Charting the less-carbon growth model
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Just after the Wenchuan earthquake in May 2008, villagers in Yinpingxin village, Qingchuan county, were given clear instructions by the local Guangyuan city government on how to go about rebuilding their homes.
The precise four-phrase mandate helped the villagers cut down energy consumption as the buildings were designed to be less-carbon intensive structures. The city also encouraged massive deployment of solar heating systems to meet the sanitary needs of these villagers.
According to Zhao Aiwu, vice-mayor of Guangyuan, the simple missive helped the city save 2 billion yuan ($294 million) in the construction of rural homes.
"Black tiles, walls painted white, sloping roofs on both sides, and wooden doors and windows became the new standard for village homes. This was just one part of our low carbon reconstruction and redevelopment plan," said Zhao.
Low carbon drive
The city, 300 kilometers northeast of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, was also the epicenter of a 6.4-magnitude aftershock following the 2008 Sichuan quake.
"The earthquake resulted in the city suffering economic losses of around 127 billion yuan. It damaged more than 90 percent of the local houses and destroyed the power, telecommunication and water supply infrastructure," said Zhao.
Guangyuan is economically less developed and is still at the initial stage of industrialization and urbanization. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in Guangyuan is only one third the national average, and the urbanization rate is only 31 percent, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS).
"Faced with an urgent need for reconstruction and rapid economic development, it has become necessary for us to seize the opportunities and bring in the concept of low carbon development during the initial phase of reconstruction," said Zhao.
Last August, the local government entrusted the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, under the CASS, with conducting, researching and suggesting a plan to reconstruct and develop it into a low carbon city. Part of the funding for this initiative also came from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development.
With support from many sources, Guangyuan is now exploring a trailblazing path in low carbon development, avoiding the "first pollute and then clean up" model.
"We hope to set an example for other cities in China as a low carbon pioneer," said Zhao. "Guangyuan plans to achieve 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period and 10 percent reduction during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) plan period."
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