The pace of energy conservation and carbon reduction in the building sector has accelerated, and this work plan has been clearly deployed

The construction sector is one of the main areas of energy consumption and carbon emissions in China, and accelerating the promotion of energy conservation and carbon reduction in the building sector is of great significance to achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality and promoting high-quality development.

On March 15, the General Office of the State Council forwarded the Work Plan for Accelerating Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in the Construction Sector (hereinafter referred to as the "Work Plan") issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to promote the high-quality development of the construction sector.

Accelerate the promotion of energy conservation and carbon reduction in buildings

In order to promote the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, the "Work Plan" makes it clear that by 2025, the energy conservation and carbon reduction system in the building field will be more sound, the green building standards will be fully implemented for new urban buildings, the construction area of new ultra-low energy consumption and near-zero energy consumption will increase by more than 200 million square meters compared with 2023, the energy-saving renovation area of existing buildings will increase by more than 200 million square meters compared with 2023, the electricity consumption of building energy consumption will account for more than 55%, and the renewable energy replacement rate of urban buildings will reach 8% Positive progress has been made in energy conservation and carbon reduction in the construction sector.

By 2027, large-scale development of ultra-low energy consumption buildings will be realized, energy-saving renovation of existing buildings will be further promoted, the energy consumption structure of buildings will be more optimized, a number of green, low-carbon and high-quality buildings will be built, and remarkable results will be achieved in energy conservation and carbon reduction in the construction field.

Define 12 key tasks

In order to accelerate the promotion of energy conservation and carbon reduction in the field of buildings, the "Work Plan" puts forward 12 key tasks, including: improving the level of energy conservation and carbon reduction of new urban buildings, promoting the renovation and upgrading of existing urban buildings, strengthening the management of energy conservation and carbon reduction in building operations, promoting the low-carbon transformation of building energy consumption, promoting heat metering and charging according to heat supply, improving the green and low-carbon level of rural housing, promoting green and low-carbon construction, strict building demolition management, accelerating the research and development and promotion of advanced technologies for energy conservation and carbon reduction, and improving the statistical accounting system for energy consumption and carbon emissions in the building field. Strengthen the support of laws and regulations, and increase the support of policy funds.

Among them, it is required to optimize the energy-saving and carbon-reduction design of new buildings, and promote the configuration of energy management systems in public buildings and qualified residential buildings. Vigorously promote ultra-low energy consumption buildings, encourage government investment in public welfare buildings according to ultra-low energy consumption building standards, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and other qualified areas to accelerate the large-scale development of ultra-low energy buildings. Increase the proportion of star-rated green buildings in new buildings. Strengthen the energy-saving review of construction projects with an annual operating energy consumption of 1,000 tons of standard coal (or 5 million kilowatt-hours) and above, and strictly implement the mandatory standards for building energy conservation and carbon reduction.

Comprehensively carry out a thorough survey of existing urban buildings, and establish a database and project reserve for energy-saving and carbon-reduction renovation of city-level buildings. Cities included in the scope of the central government's winter clean heating policy support in the northern region should accelerate the energy-saving renovation of existing buildings.

Promote combined heat and power central heating according to local conditions, support the application of geothermal energy, biomass energy, and solar energy heating in the construction field, and carry out the utilization of waste heat from thermal power, industry, and nuclear power. Explore the normalized supervision and post-evaluation of renewable energy building applications, and optimize the operation strategies of renewable energy building application projects in a timely manner.

Adhere to the principle of farmers' voluntariness, adapting measures to local conditions, and one household, one policy, and promote the construction of green and low-carbon farmhouses. Promote the low-carbon transformation of rural energy use, guide farmers to reduce the use of coal combustion, and encourage the use of electricity, natural gas and renewable energy according to local conditions.

Promote the acceleration of the revision of laws and regulations such as the Energy Conservation Law and the Regulations on Energy Conservation in Civil Buildings. Distinguish different stages, building types, and climate zones, formulate and revise a number of building energy efficiency standards in an orderly manner, and gradually improve the energy efficiency standards of new urban civil buildings to ultra-low energy consumption levels.

Improve the implementation of fiscal, tax, financial, investment, price and other policies that are conducive to building energy conservation and carbon reduction. Increase the support of central funds for building energy conservation and carbon reduction transformation. Implement preferential tax policies to support building energy conservation and encourage comprehensive utilization of resources. Encourage banking and insurance institutions to improve green finance and other products and services, and support the development of ultra-low energy buildings, green buildings, prefabricated buildings, intelligent construction, energy-saving renovation of existing buildings, renewable energy applications in buildings, and related industries.