Charting the less-carbon growth model
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Zhao said the low carbon city initiative was an opportunity to also upgrade its industries. More than 70 percent of Guangyuan's carbon emissions are from industries. The pathway for low carbon development is both through industrial upgrade via technology improvement and through structural changes which increase the share of less energy intensive industries.
"Technology improvement will contribute to 47 percent of Guangyuan's energy conservation and emission reduction targets," said Zhao. "So, upgrading technology and improving energy efficiency in key industries are the most important ways through which Guangyuan can achieve its low carbon vision."
Though Guangyuan's industrialization is expected to be a long drawn affair, the government is also endeavoring to upgrade its industrial structure by encouraging low carbon industries and urging carbon-intensive industries to de-carbonize.
In addition, it plans to increase unit resource output through increasing efficiency and reusing the rate of energy, raw materials and intermediate products, and increase GDP output per unit product through developing clusters of industries and expanding the industrial chains.
It also plans to decrease unit GDP carbon intensity and increase productivity by increasing the share of clean energy in its energy mix.
As Guangyuan endeavors to develop its priority industries - including new material, energy, medium industry and agricultural product processing - it also insists it will restrict highly-polluting and energy intensive enterprises by strictly following environmental assessment procedures and not approve any projects that fail to meet its environmental standards, Zhao said.
Coal to gas
During China's 12th Five-Year Plan period, Guangyuan will phase out backward capacity in key industries such as cement, ferroalloys, coke and coal mining, which will contribute to energy conservation in future.
For example, "Guangyuan plans to construct a 120 megawatt coal slime power plant with integrated resource utilization and close down all small scale thermal plants," said Zhao.
As Guangyuan is rich in natural gas resources, it is charting the development of natural gas as a tool to develop a low carbon economy.
Currently, Guangyuan is accelerating its transition to gas and helping 35 enterprises switch fuel from coal to natural gas, replacing petroleum with natural gas for 500 public transportation vehicles each year, and building natural gas pipelines to connect urban residential blocks. Natural gas power plants with total installed capacity of 600 megawatts will be built. It is also aiming at expanding its gas coverage to 80 percent by 2015.
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