The Chinese government has made significant steps in "greening"
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the UN Environment Program (UNEP)
said in a study published on Thursday.
The UN environmental agency said the hosting of the games is
also proving to be a catalyst for accelerating environmental
improvements across the city as Beijing strives to balance rapid,
often double-digit economic growth with health and environmental
protection.
The report says environmental measures are being introduced
covering waste management, cleaner transport systems and water
treatment, as well as new urban green belts including a 580-hectare
Olympic Forest Park.
"The initial score card on the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics 2008 is
positive in terms of the greening of the games," UNEP Executive
Director Achim Steiner said.
"The more than US$12 billion spent by the Municipal Government
and Government of China appears to have been well spent and will be
even more well spent if the lessons learnt and measures adopted are
picked up by municipalities across the country so as to leave a
real and lasting nationwide legacy," said Steiner.
He commended the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic
Games (BOCOG) for accelerating the phase-out of ozone depleting
chemicals and for the provision of energy efficiency and green
energy appliances at buildings and sports venues.
"An interesting innovation is the widespread use in the venues
of ground, water or air source heat pumps systems to provide
buildings with heat in winter and air conditioning in summertime,"
the report says.
It notes that solar power is also being extensively deployed at
stadia and at the Olympic village and the organizers have
well-developed plans to re-use and recycle venues after the games
close.
But while the report acknowledges the significant investment and
achievements of the organizers of the 2008 Olympic Games, it also
highlights some remaining concerns and missed opportunities that
there may still be time to rectify.
Some of these are specific to the games themselves, while others
are linked to challenges facing the city of Beijing generally as it
attempts to reduce pollution and steer its development onto a more
sustainable path.
The report says the Beijing and Chinese authorities have
relocated and refitted major polluting industries and there has
been a switch away from coal-fired energy generation towards less
polluting fuels like natural gas.
Older buses, taxis and cars, the report says, have been scrapped
in favor of ones powered by compressed natural gas or new vehicles
and fuels that meet tougher, internationally recognized emissions
standards such as the Euro III standard.
Between 2000 and 2006, concentrations of several key air
pollutants including sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide have as a
result fallen.
But with more than 1,000 new cars being registered daily and
with coal remaining a key energy fuel, some key pollutants remain
stubbornly high.
"The city's geographical location exacerbates the problem. The
mountain ranges that surround Beijing block air circulation and
prevent the dispersion of pollutants. Compounding the problem is
the high number of dust storms. In the spring of 2006 the city
endured 18 dust storms," says the UNEP assessment report.
Beijing is also expanding surface and underground rail lines
with four completed and four more, including the Olympic Line,
currently under construction.
The UNEP report urges the local authorities to adopt measures
and incentives to bridge the gap in order to improve air quality
and other environmental measures.
Steiner said the report was a balanced assessment recognizing
the achievements but also highlighting how more could be done to,
for example, harness the city's new and existing public transport
infrastructure.
The study also flags up concerns over voluntary environmental
arrangements between contractors, hotels, caterers and providers of
transport and the organizing committee.
"Vigilance will need to be the watchword to ensure last minute
corners are not cut in the area of environment in order to meet
deadlines. Meanwhile, the question of offsetting greenhouse gas
emissions within China also remains an open question," said
Steiner.
"However, Beijing has already achieved a great deal, an
achievement even more resounding when one reflects on the enormous
challenges facing one of the world's most rapidly growing
developing economies and its principal cities, " he said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2007)
