Page 338 - 2021 White Paper
P. 338
1 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
household income levels along with population to get the full effect, you can’t just add vegetation
migration from rural to urban areas is expected to to a building here and there. Instead, greening a
continue to drive demand for residential building building requires careful planning, to make sure
construction sector in the country. Increased that the trees are well connected with others
focus on affordable housing by both public and of their species nearby, to ensure a continuous
private sector will drive growth in residential habitat that benefits animals, birds and insects.
building construction sector. In the years to come, Still, even if vertical forests become widespread, it
non-residential infrastructure is also expected will take a lot more to make a dent in the carbon
to grow considerably. The aging population in emissions of China’s construction industry. Making
China is creating demand for the construction vegetation a part of ordinary high-rises is a very
of healthcare facilities and new hospitals. The visible way to “green” them, but improving their
building construction industry in China is expected construction and building materials could have a
to record a CAGR of 7.5% to reach 9397.4 billion much greater impact in terms of carbon. Cement
RMB by 2024. The residential construction industry alone release 8% of the world’s global carbon
in value terms increased at a CAGR of 8.6% during emissions each year. Given this preference for
2015-2019 (AP). low-energy means of temperature control, if those
working in China’s building sector simply copy
Green Construction the west’s energy-saving practices – which usually
mean a tighter mechanical control of the indoor
Almost half of the world’s construction will take environment – it would lead to an unnecessary rise
place in China this decade. The country already in energy consumption instead. To practice green
builds two billion square meters of new floorspace architecture in China, technologies need to be
each year – if laid out over a single story, that would designed that best suit the local conditions (Zhang).
cover 1.3 times the size of the entire footprint of
London. It’s an extraordinary figure, especially A top-down push for more zero-carbon
when you consider that worldwide, the buildings buildings could mitigate the Chinese construction
and construction sector accounts for around 39% of industry’s contributions to climate change. Zero-
carbon dioxide emissions released from energy and carbon buildings are fully powered through
industry. Over the years, China’s rapid economic carbon-free renewable energy, or with carbon
growth has significantly increased buildings’ offsets. China has been promoting more energy-
energy use and posed a significant challenge for efficient buildings for almost a decade, but zero-
the environment. From 2001 to 2016, the primary carbon is far more ambitious than low-carbon.
energy consumption in China’s building sector Currently, China’s main focus is not on zero-
more than doubled, reaching the equivalent of just carbon but low-energy projects, with more than 10
under a billion tons of coal. And the carbon cost of provinces releasing detailed plans for expanding
constructing buildings in the first place, including such construction as well as related subsidies. The
the raw materials and energy used throughout central government has set a goal of having 70% of
the supply chain, makes about a fifth of China’s new buildings green-certified by 2022 according to
carbon emissions. One of the most visible ways its own standard. At its current pace, the country’s
that architecture is becoming greener in China is construction sector should reach its carbon peak
the most literal one – through vegetation-rich tree- around 2040. But if China accelerates phasing out
covered buildings. Planting trees in cities would be large carbon emitters and pivots toward low- or no-
helpful to counter the new high-rises’ CO2 emissions, energy buildings, then the industry could arrive at
as well as reducing urban air pollution. But, in that point 15 years earlier (Yuan).
China’s dense urban areas where space is often
at a high premium, the appeal of creating forests Thus, China’s green approach is designed to
that spread upwards, not outwards, is becoming tackle two pressing environmental issues. Large-
an increasingly attractive option. Many provinces scale construction of urban infrastructure and
in China have introduced policies that encourage residential housing has become one of the country’s
making greenery an integral part of high-rises. But biggest sources of greenhouse gases. Realizing the
nation’s urbanization goal could produce more
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household income levels along with population to get the full effect, you can’t just add vegetation
migration from rural to urban areas is expected to to a building here and there. Instead, greening a
continue to drive demand for residential building building requires careful planning, to make sure
construction sector in the country. Increased that the trees are well connected with others
focus on affordable housing by both public and of their species nearby, to ensure a continuous
private sector will drive growth in residential habitat that benefits animals, birds and insects.
building construction sector. In the years to come, Still, even if vertical forests become widespread, it
non-residential infrastructure is also expected will take a lot more to make a dent in the carbon
to grow considerably. The aging population in emissions of China’s construction industry. Making
China is creating demand for the construction vegetation a part of ordinary high-rises is a very
of healthcare facilities and new hospitals. The visible way to “green” them, but improving their
building construction industry in China is expected construction and building materials could have a
to record a CAGR of 7.5% to reach 9397.4 billion much greater impact in terms of carbon. Cement
RMB by 2024. The residential construction industry alone release 8% of the world’s global carbon
in value terms increased at a CAGR of 8.6% during emissions each year. Given this preference for
2015-2019 (AP). low-energy means of temperature control, if those
working in China’s building sector simply copy
Green Construction the west’s energy-saving practices – which usually
mean a tighter mechanical control of the indoor
Almost half of the world’s construction will take environment – it would lead to an unnecessary rise
place in China this decade. The country already in energy consumption instead. To practice green
builds two billion square meters of new floorspace architecture in China, technologies need to be
each year – if laid out over a single story, that would designed that best suit the local conditions (Zhang).
cover 1.3 times the size of the entire footprint of
London. It’s an extraordinary figure, especially A top-down push for more zero-carbon
when you consider that worldwide, the buildings buildings could mitigate the Chinese construction
and construction sector accounts for around 39% of industry’s contributions to climate change. Zero-
carbon dioxide emissions released from energy and carbon buildings are fully powered through
industry. Over the years, China’s rapid economic carbon-free renewable energy, or with carbon
growth has significantly increased buildings’ offsets. China has been promoting more energy-
energy use and posed a significant challenge for efficient buildings for almost a decade, but zero-
the environment. From 2001 to 2016, the primary carbon is far more ambitious than low-carbon.
energy consumption in China’s building sector Currently, China’s main focus is not on zero-
more than doubled, reaching the equivalent of just carbon but low-energy projects, with more than 10
under a billion tons of coal. And the carbon cost of provinces releasing detailed plans for expanding
constructing buildings in the first place, including such construction as well as related subsidies. The
the raw materials and energy used throughout central government has set a goal of having 70% of
the supply chain, makes about a fifth of China’s new buildings green-certified by 2022 according to
carbon emissions. One of the most visible ways its own standard. At its current pace, the country’s
that architecture is becoming greener in China is construction sector should reach its carbon peak
the most literal one – through vegetation-rich tree- around 2040. But if China accelerates phasing out
covered buildings. Planting trees in cities would be large carbon emitters and pivots toward low- or no-
helpful to counter the new high-rises’ CO2 emissions, energy buildings, then the industry could arrive at
as well as reducing urban air pollution. But, in that point 15 years earlier (Yuan).
China’s dense urban areas where space is often
at a high premium, the appeal of creating forests Thus, China’s green approach is designed to
that spread upwards, not outwards, is becoming tackle two pressing environmental issues. Large-
an increasingly attractive option. Many provinces scale construction of urban infrastructure and
in China have introduced policies that encourage residential housing has become one of the country’s
making greenery an integral part of high-rises. But biggest sources of greenhouse gases. Realizing the
nation’s urbanization goal could produce more
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