A Preliminary Evaluation of China’s Implementation Progress in Energy Intensity Targets

Abstract

China proposed an ambitious goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20% from 2006 to 2010. This paper evaluates the progress of provincial governments implementing energy conservation targets assigned by the central government. The empirical analysis of this paper is divided into two parts, a static analysis and a dynamic analysis. In the static analysis, we established a multiple linear regression model based on provincial cross-sectional data, to explore factors that affect the reduction of energy intensity. In the dynamic analysis, we established a fixed group and time effect model based on provincial panel data, to explain the annual changes in energy intensity. The analysis results show that the framework of the energy conservation policy introduced by the Chinese government is quite robust, and provincial governments respond positively to the instructions from the central government.