New Policies to Promote Energy Savings in Public Buildings

On May 11, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) jointly published ‘the Notice on Promotion of Energy Saving in Public Buildings.’ According to the notice, over the next five years, the energy consumption per unit area in public buildings is required to decrease by 10%, while that for large-scaled public buildings should be reduced by 15%. MOHURD is going to strengthen the promotion of energy-saving green buildings. It aims to change the perception of these buildings from simply energy saving to sustainable, water-, material-, and space-saving buildings. It aims to apply the energy saving principle not only to design and construction but also to operation, supervision, recycling and integrated management. MOHURD said that more subsidy policies are being drafted.