This contribution focuses on the challenges that China is confronted with in the energy area and how existing energy policies and strategies are designed to address climate change, especially in the context of the upcoming UNFCCC COP21 in Paris and China’s submitted INDC. This article discusses the need for two essential policy shifts in the energy and climate change area: (i) the shift from a purely quantitative targeting approach to a more diversified approach and (ii) the intrinsic challenge of moving to a coherent institutional and legislative approach. The article illustrates those challenges by presenting four low(er)-carbon technology case studies: solar PV, wind energy, shale gas and nuclear power.