Energy policy of China

China is both the world's largest energy consumer and the largest industrial country, and ensuring adequate energy supply to sustain economic growth has been a core concern of the Chinese Government since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Since the country's industrialization in the 1960s, China is currently the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and coal in China is a major cause of global warming. However, from 2010 to 2015 China reduced energy consumption per unit of GDP by 18%, and CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by 20%. On a per-capita basis, China was only the world's 51st largest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2016. China is also the world's largest renewable energy producer (see this article), and the largest producer of hydroelectricity, solar power and wind power in the world. The energy policy of China is connected to its industrial policy, where the goals of China's industrial production dictate its energy demand managements.   

Being a country that depends heavily on foreign petroleum import for both domestic consumption and as raw materials for light industry manufacturing, electrification is a huge component of the Chinese national energy policy. Details for the power sector are likely to be released winter 2021/22 for the 14th five-year plan, and this is expected to determine whether the country builds more coal-fired power stations, and therefore whether global climate targets are likely to be met.