"Energy policemen" are to patrol shopping malls and office
buildings in Beijing in a bid to improve energy efficiency.
Complexes with indoor temperatures set too high in winter or
buildings having lights on in the daytime will receive fines from
these officers over the first half of this year, according to Zhang
Mao, vice-mayor of Beijing.
Zhang said the municipal government would soon recruit more than
20 dedicated workers to supervise energy efficiency in the city.
Supporting regulations will also be made to facilitate the law
enforcement.
"We have been advocating energy saving for years but it has
remained only a slogan because of a lack of a supervising system,"
Zhang said at a session of the municipal people's congress on
Sunday.
He added "the energy policemen" would have sufficient authority
to order bosses to carry out their instructions and to issue
penalty notices.
In the past, violators were not obliged to abide by similar
instructions, Zhang said.
Last summer, city leaders advised large buildings to keep
air-conditioning temperatures above 26 C to save electricity.
Beijing sets "building a resources-saving society" as a major
goal in its draft of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10).
The city plans to reduce the energy and water consumption per
10,000 yuan (US$1,233) GDP by 15 per cent and 20 per cent
respectively, by 2010 compared with 2005.
Beijing currently consumes 0.81 standard tons of coal and 51
cubic metres of water per 10,000 yuan GDP, already much lower than
the national average level, according to the Beijing Municipal
Commission of Development and Reform.
Huang Qian, an official with the commission, said new investment
projects that would consume 2,000 tons of standard coal per year or
above would have to pass an energy-saving assessment before they
could be approved by the municipal government.
He added the government would create a special fund for the
construction of a resources-saving city.
The money would be released to develop new technologies of
energy saving, renewable energy and comprehensive utilization of
rubbish.
Cao Xuekun, a member of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Committee (CPPCC) of Beijing, said the government
should first try to reduce energy consumption in industrial
production, which is much larger than that of the city's
residents.
"The government must set strict standards for raw material,
energy and water consumption before it gives licences to new
factories," Cao said.
"Besides, the government should set examples of saving for the
citizens by reducing unnecessary administrative expenditure as much
as possible."
(China Daily January 18, 2006)