Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Amory Lovins

Reinventing Fire: China ... THREE ENERGY GAMECHANGERS FOR CHINA AND THE WORLD

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Reinventing Fire: China

The transition to an efficient and clean global energy future cannot happen without leadership from both China and the United States. Together, our two nations account for about 38 percent of global energy use and 43 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions.

Today, China is experiencing staggering growth in energy production and consumption, recently surpassing the U.S. to become the world’s largest gross energy consumer and CO2 emitter (although the U.S. still leads those categories in per-capita calculations). The country is also now the world’s largest energy consumer, burning 4.05 billion tons of coal in 2012—more than the rest of the world combined.

THREE ENERGY GAMECHANGERS FOR CHINA AND THE WORLD

Read an article by Amory Lovins and Jon Creyts in China Policy Review detailing how Reinventing Fire: China will help the country overcome energy insecurity, carbon, and pollution traps to innovate new energy solutions and retool China's economy for leadership in the 21st century.

THE RIGHT TIME FOR ACTION

RMI and its partners plan to deliver an analysis of the four energy-producing and -consuming sectors of China's economy (buildings, industry, transportation, and electricity) to spotlight the economic, social, and environmental benefits of rapidly deploying renewables and energy efficiency technologies in China. While previous energy studies have provided key insights to the country's energy opportunities and challenges, no model currently exists that integrates all four sectors while also examining technical feasibility and economic impact.

Reinventing Fire: China is developing insights that will lead to actions—policies, technology development, and adoption approaches—and is designed to build an enduring resource that can be applied by Chinese leaders to continually advance the country’s global clean energy efforts.

Learn more about the Beijing launch.

UNIQUE TEAM OF EXPERT PARTNERS

To complete this work, RMI is partnering with the following organizations:

Energy Research Institute (ERI), the energy think-tank of China's National Development and Reform Commission, a national organization that conducts comprehensive studies on China's energy issues.

China Energy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), a group committed to understanding the opportunities associated with meeting China's energy and efficiency needs. Energy Foundation's China Sustainable Energy Group (CSEP), a non-profit organization that assists Chinese agencies, experts, and entrepreneurs in solving energy challenges, both nationally and regionally.

The two-year project has several planned deliverables, including an executive report disseminated to key Chinese government, business, and thought leaders; policy briefing and recommendations authored by ERI; and an online database documenting analytic approaches, assumptions, and calculations. An advisory panel consisting of key Chinese energy stakeholders—including leaders responsible for writing China’s 13th Five Year Plan, the country’s social and economic development initiatives—will guide the effort.

LEVERAGING THE POWER OF REINVENTING FIRE

In 2011, RMI released Reinventing Fire, a robust, transparent analysis for running a 158%-bigger U.S. economy in 2050 using efficiency and renewables rather than fossil fuels. Built on Rocky Mountain Institute’s 30 years of research and work in the field, this independent synthesis offers practical and actionable solutions to solve energy problems while growing the U.S. economy.

Now, RMI is taking this same approach to China’s most pressing energy issues, with a goal to build an enduring resource that can be applied by Chinese leaders to continually advance the country’s global clean energy efforts.

REINVENTING FIRE: CHINA WITH AMORY LOVINS AND CLAY STRANGER

SWEDISH POSTCODE LOTTERY GRANTS GENEROUS SUPPORT TO RMI’S REINVENTING FIRE: CHINA

RMI is excited to announce the award of a generous grant from Svenska Postkod Lotteriet, the Swedish Postcode Lottery, for our current work in China. The Foundation’s SEK 3M (US$450,000) grant will support Reinventing Fire: China, RMI’s ambitious program to create a roadmap to transition China away from fossil fuels. China is the world’s second largest economy and largest emitter of carbon dioxide, with more and more cities facing challenges of air pollution-related CO2 emissions. RMI and the Swedish Postcode Lottery are partnering on the belief that sustaining a clean environment and healthy climate for the entire world requires immediate, bold action from China.

RMI, along with partners at China’s Energy Research Institute, Energy Foundation China, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s China Energy Group, are designing an efficient and renewable energy plan for China that sustains economic growth, improves environmental quality, and supports energy security. Chinese leaders have positively received Reinventing Fire: China already. According to Xu Kuangdi, Former Vice Chairman of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Former Mayor of Shanghai, “It is an imperative for us to Reinvent Fire, pursuing energy efficiency and clean energy to support blue skies and fresh air for the future of China.”

The generous grant from the Swedish Postcode Lottery will allow RMI to engage policymakers in China and ensure that the roadmap is in a strong position to be adopted into the nation’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which begins in 2016. The grant is administered by the Swedish Postcode Foundation—and its General Manager, Josefin Carlring, says: “We are so pleased to be partnering with Rocky Mountain Institute on Reinventing Fire: China. One of our goals is to fund work that focuses on transforming our global energy future and we think RMI's approach using energy efficiency and renewables, and its work with the second largest economy in the world, will help lead the transformation.” As a global nonprofit organization, RMI relies on the generous support of donors such as the Swedish Postcode Lottery to achieve our goal of creating a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future.

Original Mandarin Version via China Policy Review Download an English-language PDF