The Greening of China's Cities, Counties, Towns and Industry

According to China’s deputy director of the National Energy Administration, Qian Zhimin, Chinese cities, counties and towns will be increasingly green in the next few years. As reported in China Daily, Qian estimated that by 2015, the country could see as many as 100 cities, 200 counties and 10,000 towns relying on alternative sources of energy like renewables.

“Against the backdrop of combating climate change and pursuing development in a way that saves energy and avoids harming the environment, the notion of a low-carbon town is becoming prevalent, and promising exploration have been conducted by a multitude of…cities,” Qian said. “Priorities should be placed on the development of public and rail transit and the construction of smart grids. We should also make cities more energy efficient”

China’s first model town, Tianjin Yujiapu financial district was nominated as the first low-carbon model town project in the Asia-Pacific region at a forum that discussed low carbon model towns. The initial planning for the city was conducted by international design teams from Manhattan, Chicago, London, and Japan.

“In recent years, test projects have begun for regions that will emit relatively little carbon and have been preliminarily tried out in five provinces and eight cities, including Tianjin,” Qian said.

Li Bo, the president of the Tianjin Innovative Finance Investment Ltd., noted that the buildings in the city are being constructed in accordance to green standards. “Last year, we signed cooperative agreements with more than 60 low-carbon enterprises from home and abroad,” Li said. At present, 260 enterprises have invested in the Yujiapu financial district, with a total capital registered for the project at around 60 billion yuan, or $9.27 billion.

Xinhua reports that China’s minister of industry and information technology, Miao Xu, said that the government has plans to green the country’s industrialization strategy. The minister indicated that China will promote energy efficiency and emissions reductions. These measures are significant given the fact that as of 2011, Chinese energy consumption in industrial production accounts for 70 percent of the nation’s total energy consumption.

These efforts are consistent with China’s five-year plan which mandates movement away from fossil fuels, and lowering energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 16 percent.

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