ADB-Project-46053001

PROJECT DATA SHEETProject Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program: Because the PDS is a work in progress,some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information aboutproposed projects is tentative and indicative.In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of, or reference to, a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.FINANCINGType/Modality of AssistanceApproval Number Source of Funding Approved Amount (US$ thousand)Technical Assistance8174Technical Assistance Special Fund 400TOTAL US$ 400SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES–PDS Creation Date –PDS Updated as of 16 Nov 2012Project Name Promoting Energy-Efficient Products by Strengthening the Energy Labeling Sheme Country China, People's Republic ofProject/Program Number 46053-001Status ApprovedGeographical Location –Sector and/or SubsectorClassification Energy / Energy Efficiency and ConservationThematic Classification Capacity developmentEnvironmental sustainabilityGender MainstreamingCategories –Environmental AspectsInvoluntary Resettlement–Indigenous Peoples–STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION, PARTICIPATION, AND CONSULTATIONDuring Project Design–During Project Implementation–DESCRIPTIONThe TA will strengthen the China Energy Label (CEL), a mandatory energy labeling scheme in the PRC, by establishing a reliable and comprehensive evaluation system. The TA will support the strengthening of the CEL by addressing the key issues. An improved CEL is expected to build consumers confidence about the nameplate energy efficiency rating of products, thereby strengthening demand for them. The TA will also provide a substantial end-user energy efficiency gain to help the PRC achieve its energy intensity reduction targets.PROJECT RATIONALE AND LINKAGE TO COUNTRY/REGIONAL STRATEGYThe PRC's sustained economic growth over the past 20 years has brought millions of people out of poverty. But this economic growth was energy intensive, and it came at a disproportionately high cost to the environment and resources. During this period, the PRC became the world's largest energy consumer. One of the most important development challenges in the PRC is to direct consumption and production patterns toward resource conserving and energy-efficient growth patterns. This requires concerted and cooperative efforts throughout the entire cycle of production and consumption of energy. In this effort, the PRC achieved an energy intensity reduction of 19.1% in 2010 compared to 2005. But the emphasis was primarily on the supply-side options, and measures to specifically target end-user energy efficiency have been lacking. The PRC is now one of the world's largest producers and consumers of energy-using products. Household energy consumption has increased sharply owing to the rapid growth in the ownership of home appliances. In 2010, household electricity consumption was about 12% of the total electricity consumption in the PRC. In the absence of consumer awareness and education about energy-efficient products, especially how high operational costs offset the initial cost advantage of inefficient products, consumers continue to prefer low-cost but high energy-consuming products. As a result, there is insufficient demand for energy-efficient products, which in turn has deterred producers from innovating and launching highly energy-efficient products. Unless these highly energy-efficient products are launched and used extensively, it will not be possible to achieve the cost reduction benefits resulting from economies of scale and technological improvement. This is a major barrier to improving energy efficiency at the household level. Highly energy-efficient products offer opportunities for consumers to reduce their energy bill and conserve energy, which can moderate demand growth, thereby reducing emissions. Recognizing the need to address end-user energy efficiency, the government introduced some policy measures. In 1989, the minimum energy performance standards (MEPSs) were launched to prevent the market entry of high energy-consuming products that did not meet the threshold energy efficiency level. But the MEPSs stimulated neither product innovation nor the demand for highly energy-efficient products. Thus, in 2005, the CEL was introduced to complement the MEPSs. The CEL helps consumers to easily identify energy-efficient products because the label placed on the product informs the consumer of its energy efficiency performance. Since its introduction, the CEL has expanded to cover 25 product groups and over 260,000 models. CNIS, which is responsible for the technical work of the CEL, estimated that CEL saved 15 terawatt-hours of electricity between 2005 and 2010, equivalent to 60 million tons of coal equivalent, and the associated emissions were avoided. But to realize these benefits in a timely manner, there is an urgent need to strengthen the CEL. In 2010, a random product testing of nine popular product with high energy-efficiency was conducted by CNIS and the CEL Center. It found serious discrepancies between the nameplate energy performance rating claimed by the manufacturer and the actual energy efficiencies observed during the product tests. Since the CEL does not mandate independent external verification of the claimed energy efficiency, the manufacturers tend to