Planning and Construction of Low Carbon Cities:The Relevance of Cost-Benefit Analysis

Cities are the major source of carbon dioxide emissions in China,and are the critical locations where emissions should be effectively managed.Adopting a low carbon urban development model is the pathway towards reducing the emissions.A low carbon city development model means achieving efficient and effective urban growth through low energy consumption and low emissions.While many local authorities in China have started to express the intention to construct low carbon cities,it is important to emphasize the need to apply a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to low carbon urban policies and development projects.Since all policies and projects will have their costs and benefits to the society,the effects of the policies and projects on reducing emissions should be measured and assessed objectively.Through the setting up of an analysis framework to assess the costs and benefits,one can provide a scientific basis for decision making,and enhance the overall efficiency in the use of resources for the society as a whole.

Low Carbon Urban Design Concept Planning of Handan Eastern New District

Currently urban issues show a dramatically increasing rely on auto use,which seriously affects the sustainable development of the city and makes how to build low-carbon cities become one of the urgent problems to be solved in the process of urban development.Therefore,low-carbon cities have become principles for China’s next generation of growth and the research hot spot of urban traffic planning.By taking a look at the concepts such as Compact City,transit-oriented development(TOD)city and‘small block’zoning,the article combined the relationship between urban spatial layout patterns and traffic development mode to build a green,low-carbon and sustainable urban development model.Finally,taking the urban design of the new district in the east of Handan City as an example,this research applied the concepts and approaches to planning practice,hoping to provide reference for building low carbon cities.

Planning and construction of Xiong’an New Area(city of over 5 million people):Contributions of China’s geologists and urban geology

China established Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province in 2017,which is planned to accommodate about 5 million people,aiming to relieve Beijing City of the functions non-essential to its role as China’s capital and to expedite the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.From 2017 to 2021,the China Geological Survey(CGS)took the lead in multi-factor urban geological surveys involving space,resources,environments,and disasters according to the general requirements of“global vision,international standards,distinctive Chinese features,and future-oriented goals”in Xiong’an New Area,identifying the engineering geologic conditions and geologic environmental challenges of this area.The achievements also include a 3D engineering geological structure model for the whole area,along with“one city proper and five clusters”,insights into the ecology and the background endowment of natural resources like land,geothermal resources,groundwater,and wetland of the area before engineering construction,a comprehensive monitoring network of resources and environments in the area,and the“Transparent Xiong’an”geological information platform that is open,shared,dynamically updated,and three-dimensionally visualized.China’s geologists and urban geology have played a significant role in the urban planning and construction of Xiong’an New Area,providing whole-process geological solutions for urban planning,construction,operation and management.The future urban construction of Xiong’an New Area will necessitate the theoretical and technical support of earth system science(ESS)from various aspects,and the purpose is to enhance the resilience of the new type of city and to provide support for the green,low-carbon,and sustainable development of this area.

Reflections on the establishment of China's carbon market

A new situation has emerged as a result of global climate change following the "Paris Agreement", which gives rise to new opportunities for carbon market. Carbon market as a mechanism to promote low-carbon development has been explored both in theoretical research and practical application home and abroad for several years. However, there are still many problems to settle, such as the potential uncertainty to determine and distribute total carbon emissions, price distortions in high-carbon products and services in the market, main bodies responsible for the carbon emission in urban infrastructure, etc. All these have formed a constraint on the further development of carbon market. Through the historical analysis of the actual development of the carbon market, this paper tries to identify practical problems which should be solved urgently, and provides ideas for China to establish a unified national carbon market in 2017, which is not only the national measures to participate in the "Paris Agreement" actively, but also the implementation of China's sustainable development strategy.

An integrated approach to evaluating the coupling coordination degree between low-carbon development and air quality in Chinese cities

Collaborative governance between ecological environment and climate change is a novel signature in China's policy agenda. However, such coordination remains understudied, especially at the local level. Using the principal component analysis, entropy evaluation methods, and the Coupling Coordination Degree Model (CCDM), we evaluated the level of coordination between carbon and air quality mitigation from 34 low-carbon pilot cities in China. We also illustrated the mechanism and policy formation that leads to different coupling patterns at the local level using three case studies. We found that most pilot cities perform a medium level of coupling coordination between low carbon development and air quality. The result reveals that most low-carbon pilot cities score relatively well in low-carbon development. Further, there is a significant cleavage in air quality between cities in the North and those in the South, indicating pilot cities in the South coordinate better than those in the North. In particular, pilot programs in the Southwest and Southeast coastal region perform well in collaborative governance, while the Beijing−Tianjin−Hebei region is rated poorly because of the gap between air quality and low carbon development. Also, we found that the same low-carbon policy might have heterogeneous effects on different air pollutants and across different regions. The local government should adopt low-carbon development policies that address local level specific environmental and economic conditions to maximize their air pollution mitigation benefits.

