Abstract
With
a business as usual (BAU) scenario, CO2 emissions from rural China
will triple from 2020 to 2050. With a net zero-carbon energy scenario, all
carbon emissions can be fully mitigated. The object of the article is to
demonstrate how a market-based financial mechanism without government subsidies
will catalyze the zero-carbon energy scenario that will comply with China’s
2060 carbon neutrality strategic goal. Data were collected on-site from
interviews with more than 200 households in a rural community of Santai County
in southwest China. A methodology of simple financial analyses is used to show
viability of a hybrid technology of biogas and solar photovoltaic (PV) in a
representative rural household. Analysis results show that it is technically
feasible and financially viable to replace natural gas and grid electricity
with biogas and homebased solar PV electricity without government subsidies.
This article tries to develop the theory of change from fossil energy-based
system to net zero-carbon energy system in rural China with 100% private investments.
Four key words are concluded for the most appropriate model for China’s rural
net zero-carbon energy: integration of zero-carbon energy policy and
technologies, participation of rural households and private firms; engagement
of local banks, and involvement of local utility companies. With that, the net
zero-carbon energy system in the Chinese rural households can mitigate at least
570 million tonnes of CO2 (TCO2) per annum by 2060.