Continuing the Development of ScienceImplementation on Energy Efficiency for BuildingsThe significance of greater efforts for energy saving in the construction sector ()It is an important field where the national energy conservation strategy applies.China has entered the rapid development stage of industrialization and urbanization. Similar to most of the developed countries, it will have to go through the rapid increase of energy demands and fast adjustment of the energy mix. Its a huge challenge for China to ensure secure, economy and reliable energy supply and foster a sustainable energy development approach with Chinese characteristics. According to research by relevant agencies, with the same-targeted economic growth, different policies and measures can contribute to different energy structures and energy efficiency. The difference can be as great as nearly 800 million tons of coal equivalent in terms of primary energy use by the year 2020. In other words, different options of energy development strategies will generate different impacts on energy supply, energy security, environmental protection etc.Meanwhile, the structure of energy demand is bound to change greatly as the peoples living standard and their consumption structure improve. Its forecasted that the construction and transportation sectors will see higher growth rates of energy demand than the industrial sector. Their growth rates will also be higher than that of the total energy demand. The energy consumption in those two sectors accounts for 35% of the overall social consumption and will rise to 57% to 75% by the year 2020, becoming the most important driving factor for the increase of energy demand. () Energy saving is required by the sustainable development of the construction sector.1. Current development of construction sector(1)Rapid boom of housing and building industry and rapid increase of relevant energy demand. The annual floorage of newly finished houses and buildings totaled 1.8 to 2 billion square meters. It is estimated that this trend of rapid rise will continue for 15 years or so due to accelerating improvement of peoples livelihood and faster urbanization pace. Statistics shows the energy consumed in the construction and use periods of buildings accounts for 44.3% of the overall social energy consumption. In the construction period, the energy consumed for producing construction materials accounts for 16.7% of the total social energy consumption. In the use period, relevant energy consumption has kept increasing rapidly in the past two decades, up by 5.4% annually, accounting for 27.6% of Chinas total energy consumption in 2003. The figure was only 10% in 1978. According to experience of developed countries, the energy consumed in the use period of various buildings will gradually go up to 35% of the total social end-consumption of energy, taking the largest share of total social energy use.(2) Low building energy efficiency and huge potential for energy conservation. At present, the energy consumed for heating or air-conditioning in area per unit in China is 2 to 3 times that of the developed countries even with similar climate conditions. The thermal property of building enclosures is far from good. Energy conservation in this regard has become a priority for enhancing the overall social energy-use efficiency. Determination should be made now to step up efforts in construction related energy saving. The design of new buildings should fully observe relevant energy saving standards. The existing buildings should undergo gradual reforms. Through this move, it is estimated the construction related energy consumption of China could decrease by 335 million tons of coal equivalent annually by 2020, accounting for 42% of that years total energy saving potential, equivalent to the overall energy consumption of the United Kingdom in 2002.Therefore to push forward energy saving in various buildings is conducive to better energy-use efficiency. Energy saving is an important aspect in ensuring national energy security and building an energy-saving society. We should readjust our key points in energy saving strategy, with more emphasis on saving energy use in buildings instead of energy supply cut in the industrial sector. Effective measures should be taken to improve energy conservation policies, laws, regulations, technical standards and assistance to fully explore the potential for energy saving in the construction and use periods of various buildings and to push the energy saving work in the field to leap forward. At the same time, we should further our efforts in the “four savings” program by taking the energy saving campaign as the first step to overcome possible difficulties ahead. Energy-efficient and land-saving buildings for residence and public utilities are encouraged so as to realize a fundamental change of the construction modes in both urban and rural areas and help to achieve the target