2009年12月3日第6版推出湖南两型社会专版

《湖南带头启动绿色城市发展方案》

Hunan takes a lead with green urban development initiative

By Feng Zhiwei (China Daily)

Phrases like "green GDP" and "low-carbon economy" have been more and more common in the Chinese press over recent years. This has been a reflection of the country's desire and determination to succeed in its environmental protection and sustainable development initiatives.

In line with the green polices initiated by the central government, the policymakers of central China's Hunan province expressed their commitment to participating - and even taking a lead role - in the national movement to establish a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society.

According to Zhou Qiang, governor of the province, the authorities are planning to build a green megalopolis, consisting of three existing cities - the provincial capital of Changsha, as well as Zhuzhou and Xiangtan, in a bid to fuel the sustainable growth of the province's economy.

Quoting experts from the World Bank, Zhou said: "The Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration has promising prospects due to its unique advantages in both geography and economic patterns.

"The city cluster is already a regional transport hub and an area rich in water, which is rare in inland China. It is home to 20 percent of the whole province's population and 80 percent of its technological experts and specialists.

"Due to its great energy and potential, it has become known as the 'golden triangle' of Hunan."

In December 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission officially approved the area as a comprehensive reform pilot zone for the formation of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society.

The provincial government received formal approval of the reform plan from the State Council at the end of last year. It is now in the implementation phase, according to Zhou, with work on a number of substantial projects having already begun.

Among these mega projects is a three-year pollution treatment plan for the Xiangjiang River, which is being seen as of particular significance for the province.

Zhou said: "This is the largest environmental project in our province and will hugely benefit future generations."

The project will greatly enhance environmental management and pollution control and is targeted at 1,377 companies around the river area. Already 671 of them have completed the pollution treatment program.

Commenting on the concept behind developing the city cluster, Zhou said he believed that the joint growth of the three cities would benefit their long-term green GDP.

He cited the growth patterns of Beijing and Shanghai as prime examples of the benefits of a scaled economy of urban development. The GDP per capita in these large-scale urban areas are higher than the average national level, at a lower cost of energy consumption per unit of GDP, he said.

Zhou said that his government is pursuing the efficient development of the province by integrating the three cities as its core driving force, whilst also spurring growth in the nearby smaller cities and towns.

Developing a hi-tech, recycling and low-carbon economy is also key to the development of the city cluster, according to Zhou.

Hunan has been long famed as a key center for the non-ferrous metal and non-metallic mineral industries. Keeping a balance between the economic benefits of these profitable, but not very green industries and its overall environment goals is a still-thorny issue facing the local government.

Zhou admitted that shutting down all the locally resource-based industries in the province was not realistic. Contributors to local revenue, however, have been requested to control their energy consumption, reduce carbon emissions and change their production patterns in line with more stringent industrial environmental standards.

Zhou believed a special center for the heavy and chemical industries should be built and that related companies in the three cities should relocate their facilities to this new site.

Administrative and legal support is also crucial to building a resource-saving and environmental-friendly society, Zhou said.

He undertook that the provincial government will establish wide-ranging systems for tax, finance and emission trading in order to properly pursue its green agenda.