Promoting Green Development in Buildings Requires Moving Beyond the Electricity Ratio and Focusing on Efficient Equipment

On May 28, the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a technical partner of ACTION 2035, published an opinion article titled Promoting Green Development in Buildings Requires Moving Beyond the Electricity Ratio and Focusing on Efficient Equipment. The article discusses key issues related to green development in China's building sector. In promoting building electrification to achieve the dual carbon goals, the focus should not solely be on increasing the proportion of electricity consumption. Instead, it is crucial to promote high-efficiency electrical equipment, especially heat pump technology, and improve supporting policy indicators. The article analyzes the risks of solely emphasizing an increase in the electricity consumption ratio. Through case comparisons (such as heat pumps vs. electric boilers) and reviews of domestic and international policy practices, it demonstrates that the key to transforming the building energy structure lies in combining a high proportion of end-use electrified equipment with a power grid featuring high penetration of renewable energy. However, the current approach of narrowly pursuing a higher electricity consumption ratio may paradoxically lead to increased energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, the promotion of high-efficiency equipment should be the core strategy, with priority given to energy-saving technologies such as heat pumps. Establishing specific, measurable targets for efficient equipment application, setting caps on fossil energy consumption, phasing out inefficient heating methods, and standardizing calculation methods are deemed more effective in reducing building carbon emissions, controlling social costs, and driving a substantive green transformation of the building energy structure than simply setting electricity ratio goals. The article calls for a more scientific and comprehensive indicator system to be established in the 15th Five-Year Plan.