Helping cities to develop and implement transformative actions on clean and renewable energy
The China Buildings Programme, launched in 2018 in Beijing, is working with Beijing, Fuzhou, Qingdao, and Shanghai (Changing District) to develop a range of innovative policies to rapidly reduce emissions from existing buildings, ensure new buildings reach ultra-low energy consumption levels, and promote the use of buildings as a source of low carbon energy. The programme supports the four Chinese cities to deliver ambitious climate action and share knowledge with cities across China and internationally.
The Center of Science and Technology of Industrialization Development (CSTID), a research institution under the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD), manages the delivery of technical assistance support to Beijing, Fuzhou, and Qingdao, as well as most central communication and outreach functions. The China Association of Building Energy Efficiency (CABEE), a non-profit association composed of building energy efficiency products and service enterprises, manages the delivery of technical assistance support to the Changning District, Shanghai, as well as capacity building functions for the China Better Buildings Challenge.
The C40 China Buildings Programme is one of two country level initiatives within C40’s global Building Energy 2020 Programme (BE2020), the other being in South Africa. Funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), BE2020 is supporting more than 50 cities to take action and develop policies that curb emissions from existing buildings, avoid carbon lock-in from low performing buildings, and help cities utilise buildings as sources of low carbon energy.
Cities, which account for over 85% of China’s overall CO2 emissions, are at the frontline of efforts to deliver on the Chinese government’s commitment to peak CO2 emissions by 2030.
The C40 China Buildings Programme will therefore help reduce emissions across multiple building types through focusing on the following specific policy areas:
- Beijing will focus on promoting the adoption of ultra-low energy efficiency in new construction
- Fuzhou will focus on scaling renewable energy utilization in buildings
- Qingdao will focus on the financial sustainability of energy retrofits for existing residential buildings
- Shanghai’s Changning District will focus on fostering energy efficiency upgrades of existing commercial and public buildings through piloting the China Better Buildings Challenge*
To learn more, visit our page on the Knowledge Hub with high-level policy briefings for Chinese urban policy stakeholders.
- Climate Action Planning (CAP): Integrating the Building Sector
- New Building Efficiency Briefing
- Existing Buildings Briefing
- Clean Construction Briefing – Clean Energy Briefing