China: Asia can improve its energy-efficiency and cut carbon emissions by adopting proven energy-saving technologies, but this has to be supplemented with regulations and market-driven energy pricing to be effective, according to the vice-chairman of the German chemical giant BASF. Beijing's practice of setting energy prices below those in the free market mean some opportunities had been lost due to poor economic fundamentals, said Dr Martin Brudermueller.
"If you look at the low energy cost in China, and you take the top one million households in Chongqing and you say you will reduce the air-conditioning cost by 50%, you end up with only US$280 of savings per year per household. You could hardly invest this in building insulation because it simply doesn't pay off," he said.
BASF is working on several projects to provide insulation materials for Chinese buildings that help cut heating and air-conditioning demand. Brudermueller says up to 60% of energy consumption can be cut with retrofitting. In addition to insulation, energy can be saved by treating floors to make them reflect heat and pigments can be added to building materials to reflect infrared lights - even if the materials are black. He added that China's energy consumption per square metre of floor space is two to three times higher on average than that seen in the EU.
