China pursuing green architecture

Chinese property developer Jinmao Holdings Group Ltd will continue its low-carbon commitments, aiming to cut carbon emissions by 100,000 tons each year according to its top management.

Li Congrui, president of real estate developer China Jinmao Holdings Group Ltd, said at the China Pavilion sector during the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference "the group has been and will continue to adhere to low carbon emissions during property development and other business operations."

According to data from UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 36 percent of the global carbon emissions are related to architecture, while the number for China is about 40 percent. China Pavilion, a series of meetings featuring discussions on the country's efforts battling the greenhouse effect, also highlighted this topic.

Li said China is in the process of urbanization, so carbon emissions related to architecture are higher than average.

The company has been promoting clean and sustainable energy use in its 35 power station projects. The move is expected to save about 100,000 metric tons of carbon emissions per year.

It has also been adopting green energy systems for buildings in construction. As of October 2018, 90 percent of Jinmao's real estate developing projects have "Green Building Labels" certified by agencies like the Research Center of Environment Control and Technology or similar certifications processed overseas.

China has achieved many of its goals in advance of the deadlines set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, said representative Xie Zhenhua during the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference.

According to the agreement, China promised to reduce its carbon intensity by 40 percent to 45 percent and to increase its forest reserve by 1.3 billion cubic meters by 2020. The country also said its non-fossil fuels will account for about 15 percent of primary energy consumption.

The summit, which was held from Dec 3 to 14 in Katowice, Poland, featured discussions on how the 2015 Paris Agreement would be implemented. The agreement called on all countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a goal to reduce the global average temperature to about 1.5 C above the pre-industrial era.