The Global Environment Facility, an independently operating financial organization, has approved its grant of $13.6 million to the third China Energy Conservation Project that will be used for programs focusing on the improvement of quality and sustainability of energy efficiency in three of its provinces.
The grant, approved last February 24, will be used to finance technical assistance and capacity building activities in the Shandong, Shanxi, and Jiangxi provinces under the C.E.C.P., a voluntary program aimed at saving energy and reducing emissions.
With help from the grant, the project will help the provinces meet their energy efficiency goals by supporting activities to develop the energy efficiency service industry and establish an energy efficiency monitoring and information dissemination platform.
Specifically, in the provinces of Shanxi and Jiangxi, the project will assist in developing energy pricing and fiscal policies that will reinforce incentives for energy efficiency activities and investments. In Jiangxi, the project will develop an energy efficiency appraisal system for fixed-assets investments, while in Shanxi, it will build energy efficiency program in public buildings.
“This effort will result in greenhouse gas emission reduction of over 100 million tons by the end of the project. In addition, it will also lead to a reduction of 1 million tons of sulfur dioxide, and 500,000 tons of total suspended particulate and significant amounts of other pollutants,” said Monique Barbut, chief executive officer and chairperson of the G.E.F.
“But more importantly, the G.E.F. project is expected to create an enabling environment through policy development and capacity building, which over time will lead to more significantly increased energy efficiency investments by other stakeholders as well.”
Provincial governments play a key role in the overall achievement of the country’s 12th Five Year Plan target of 16 percent energy efficiency. However, this target presents a challenge to the provinces to deliver in terms of energy efficiency.
G.E.F. suggested that improved local human and financial capacities are needed to meet the challenge.
With the help of the $200-million loan from the World Bank, and as much as $100 million from other co-financing partners, the new C.E.C.P. has a total funding of $313 million.
The first C.E.C.P. had a joint $151-million backing by China, World Bank, G.E.F. and the European Commission in 1998.
The second project, back in 2006, financed over 400 energy conservation projects in 16 provinces using a $280-million fund that came from 100 different energy management companies. Overall, this project had an energy savings equivalent to 18 million tons of standard-grade coal and 21 million tons of coal.