overstate it. This has eroded consumers' confidence about the reliability of product information and undermined the CEL objectives. The accuracy and reliability of energy efficiency testing has been another major problem with the CEL. The current CEL system does include a set of broad testing standards, testing methods, and procedures. However, it does not provide sufficient product-specific technical instructions, which often leads to conflicting andunreliable test results. Under these circumstances, the CEL faces some challenges to ensure a high level of compliance. The TA is consistent with (i) the strategic priority of environmentally sustainable growth under ADB's Strategy 2020; and (ii) the PRC's country partnership strategy, 2011-2015, which promotes resource and energy efficiency and environmental sustainability as core pillars. As the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, 2011-2015 of the PRC further sets energy intensity reduction by 16%, both production and consumption sides' efforts are needed. This TA will address demand-side energy efficiency improvement in the PRC and is a logical extension of ADB's ongoing and planned interventions on the supply side. It fits well with the priorities of both the PRC and ADB on improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon intensity in the PRC.DEVELOPMENT IMPACTPROJECT OUTCOMEOUTPUTS AND IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESSBUSINESS OPPORTUNITIESImproved end-user energy efficiency in the PRCDescription of Outcome Progress Towards OutcomeA strengthened and more reliable CEL –Description of Project Outputs Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities,and Issues)A comprehensive assessment of the current CEL and acomparison with other international labeling schemes Acomprehensive technical and regulatory policy brief tostrengthen the CEL evaluation system Pilot testing of theproposed technical instructions Capacity strengthening inCEL implementation –Date of First Listing 28 Jun 2012Consulting Services The TA will be carried out by a consulting firm (one international consultant for 5person-months, and four national consultants for 18 person-months) with expertise inenergy standards, energy labeling schemes, energy efficiency configurations, andproduct energy efficiency testing for home appliances. The consulting firm will beengaged using the quality- and cost-based selection method (with a quality-cost ratioof 80:20) in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2010, asamended from time to time). The firm will be required to submit a simplified technicalproposal covering all aspects of the terms of reference. The experts required toundertake the activities of the TA include (i) energy standards and labeling expert(international, 5 person-months); (ii) research consultant (national, 4 person-months);(iii) three technical instruction specialists (national, 6 person-months for refrigeratorproduct group, 4-person months each for air conditioner and television productgroups). The international energy standards and labeling expert will be the teamleader and will (i) coordinate the activities of the other consultants, and (ii) workclosely with ADB and CNIS to discuss progress. The team leader will have technicalexpertise in (i) energy standards and labeling schemes, (ii) policy analysis and design,(iii) promotion and verification of energy-efficient products, and (iv) product testing.The national research consultant will have expertise in research and analysis ofTIMETABLEMILESTONESApproval No.Approval Signing Effectivity ClosingOriginal Revised Actual Technical Assistance 817427 Sep 201219 Oct 201219 Oct 201215 Jan 2014––TA AMOUNT (US$ THOUSAND)Approval NumberApproved Amount Revised Amount Total Commitment Uncommitted Balance Total Disbursement Undisbursed Balance Technical Assistance817440040004000400CONTACTS AND UPDATE DETAILSenergy labeling schemes and their evaluation mechanism. The other three nationaltechnical instruction specialists will have broad technical expertise in the relevantproduct groups, namely refrigerators, air conditioners, and televisions. Theconsultants will submit an inception report within 1 month after signing the consultingcontract. The interim reports, for each output, will be provided 3 months aftercommencement of the task, and the draft final reports upon completion of eachoutput. The consultants will take into account the comments provided by ADB and theimplementing agency on the draft final report for each output, and the consolidatedfinal report will be submitted upon completion of all the outputs. The team leader willbe responsible for collating the reports of the individual consultants to ensureconsistency and coherence. All reports will be provided in English and Chinese.Procurement –Procurement and ConsultingNotices /projects/46053-001/business-opportunitiesConcept Clearance 21 Jun 2012Fact-finding 03 Aug 2012 to 07 Aug 2012Management Review Meeting –Approval 27 Sep 2012Last Review Mission –Responsible ADB Officer Na Won Kim (nawonkim@)Responsible ADB Department East Asia DepartmentResponsible ADB Division Energy Division, EARDExecuting Agencies Gen. Admin.of Quality Supervision,Ins.& QuarantineDing Zhiyin, Representative of International Organization DivisionLINKSProject Website /projects/46053-001/mainList of Project Documents /projects/46053-001/documents。