China has taken a major step forward towards setting an ambitious renewable energy (RE) target for the year 2030. In a workshop held in January, some 40 government energy planners, business representatives, researchers and clean industry associations reviewed a new REEEP-funded report by the Centre for Renewable Energy Development (CRED).

The World Bank estimates that by 2015, half of the world’s new building construction will take place in China.  The nation’s eleventh five-year plan (2005-2010) aims for a 50% reduction in building energy consumption, and related new policy measures include energy efficiency (EE) standards and labeling for buildings.  But there is still a strong need for capacity-building in energy efficiency-oriented design and technology for the design and construction professionals who make new development happen on the ground.

South Africa is a powerhouse of the African continent, but its growth in demand for energy is outstripping supply. This makes it one of the first in the world to look seriously at the widescale adoption of a renewable energy technology, solar water heating (SWH), as a mechanism for coping with a mismatch between energy supply and demand.