Buildings Energy Efficiency in China, Germany, and the United States

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative compares energy efficiency policies for buildings in China, Germany, and the United States. It analyzes four primary policy intervention points—new construction, building retrofit, equipment, and operations—and examines how different national building stocks, climatic conditions, and economic environments shape the priorities and effectiveness of these policies.

• China's primary energy efficiency priority is ensuring high standards for new construction due to a very high rate of new build and rapid urban expansion, where residential and commercial floor space more than doubled between 2000 and 2008.
• Germany focuses heavily on building retrofits because it has a relatively old building stock, a low construction rate, and a declining population since 2003. The country has set a target to reduce primary energy use in buildings by 80% by 2050.
• The United States lacks a single point of policy focus, instead using a portfolio targeting new buildings, retrofits, and equipment. Energy demand for equipment consumes a higher share of building energy use in the U.S. than in China or Germany.
• A significant barrier to energy efficiency in Germany is the 'split incentive' problem, as a majority of German residences are rented, meaning landlords may not capture the benefits of efficiency investments.
• China faces a unique challenge in Northern China where most buildings are heated by district heating systems, making it difficult to use pricing to incentivize energy conservation because actual heat consumption per unit cannot currently be measured.
• In the United States, low energy prices relative to per capita income result in weak economic incentives for energy efficiency without policy intervention.
• The report identifies several universal barriers to energy efficiency, including fragmented markets, high upfront costs, lack of information, split incentives, financing difficulties, and mispricing of energy.
• CPI research in the U.S. indicates that residential building energy codes have had a modest impact on energy use and have encouraged a slight shift toward natural gas as a heating and water heating fuel.
• CPI research in Germany suggests that deep thermal retrofits are cost-effective when integrated into general retrofit projects, and that contractors are a critical information source for 61% of households.

APA

Amecke, H., Deason, J., Hobbs, A., Novikova, A., Xiu, Y., & Shengyuan, Z. (2013). Buildings Energy Efficiency in China, Germany, and the United States. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Buildings-Energy-Efficiency-in-China-Germany-and-the-United-States.pdf

Chicago

Amecke, Hermann, Jeff Deason, Andrew Hobbs, Aleksandra Novikova, Yang Xiu, and Zhang Shengyuan. Buildings Energy Efficiency in China, Germany, and the United States. Climate Policy Initiative, 2013. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Buildings-Energy-Efficiency-in-China-Germany-and-the-United-States.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Amecke |first1=Hermann |last2=Deason |first2=Jeff |last3=Hobbs |first3=Andrew |last4=Novikova |first4=Aleksandra |last5=Xiu |first5=Yang |last6=Shengyuan |first6=Zhang |title=Buildings Energy Efficiency in China, Germany, and the United States |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=April 2013 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Buildings-Energy-Efficiency-in-China-Germany-and-the-United-States.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{amecke2013buildings, author = {Amecke, Hermann and Deason, Jeff and Hobbs, Andrew and Novikova, Aleksandra and Xiu, Yang and Shengyuan, Zhang}, title = {{Buildings Energy Efficiency in China, Germany, and the United States}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Buildings-Energy-Efficiency-in-China-Germany-and-the-United-States.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }