Evolution of Energy Conservation Policies and Tools: The Caseof Japan

In the mainland of China, the constraints of environments, resources, especially energy resources, has increasingly become the bottleneck of economic development after reform policy for more than thirty years. In this paper, we illustrate the basic structure of energy conservation and emission reduction from historic, institutional and comparative analysis based on Japan's case as an example of energy conservation. Our investigation shows the evolution of Japan's energy conservation policies from a view of energy security to the view of environment protection and low carbon economy. We also analyze the tools that Japan adopted to remove energy conservation barriers.