Newly built public architecture in the urban planning area of all districts and counties in Chongqing will be forced to meet the one-star green building standard after July, with the new residences in the central downtown to follow in November.

Green buildings, which are ranked from one to three stars, are buildings which save energy, land, water and materials for environmental protection including pollution reduction.

As Chongqing accelerates its building construction, the green architecture proportion of the newly-constructed city and town buildings will rise from 21.6 percent at the end of 2015 to 50 percent by the late 2020s.

Officials of the urban and rural construction committee said Chongqing carefully considers wide application of renewable energy in architecture. The city will launch central cooling and heating supply projects in areas such as the Yuelai district of the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area and the Jiulongpo district to build regional energy supply centers for the future. The projects will also be promoted for urban development new zones including Fuling and Jiangjin.

By Qiu Guizhen and edited by Peter Nordinger