Economic Analyses of Energy Saving and Pollution Abatement Policies for the Electric Power Sectors of China and the United States

    In December 2006, China hosted the first meeting of the China-United States (US) Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED). During the meeting, China and the US agreed to cooperate on joint research to assess the economic impacts of efforts to conserve energy and protect the environment. In April 2007, the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the two government agencies responsible for the research, launched The Joint Economic Study of the Strategic Economic Dialogue: Economic Analyses of Energy Saving and Pollution Abatement Policies for the Electric Power Sectors of China and the United States (JES).
    The overall goals of the JES are to evaluate the costs and benefits of achieving the energy saving and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission targets defined in China’s 11th Five-Year Plan, assess the costs and benefits of achieving the US’s long-term goals to reduce ozone and fine particle (PM2.5) concentrations in the Eastern US, and provide policy recommendations.
    SEPA and EPA established a strong foundation of coordination and cooperation for the JES. Experts from both countries conducted extensive research over six months to complete the analysis of the costs and benefits of energy saving and pollution abatement. The results of this research are respectfully submitted to both governments for the third China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing in December 2007.