Shanghai will phase out businesses and projects that consume
large amounts of energy or produce large amounts of pollution, said
a report endorsed yesterday by the city's legislature.
Shanghai will keep close watch over energy-intensive and
heavy-polluting industries and indicate in the city's development
policies that such enterprises are not welcome, according to the
report, which was presented by the municipal government and
approved by the standing committee of the municipal people's
congress.
Jiang Ping, deputy secretary of the Shanghai municipal
government, said the city had been sticking to its pledge last year
to reduce energy consumption, but there was still much to be
done.
Jiang said that in order for the city to meet its 2010 target of
cutting energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial output by
20 percent, the municipal government has specified goals for every
sector. For example, the manufacturing sector is to cut energy
consumption by 30 percent, services by 15 percent and construction
by 15 percent.
It has also published plans to restructure its industrial base
and last year closed more than 640 enterprises with low output.
More than 80 consulting companies have been set up to help
businesses to find ways to save energy.
At the same time, more clean energy is being produced. This
year, 2.65 billion cu m of natural gas will be pumped into
Shanghai, 300 million more cubic meters than last year.
And the city is building more energy-efficient buildings.
Some 29 million sq m of residential construction, and more than
6 million sq m of public buildings that conform to the new rules
were built last year. More than 6 million old buildings were
refurbished to meet the standards.
The temperature in government office buildings is to be kept
above 26 C, and employees are encouraged not to wear suits.
But challenges remain.
In a survey of 111 major energy-consuming enterprises, nearly 70
percent said there were few options available to reduce their
demand for energy.
Yu Dexiong, a deputy to the standing committee of the Shanghai
Municipal People's Congress, said the percentage of buildings that
meet the new energy-saving standards is low.
"Before 2006, it was only 10 percent," he said.
And only 10 percent of highrises clean their central
air-conditioning systems regularly, a step that would save
electricity.
The report proposed that stricter controls on energy consumption
be adopted.
For example, it said that new projects should be evaluated
according to their energy demand, and that low-output power plants
and small cement and steel plants be closed.
(China Daily June 28, 2007)