Context
In January 2009, the German and Chinese Governments agreed on strengthening the bilateral cooperation on climate protection. A high-level bilateral working group on climate change has been established as a central instrument of this cooperation. Since 2010, various ministries and subsidiary institutions of both countries have been taking part in annual meetings of the bilateral working group in order to exchange experiences in climate change mitigation strategies and bilateral cooperation projects. The dialogue established during project phase I (2011 - 2014) is deepened in project phase II (2014 - 2017) and supplemented by a component focusing on the promotion of renewable energies – a vital pillar of emissions mitigation measures in China and worldwide.
Objective
The project aims to strengthen the Sino-German cooperation on climate protection and China’s capacity to develop a low carbon economy based on renewable energy sources. It promotes the development and implementation of climate protection strategies and measures, incl. the expansion of renewable energies, on national as well as local level.
Approach
The project supports the established political and strategic dialogue on climate protection and intensifies the exchange on renewable energies.
Specific topics for the Sino-German experience exchange are defined by the bilateral working group on climate change and are followed up by the Sino-German Climate Partnership (project component 1). As such, the project component addresses demand-oriented issues (e.g. climate financing, establishment of low-carbon communities, climate governance, new market mechanism), which rose during the climate working group and which are in the interests of both sides and engages a first exchange of experiences by studies and dialogue events. Ideas for new projects derived from this exchange are fed back to the climate working group. Besides, targeted trainings support the political dialogue and strengthen especially the implementation of climate protection measures at provincial and local level.
The Sino-German Cooperation on Renewable Energies (project component 2) serves to intensify the political dialogue with the National Energy Administration of the P.R. China (NEA) on policies to promote the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through renewable energy deployment and system integration. Together with its implementation partner, the China National Renewable Energy Center (CNREC), it supports the development of the legal and regulatory framework for the deployment and efficient use of renewable energies on the national and local level. The component facilitates the transition towards a low carbon energy system on local level through the development of exemplary integrated energy concepts together with three Sino-German New Energy Demonstration Cities drawing on German best practices. The selected pilot cities aim to raise the share of renewable energies in energy consumption with the help of a long-term vision for their future energy system (incl. ambitious targets for renewable energies), a holistic planning approach and an action plan, including practicable measures for implementation and monitoring of results. Besides, a web-based dialogue and information platform serves to facilitate the exchange of best practices between the Chinese New Energy Cities domestically and with international peers.
The overall project serves a platform to integrate the Sino-German cooperation on climate and renewable energies into a coherent framework facilitating coordination and leveraging of synergies in implementation. It also aims at strengthening China’s involvement in forums for multilateral exchange. Experiences gained within the framework of the Sino-German cooperation are rehashed and further disseminated to relevant stakeholders. Beyond, experiences are fed back into the international debate.
Results
As a focal point for communication, component 1 successfully supports the climate protection dialogue and continuously contributes to intensifying the exchange of experiences between Germany and China. The component is involved closely in the preparation, implementation and follow-up of the annual meetings of the bilateral working group. During these meetings, both sides exchange on current climate protection policies and international climate negotiation positions. They evaluate the Sino-German cooperation projects of the IKI and agree on topics and projects ideas for future cooperation.
Without the implementation of climate-friendly measures at the local level (e.g. in cities), climate protection can not be realized. That is why the project organized several dialogues formats in which governmental officials, scientists, legal experts and NGOs discussed inter alia institutional and structural aspects of climate change. An ongoing exchange of experience on public participation in climate protection and a discussion on the Chinese climate legislation has been established. Recently, the project supported the bilateral dialogue on South - South cooperation and contributed with international perspectives and expertise to the ongoing establishment of the Chinese South-South Cooperation Fund.
Chinese representatives of city- and provincial-level from the Jiangxi Province had been familiarized with institutional framework conditions and models of the municipal climate protection in Germany and Europe. Complementary training measures will follow in the next months order to support the implementation of specific climate action plans at local level and to strengthen local climate governance capacities.
Component 2 supports the bilateral policy dialogue on national level policies that drive local level action to mitigate emissions in order to strengthen the ability of Chinese cities to act on climate change. Three Sino-German New Energy Demonstration Cities (Dunhuang, Jiaxing Xiuzhou and Xintai) receive technical and methodological support in the development of exemplary sustainable energy concepts, which will serve as a model for other Chinese cities to replicate.
The status quo with regard to energy supply and demand has been collected. Subsequently, energy and emissions balances are created for each of the demonstration cities, while the potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency development is analysed. Following the elaboration of scenarios for different pathways for the future development of the cities’ energy system, action plans with recommendations for policies, regulations and projects are drafted and discussed with relevant stakeholders. As a final step, the lessons learned are summarized in a guideline for the development of integrated municipal energy concepts adapted to the Chinese circumstances. Along with GIZ and CNREC local Chinese consultants as well as a consortium of renowned German Fraunhofer Institutes, incl. the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES), Building Physics (IBP) and Solar Energy Systems (ISE), accompany the process of energy concept development with methodological and technical advice.
Furthermore, the project component supports the cooperation of CNREC and the Innovation and Technology Centre (IITC) of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Bonn. The cooperation focused on the localization of the REmap 2030–China Country Report and on an analysis of the cost structure of typical renewable energy projects in China. In addition, an exchange on methodologies for cost-benefit analysis and impact assessment of renewable energy policies is conducted.