Structural Progressive Mode of Urban Renewal and Public Participation in Shenzhen International Low Carbon City

By means of a structural progressive mode of urban renewal, which operates through small and medium-scale projects on the basis of public participation, the Shenzhen International Low Carbon City has provided propagable and replicable experience for urban planning and construction in urban marginal areas. This article fi rstly introduces the improvement measures for willingness and capabilities of public participation in the process of structural progressive renewal in the Shenzhen International Low Carbon City, and expounds the construction methods of participation approach, feedback mechanism, and interest balance, followed by an introduction of the rolling development strategy, micro municipal construction strategy and spatial-industrial-ecological integrated development strategy and practice experience, hoping to serve as a reference for the planning and construction of other cities in China.

Analysis Framework for the Low Carbon Eco-City Regulatory Plan Administration System: The Case Study on the Planning of Eco-City of Taihu New City, Wuxi, China

Chinese cities need the appropriate administration system and governance model to support the implementation of low carbon eco-city projects, and to effectively scale up this urban development model across the nation. Currently, local planning authorities are piloting the implementation of these low carbon eco-city projects through the statutory Regulatory Plans system(the local district zoning plans system). However, the focus has been put primarily on the use of the relevant technologies and the control through design approval. There is a lack on research and study on the establishment of an effective planning administration and governance environment for the subsequent promulgation of this development model. This situation is affecting the speed in the scaling up of the implementation of low carbon ecological projects in Chinese cities. This paper argues that while technology applications and design issues are important factors, attention shall be put to setting up innovative planning administration and governance models for the statutory Regulatory Plan to facilitate the implementation of the low carbon eco-city projects. This paper puts forth an analysis framework on the administration and governance system which includes 4 governance components:(1) Administration platform and local capacity;(2) Planning conditions and approval process;(3) External public policy context;(4) Developers involvement and participation. A case study was undertaken based on Taihu New City eco-city project located at Wuxi, China. Based on research and analysis of the project implementation process, the study examines the challenges faced by the local planning offi cials and development companies during the implementation stage of the low carbon eco-city project. Finally this paper puts forth initial recommendations that could lead to further research in this important area.

A survey of Digital Twin techniques in smart manufacturing and management of energy applications

With the continuous advancement and exploration of science and technology,the future trend of energy technology will be the deep integration of digitization,networking,intelligence with energy applications.The increasing maturity of digital technologies,such as the Internet of Things,big data,and cloud computing,has given rise to the creation and use of a potential technology–Digital Twin.Currently,research on Digital Twin has produced many concepts and outcomes that have been applied in many fields.In the energy sector,while some relevant ideas and case studies of Digital Twin have been generated,there are still many gaps to be explored.As a potential technology with advantages in many aspects,Digital Twin is bound to generate more promotion and applications in the energy fields.This paper systematically reviews the existing Digital Twin approaches and their possible applications in the energy fields.In addition,this paper attempts to analyze Digital Twin from different perspectives,such as definitions,classifications,main features,case studies and key technologies.Finally,the directions and challenges of possible future applications of Digital Twin in the energy fields have been presented.

Application of Greenhouse Gas Inventory to Urban Rural Planning in China

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory analysis provides crucial scientific basis to support the preparation of urban-rural planning policies on managing climate change. This article reviews current studies on GHG inventory in China and points out the short fall in translating these inventory data into specific local policies. It examines the issue of setting up the GHG inventory based on the statutory urban-rural planning systems in China. It enables the local government to set up a platform coordinating various city policies and to serve well as the platform for local emission mitigation and removal policies. The urban-rural planning GHG inventory system needs to address the issue of spatial boundary in accounting for local emission sources and origins with respect to the boundaries of planning area, and it must directly relate to the various statutory master plan policy contents and the local municipal government functional structure. Finally it presents a case study of applying the proposed inventory as a planning tool for Jiangyin at the Jiangsu Province.