Abstract: Low carbon economy has been a crucial strategy of worldwide economic and social development, and also an inevitable choice to achieve sustainable development. Future energy supply system will certainly be a system that is low carbon, highly efficient and environment friendly. China?s high carbon energy system will still rely heavily on coal in the short term. The foundation of energy strategic positioning is a clean energy structure that is orderly and low carbon. By transforming development models and developing low carbon economy, global economic and social development pattern will change dramatically, new room for development and competition pattern will be formed. In order to develop low carbon energy, China must use two ways simultaneously. One way is to continue developing traditional fossil energy focusing on coal and oil, to achieve clean and highly efficient energy utilization by using new technology and to reduce green house emission. The other way is to improve energy structure by further developing natural gas, coalbed methane and renewable resources. The most active and effective way is to realize integration of natural gas and coalbed methane downstream and upstream, to speed up self-innovation, to establish and improve technical standard system and to steadily promote the diversification of energy structure and the healthy development of low carbon economy.

Key words: low carbon economy, clean energy, natural gas, coalbed methane