eliminate energy poverty by keeping China’s stable and rapid economic development and continuing to improve the living standards of the population.

  • (7)

    Relationship between clean energy development and energy poverty is discussed.

    Energy poverty focuses on the availability of modern energy services, which is actually the imbalance in energy development. The results show that (1) wind energy develops fast, which contributes to energy poverty eradication; (2) hydropower is rich, which covers the areas of considerable energy poverty groups; (3) solar energy is diversely used, which can deal with the energy consumption problem for energy poverty population; (4) biomass energy is effectively utilized, which helps in energy poverty eradication in rural areas; and (5) nuclear power has large potential, which may be a solution to energy poverty.

  • (8)

    Relationship between climate change as well as adaptation strategies and energy poverty is investigated.

    Climate change affects energy poverty through availability, that is, it may destroy stable operation of electricity grid, threaten regular energy production, and disturb exploitation of clean energy. According to future climatic scenarios, the vulnerability of China’s hydropower keeps growing, especially in the primary hydropower provinces and western poor regions. The impacts of climatic extremes on China and Japan are compared and it is found that the negative effects on China are worse than Japan when the same degree of power failure happens. The reductions in GDP, total output, and employment of China are 2 to 3 times bigger than Japan, and those in resident welfare are 3 to 5 times. On the one hand, the differences in socioeconomic vulnerability between China and Japan are mainly caused by the structure factors. On the other hand, climate change adaptation policies have positive effects on energy poverty reduction; the emissions trading policy improves the structure of power generation; the fiscal taxation policy encourages clean power generation; the pricing policy ensures the equity of energy use; and the financial and trade policy allows a better energy consumption structure.

  • (9)

    Policies and actions for energy poverty reduction are summarized.

    Governments around the world are concerned about energy poverty and have adopted a series of targeted policies and actions. However, due to the different national conditions and stages of development, the policies and instruments addressing energy poverty are not the same in different countries. China has made great efforts to reduce energy poverty and the achievements are distinguished. It is predicted that China would realize the overall electricity coverage by 2015. Grid infrastructure and distributed generation equipment are developed together to ensure commercial energy supply for most areas where electricity is inaccessible. Different regions use their own measures to exploit energy according to the actual situation. The coverage rate of clean energy such as natural gas, methane, solar energy, and wind energy has been greatly expanded, and residents are able to have an easier access to energy services that leads to cleaner energy consumption patterns. It would provide an adequate scientific basis to justify the energy poverty alleviation policies in China by scrutinizing the policies and instruments of China and other countries in addressing energy poverty.

Energy poverty might restrain economic development, harm human health, and hinder well-being improvement. Currently, China is in a transitional phase of rapid development; China is not only faced with the energy poverty problems in developing countries, but also characterized by energy poverty features in developed countries. As a result, policymakers should attach great importance to energy poverty and try to eliminate it.

People’s living condition in China has been improved significantly since the inauguration of the policy of reform and opening up. The share of poverty group in total population has decreased and energy poverty has been extensively relieved. However, barriers, such as regional imbalance in socioeconomic development, still occur, the continuing trend that energy structure featured by coal, and also risks in environmental and health detriment induced by climate change. Therefore, energy poverty will be remaining as a big challenge to China for a relatively long period.

China should make regional development strategies and new city planning, as well as aim at the equal development of regional and urban–rural economy. Clean energy and renewable energy should be promoted in accordance with the local situations. Meanwhile, it is necessary to advance industrial adjustment and support technical reconstruction in the energy field. Besides, the advanced and new technologies that are specific to certain sector or area should be appropriately introduced into China. Overall, we are determined to spare every effort to address the energy poverty, construct the ecology civilization, and finally realize our China Dream.

In 2006, Professor Yongfa Xu and Professor Keyu Liu from the CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute and Professor Yiming Wei co-founded the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), and Professor Yiming Wei was appointed as the Director of the CEEP. In 2009, as invited by the Board of Trustees, Professor Yiming Wei joined the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) and then the CEEP was affiliated with the School of Management and Economics. CEEP-BIT is always dedicated to scientific research in environmental and energy policy, environmental education, community service, and international collaboration.

The overall deployment of this project was conducted under the leadership of Professor Yi-Ming Wei. Further, Hua Liao, Ke Wang, Yu Hao, Hao Chen, Yunfei Du, Jing-Li Fan, Yixuan Gao, Huanan Li, Kang Li, Mojie Li, Wenling Liu, Yiming Liu, Ye Ma, Zhifu Mi, Mengling Pei, Xin Tang, Bing Wang, Lu Wang, Qian Wang, Yaxuan Wang, Jiayin Yin, Hao Yu, Xiao-Chen Yuan, Jinliang Zhang, and Yan Zhang participated and completed the relevant sections of this book. Jiutian Zhang, Gang Wu, Rui-Gguang Yang, Kai Wang, Zhen-Hua Feng, Yun-Fei Yao, Lan-Cui Liu, Qiao-Mei Liang, Xiao-Wei Ma, Yue-Jun Zhang, Baojun Tang, and Zhaohua Wang participated in the research, discussion, and proof-reading of certain chapters. This book is the pearl of wisdom of the CEEP.

This research project and writing of this book received support from the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 71521002 and No. 71642004), supports from the National Key R&D Program (Grant No. 2016YFA0602603), as well as encouragement, guidance, support, and selfless help from experts and officials, including late Shupeng Chen (academician), Suping Peng (academician), Chongqing Guo (academician), Jingwen Li (academician), Shanlin Yang (academician), Qidi Wu, Yanhua Liu, Dingming Xu, Jingyuan Yu, Jiankun He, Siqiang Wang, Weixuan Xu, Jianguo Song, Yanhe Ma, Jing Huang, Yanshan Yu, Fengquan An, Hong Sun, Baoguo Tian, Jianzhong Shen, Shantong Li, Xiaotian Chen, Jizhong Zhou, Yijun Li, Shouyang Wang, Ziyou Gao, Wei Zhang, Haijun Huang, Liexun Yang, Zuoyi Liu, Ruoyun Li, Zhengxiang Ge, Chaoliang Fang, Gao Li, Yande Dai, Shixian Gao, Yanbing Kang, Yongfa Xu, Keyu Liu, Chengchuan Tian, Risheng Guo, Sizhen Peng, Xiaofeng Fu, Jingming Li, Xuyan Tu, Jianmin Zhang, and others. Our overseas colleagues, including Tol R. S. J., Hofman B., Martinot E., Drennen T., Jacoby H., Parsons J., MacGill I., Edenhofer O., Burnard K., Nielsen C., Nguyen F., Okada N., Ang B., Yan J., Tatano H., Chou S. K., Huang Z. M., Murty T., Yang Z. L., and Erdmann G. were invited to visit the Center for Academic Intercommunion. Zhongli Ding, the vice president of China Academy of Science, has long supported the China Energy Report series.

We express our sincere gratitude to all of them for giving us great support and assistance. Special thanks are given to the administrators of Beijing Institute of Technology and the School of Management and Economics. We are extremely grateful to all the authors who were contributing to Energy Economics: China’s Energy Poverty Research. Your questions, suggestions, and comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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