Abstract: In response to the pressures of energy demand and environment protection, renewable energy has been the choice of many countries. With the globalization of energy markets deepening, different nations have adopted national renewable energy laws and policies on similar basis, which has laid a foundation for China to learn from their advanced experiences. The renewable energy laws and policy systems of the major developed countries such as the United States, France, Japan, Australia and Germany have stayed in the leading position for long. And their alignment will increase, with an increasingly obvious political trend. To build a renewable energy law and policy system with Chinese characteristic, China must improve its renewable energy laws and policies which emphasize low carbon and green development, and introduce market regulation mechanism and international cooperation mechanism.

Key words: renewable energy, developed country, energy law, energy policy, environmental protection