With 15 months to go before the start of the Beijing Olympics,
the capital is stepping up its efforts to build an
environment-friendly city.
Consumption rates of energy and water per unit of GDP are both
expected to shrink by 5 percent this year, while the rate of
chemical oxygen demand (COD) should fall by 10 percent, according
to an action plan released yesterday.
The plan was released at a press conference organized by the
Beijing municipal commission of development and reform.
Zhang Yanyou, a member of the commission, said that in addition
to the eight environment-related laws passed last year, a series of
amendments to the municipal regulations on energy conservation are
in the pipeline.
The circular economy draft law, which will be submitted to the
Standing Committee of National People's Congress for review this
summer, provides the legal basis for action plan.
The plan will also involve preparatory research for the draft,
Zhang said.
Last year, Beijing led the country in terms of industrial energy
conservation and made significant progress in several other
categories for monitoring environment protection and the
construction of a circular economy.
Chen Tian, chief engineer of the municipal environmental
protection bureau, said Beijing's accomplishments in energy
conservation and environment protection would allow the capital to
meet its commitments to hold a "green Olympics" next summer.
Beijing's push for a circular economy, or a recycling economy,
is timed to coincide with the 2008 Olympics on the one hand and the
squeeze for resources the country could face as its economy expands
on the other.
In recognition of these twin pressures, the city has outlined
various measures in its action plan, including the closure of
heavily polluting businesses, speeding up the development of the
service sector and industrial clusters and parks, technological
innovations, energy conservation projects for government operations
and infrastructure and pollution reduction efforts.
In the area of public transportation, the city has promised to
replace 2,580 outdated buses and 5,000 obsolete taxis within the
year.
(China Daily May 10, 2007)