UN Project Cuts Carbon Emissions in Rural China
Published by MAC on 2007-05-17UN Project Cuts Carbon Emissions in Rural China
PlanetArk CHINA
17th May 2007
BEIJING - An energy efficiency project launched by Beijing and the United Nations has helped cut carbon emissions in rural China and attracted investment in energy-saving technologies.
The six-year project, due to end in August, has reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 300,000 tonnes per year in nine pilot sites in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces, said a joint official statement released on Wednesday.
The pilot programme has been extended to 118 Chinese township and village enterprises, helping to reduce emissions by a total of about 2 million tonnes annually, it said.
China's Ministry of Agriculture and UN specialist agencies invested US$18.5 million in major polluting sectors in rural China -- cement, coking, brick and metal casting -- which together make up one sixth of the country's CO2 emissions.
The project has also inspired rural businesses to invest more than US$150 million of their revenue back into energy efficiency technologies, the statement said.
Township and village enterprises account for 30 percent of China's gross domestic output, it added.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE