China's mayors swot up on green cities
Note: the following post was taken from BusinessGreen.com.
Organized by the Joint US-China Cooperation on Clean Energy (JUCCCE), the event kicked off on 18 May in Beijing, with former deputy mayor of London Nicky Gavron in attendance.
JUCCCE said the course would provide officials with guidance on how to reduce power demand, roll out renewable energy technologies and create a green local economy. International best practice strategies are also being presented, with an emphasis on how they can be adapted in China.
Fifty of China's deputy mayors are taking part in the training, with presentations from a raft of global consultancies, academics and city officials, including experts from McKinsey & Co, engineering firm ARUP, The City of New York, and Beijing's Tsinghua University.
The World Bank is also expected to provide information about financing options for clean tech solutions will also be provided in order to help implement green initiatives in Chinese cities.
JUCCCE, a non-profit body aimed at promoting wider use of clean technologies in China, teamed up with officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to provide the course.
The program's lead architect, Stephen Hammer, director of the urban energy program at New York's Columbia University, said that increasing access to sustainability best practices across every level of the Chinese government could play a major role in cutting global carbon emissions. "China's cities use vast quantities of energy, and to the extent local officials can spearhead efforts to reduce these levels, there are both national and global benefits," he observed.
