E-car firm hails Paris

Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD has joined the chorus of new-energy companies welcoming the landmark declaration achieved during the Paris climate talks.

On Dec 12, negotiators from 195 countries agreed to a deal that aims to any global temperature rise to below 2 C on pre-industrial levels, or even 1.5 C if possible, until 2100.

Wang Chuanfu, founder and chairman of BYD, the world's largest maker of electric buses, trucks, cars and energy-storage systems, says reaching a deal at the United Nations summit was imperative.

"We've been working hard for decades now and finally have the technologies that can substitute fully for fossil fuels," he says.

BYD, which is based in the southern city of Shenzhen, produced research at the Paris talks that showed exhaust emissions from one bus are equivalent to 30 to 40 private cars, while just one taxi is equivalent to 10 private cars. So, while public transport accounts for less than 2 percent of vehicles on the road, it is responsible for one-third of all exhaust emissions.

The Chinese e-automaker is currently testing five double-decker buses in London that are powered by batteries and are designed to operate for a entire day on one charge. The city has more than 9,000 double-decker buses, carrying 6.5 million passengers a day.

Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe, says the company believes all vehicles on city roads should be electric-powered, and that achieving this will be accelerated by the Paris agreement, which promotes low-carbon development.

This year, BYD teamed up with Bloomberg Philanthropies, set up by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, to organize the City Leadership Awards, which rewarded metropolises for green initiatives.

Bloomberg, who attended the talks in France as part of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which included former and serving city mayors from around the world, says, "When we were in office in New York, we were shameless in stealing other cities' great ideas. This is the only way we can get ahead in this war on climate change."

Contact the writers through fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 12/18/2015 page24)