UN green experts praise city efforts
By Yang Jian |
August 19, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE United Nations Environment Program praised Shanghai's efforts in organizing an environmentally friendly 2010 World Expo in an assessment released yesterday.
The assessment applauded the city's efforts in nine areas of the Expo - air quality, transport, energy, solid waste, water, green coverage, protected areas, climate neutrality and the overall site.
The city had a network of air pollution monitoring stations comparable to developed countries, the UN group said.
It realized the reduction of sulfur dioxide through desulfurizing power plants in five years and would build a world-class rapid transit network of more than 400 kilometers of tracks in 20 years using many new-energy vehicles.
The city government also limited private car growth through license-plate auctions, the assessment said.
The traffic measures the city implemented, such as tightening emission standards and accelerating replacement of older and more polluting cars, were effective in stabilizing nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions, the two main air pollutants of recent years.
The city accelerated its environmental initiatives when preparing for the Expo.
By 2009, investments in environmental protection reached 42 billion yuan (US$6.15 billion), three times more than in 2000, the assessment said.
The Expo would "leave a green legacy for the citizens of Shanghai and contribute to worldwide initiatives."
It offered "a glimpse of greener future" to the world, Achim Sterner, UN under-secretary-general and UNEP executive director, said at the releasing ceremony in the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination in Shanghai.
The report recommended the city use more renewable energy rather than largely depending on coal for electricity.
It also suggested developing a more comprehensive waste-reduction system apart from the use of landfill and mechanical-biological treatment plants.
The city needed to tackle the nitrification of the river system, it said.
It urged the city government and the Expo organizer to activate public participation in environmental protection.
Sterner hoped the city would "turn its modernization into a green example for urban development of the future."
The assessment applauded the city's efforts in nine areas of the Expo - air quality, transport, energy, solid waste, water, green coverage, protected areas, climate neutrality and the overall site.
The city had a network of air pollution monitoring stations comparable to developed countries, the UN group said.
It realized the reduction of sulfur dioxide through desulfurizing power plants in five years and would build a world-class rapid transit network of more than 400 kilometers of tracks in 20 years using many new-energy vehicles.
The city government also limited private car growth through license-plate auctions, the assessment said.
The traffic measures the city implemented, such as tightening emission standards and accelerating replacement of older and more polluting cars, were effective in stabilizing nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions, the two main air pollutants of recent years.
The city accelerated its environmental initiatives when preparing for the Expo.
By 2009, investments in environmental protection reached 42 billion yuan (US$6.15 billion), three times more than in 2000, the assessment said.
The Expo would "leave a green legacy for the citizens of Shanghai and contribute to worldwide initiatives."
It offered "a glimpse of greener future" to the world, Achim Sterner, UN under-secretary-general and UNEP executive director, said at the releasing ceremony in the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination in Shanghai.
The report recommended the city use more renewable energy rather than largely depending on coal for electricity.
It also suggested developing a more comprehensive waste-reduction system apart from the use of landfill and mechanical-biological treatment plants.
The city needed to tackle the nitrification of the river system, it said.
It urged the city government and the Expo organizer to activate public participation in environmental protection.
Sterner hoped the city would "turn its modernization into a green example for urban development of the future."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
