New policies are introducing reforms to arrest the worsening air pollution in major cities in the People’s Republic of China. The policy reforms and actions target the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei megalopolis, one of the country’s socioeconomic engines, where poor air quality can hinder development. The new policies support the shift from coal to clean energy sources.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has long wished to reduce its carbon footprint, especially since it is a heavy producer and consumer of coal, a high-polluting source of energy.
The PRC needed to introduce fundamental reforms in its energy sector to arrest the worsening pollution in its major cities. ADB helped the PRC address this concern through the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Air Quality Improvement–Hebei Policy Reforms Program. Cofinanced by KfW and the World Bank, the program sought to improve air quality in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in 2015. It is ADB’s first policy-based loan to the PRC.
Interventions
The program assisted the PRC in identifying and adopting policy actions targeted at components of energy supply and demand.
On the supply side, the program helped the PRC switch from coal to clean energy sources in Hebei by supporting, through policy, the deployment of natural gas, the production of synthetic gas, and the promotion of the benefits of biomass resources. On the demand side, the program was aimed at reducing coal consumption by setting annual targets that are regularly monitored and supervised.
Results
The program was able to produce several policy actions that would reduce coal consumption and promote clean energy. These included a natural gas network expansion plan, an enabling regulation to encourage the capture of synthetic natural gas and its injection into the natural gas distribution network, an action plan to reduce the number of coal-based boilers, a policy setting quantitative targets for raw coal reduction, and the exploration of financial and market-based incentive schemes to promote cleaner energy sources in urban and rural areas.