A dozen Chinese city mayors and their
representatives came together to explore ways of tackling the
traffic congestion and excessive energy consumption suffocating
city development.
At yesterday's International Mayors Forum on Sustainable
Urban Energy Development, the city fathers gleaned valuable experience
from overseas experts and city governors about managing transportation
systems.
Xu Kuangdi, head of the Chinese Academy of Engineering,
yesterday urged city mayors to improve energy efficiency in buildings.
They consume 30 per cent of the total energy in China,
a percentage in keeping with its increased urban acceleration.
But less than 5 per cent of new buildings in the
country have adopted energy-saving designs and materials, said
Xu.
The average energy consumption
of buildings in China is up to three times that of those in developed
countries. Should the current situation continue, China will not
be able meet energy demands, he said.
"The buildings, compared to the industrial and
transportation sectors, have greater potential to save energy
at lower costs," said Xu.
Even by replacing existing lights with energy-saving
bulbs, China can save the equivalent amount of electricity generated
annually by the Three Gorges Dam Project, the world's largest
hydropower project.
Effective measures include adopting energy-conservation
designs in new buildings, developing new materials to improve
energy efficiency, imposing energy-conservation standards on home
appliances, and promoting consumption of renewable energy, such
as solar and wind power, said Xu.
Transportation is another topic high on the agenda
of the two-day seminar. Mayoral representatives from Beijing,
Shanghai, Kunming and Chengdu highlighted the Bus Rapid Transit
system as an effective way to improve public transport, ease traffic
jams and save energy.
The system, which combines the features of both rail
and conventional buses, can move more people, with subway efficiency,
at lower costs.
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