China: China and Denmark signs new cooperation agreement on energy efficiency

Danish Climate, Energy and Building Ministry press release

On Thursday April 24 the governments of China and Denmark agreed to deepen the cooperation further on energy efficiency in terms of a memorandum of understanding, while also extending existing cooperation within sustainable energy and green urban development.

In the presence of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II and the President of China Xi Jinping, the Danish ambassador to China, Friis Arne Petersen, signed a new memorandum of understanding between the Danish Energy Agency and China’s National Energy Conservation Centre on Thursday April 24.

The agreement targets energy efficiency regulation, particularly in the industrial sector, and Denmark will also contribute to the development and implementation of energy efficiency strategies at a national and local level. China has already developed an industry-sector program focusing on industries including steel, chemicals, and cement; and Danish experiences can contribute to the further development of greater energy efficiency in the heavy industries in China.

“China is the world’s largest energy consumer and CO2 emitter and there are huge opportunities to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.  In Denmark we have decades of experience in increasing energy efficiency within the industrial and construction sectors. We have shown that economic growth doesn’t have to rule out sustainable energy development” says Rasmus Helveg Petersen, Danish minister for climate, energy and building.

The need for energy efficiency initiatives in China is growing. According to the International Energy Agency China could decrease its energy consumption by 25 percent in 2035. One way to reach this potential could be to harness waste heat produced by heavy industry. A Sino-Danish project in Anshan demonstrates how to use waste heat in district heat systems and the project could serve as an example for other cities and regions in China.

Green energy transformation is top priority

The Danish Ministry for Climate, Energy and Building extended two existing co-operation agreements with Chinas National Energy Agency, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development that focus on sustainable energy and green urban development. About 15 million Chinese relocate to the cities every year and China accounts for 50 percent of the global growth in new built square meters of buildings.

“China has served as the world’s main growth engine since the financial crisis, but at the same time China has become the world’s largest energy consumer. By extending these agreements China shows that the green energy transformation is a top priority and that China seeks sustainable solutions to the problems associated with her massive growth. Denmark has the technological solutions and years of experience in green energy transformation which can be shared and further developed in cooperation between the two countries. This will benefit both China and Denmark” says Rasmus Helveg Petersen.

Approximately 500 Danish companies are doing business in China which makes China the single largest trading partner to Denmark outside of the European Union. A number of Danish companies deal in energy technology and these companies export green energy technology and sustainable energy solutions to power plants and other energy systems.

The Sino-Danish cooperation on renewable energy and energy efficiency was established in 2005 with the first bilateral agreement on wind power. This resulted in the Wind Energy Development Programme (WED) running from 2006 till 2009. In 2009 the WED-programme was succeeded by the Renewable Energy Development Programme (RED). The main focus area of the RED-programme has been to establish a national centre for renewable energy in China (CNREC) and a number of case examples, including two renewable energy projects in Northeast China. 

Danish-Chinese cooperation on climate, energy and buildings

Anton Beck
Kontorchef
Center for Global Rådgivning og Forhandling
Tlf.: 29 62 39 96
anb@ens.dk