By Greentech Lead Team: The World Resources Institute
(WRI) and the Caterpillar Foundation have launched their sustainable and
livable cities initiative in Beijing to help China find solutions to
environmentally friendly urbanization, China Daily reported.
WRI, the Washington-based global environmental think
tank, has received a grant of $12.5 million from the Caterpilllar Foundation
for a five-year program to help five cities in China, India and Brazil create
low-carbon city models.
Caterpillar, a manufacturer of construction and mining
equipment, funded the project through the Caterpillar Foundation. The
$12.5-million program is one of the many projects funded by the Foundation,
which has contributed nearly $500 million to help make sustainable progress
possible around the world.
The organizations selected Qingdao in East China’s
Shandong province and Chengdu in Southwest China’s Sichuan province as pilot
cities for the project.
“This is a decisive moment in China. It is a perfect
opportunity for China to get innovations and solutions before decisions get
locked in,” said Elizabeth
Cook, vice-president for institutional strategy and development with WRI.
WRI will create “blueprints” – low-carbon plans
for environmentally sustainable and livable cities – to help implement
large-scale, high-impact demonstration projects. The program is focusing in
increasing energy efficiency, curbing greenhouse gas emissions and improving
water quality, urban mobility and land use.
The scale and pace of urban expansion in China is
unprecedented. More than 50 percent of China’s 1.4 billion people are living in
urban areas. WRI estimates that more than 70 percent of China’s people will
live in cities by 2030 and 221 cities in China will have at least a million
residents by that time.
This pilot project will enable WRI to find solutions for
big cities in China to cope with the challenges brought by rapid urbanization.
WRI expects that Chinese government will adopt the sustainable urbanization
plan after it is completed and implement it across all cities in China.
“Qingdao and Chengdu are typical modern cities
in China. The former is in coastal China and the latter is in inland China.
Study results from the two cities will better serve the sustainable development
of all cities across the country,” said Tan Xiaomei, deputy China country
director, who is in charge of the program.