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Fossil Fuels

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China as a Global Clean Energy Champion

Part of the book series: Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies ((PSAPS))

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Abstract

Fossil fuels still dominate China’s energy supply. This chapter will explain why the shift away from fossil fuels is proving difficult. Key factors include the continued preference for maximising the degree of self-reliance in energy supply, the nature of economic incentives and the interests of different actors. The focus is on the growing efficiency of coal-fired power generation and on the steady rise of gas production and consumption, as the management of these two industries will play a key role in the reduction of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Improvements in these fields have been driven mainly by administrative policy instruments backed by funding, but this approach tends to be less effective when enforcement is insufficiently rigorous or the incentives are weak.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Philip Andrews-Speed

  2. North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China

    Sufang Zhang

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  1. Philip Andrews-Speed
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  2. Sufang Zhang
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Correspondence to Philip Andrews-Speed .

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Andrews-Speed, P., Zhang, S. (2019). Fossil Fuels. In: China as a Global Clean Energy Champion. Palgrave Series in Asia and Pacific Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3492-4_7

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