SEPTEMBER 21, 2023
The China Oil Cap project represents a bold effort to spur the conditions for China to cap its oil consumption and achieve peak emissions. Launched by Yang Fuqiang (Awardee 2017) through the Climate Breakthrough Award program, the initiative will seek to leverage cutting-edge research and innovative policy frameworks to bring influential insights directly into business and policy-making circles in the world’s largest annual greenhouse gas emitter.
The Challenge
While China has made progress in reducing coal consumption, oil remains a largely unchallenged contributor to the country’s carbon emissions, accounting for nearly 20% of CO2 emissions. Unlike coal, oil continues to enjoy a relatively positive perception among policymakers, industry leaders, and the public as a “cleaner” energy alternative. This perception, combined with increasing consumption patterns, threatens to lock China into carbon-intensive infrastructure and industries for decades to come.
The Initiative
Inspired by Fuqiang’s successful work in promoting a cap on coal consumption in China, this new initiative will target oil. to replicate the success of China’s coal reduction efforts in the oil sector. The timing of this initiative is particularly strategic, coinciding with China’s ongoing high-level oil and gas industry reform. Additionally, the emergence of low-carbon innovations in China’s transport sector provides alternative solutions and places pressure on incumbent industries to adapt.
The initiative will focus on four pillars. First, establishing high-level policy and research steering committees and bringing together current and former government officials, energy insiders, and experts. These committees will ensure the project’s research aligns with government needs while maintaining high quality and strategic direction. Second, building a research coalition, uniting industry and government-affiliated research institutions with international research organizations. The research will spotlight what they call the true cost of oil and develop “oil cap scenarios.”
Third, organizing an international oil cap workshop, modeled after the successful annual International Coal Cap Workshop. Fourth, mainstreaming comprehensive research findings to relevant ministries, demonstrating how reduced oil consumption aligns with China’s existing economic, environmental, and energy security goals.
The Vision
Success of the Oil Cap Initiative could have implications far beyond China’s borders. As the world’s largest energy consumer, China’s domestic energy policies have global ramifications. An end to China’s “age of oil” and a shift to cleaner alternatives could not only accelerate China’s own climate goals but also catalyze similar transitions in other countries, potentially reshaping global energy consumption patterns.