Shanghai Energy-saving Publicity Week 2000, which starts Monday, is organized around the theme "strengthening energy-saving enforcement and energy-consuming efficiency."

During the next five years, the city intends to increase the use of alternative and renewable energy forms and ease its dependence on coal, which today is the main source of industrial power.

“As the city’s energy demands will continue to rise over the next several years, the increasing use of coal will lead to more pollution,” said Chen Jinhai, director of the economic commission’s Energy Conservation and Environment Protection Department.

To solve the problem, the city will strengthen the development of clean coal technologies and promote the use of natural gas, he added.

China plans to build a pipeline to transport natural gas tapped in western areas to eastern regions including Shanghai. The project, which is scheduled to begin next year and finish three years later, will provide the city with a “golden opportunity” to promote its use of the cleaner-burning fuel, Chen said.

“We will spare no efforts to propel energy-saving projects and the development of energy-saving industries," said Jiang Shangzhou, deputy director of the Municipal Economic Commission.

Local government also plans to establish an information network across Shanghai to monitor the city’s energy consumption and predict demand.

“The construction of the network will be a key project in the new five-year plan,” Jiang stressed. Though officials admit they still have a long way to go, Shanghai today is rated as one of China’s most energy-efficient cities.

“Facing inflationary pressures stoked by skyrocketing energy costs, the city government has accelerated its energy-saving efforts through legislation, industry restructuring and technological renovation,’ said Jiang.

Last year, Shanghai’s gross domestic product was 403.5 billion yuan (US$48.61 billion), compared with 75.6 billion yuan in 1990.

But coal consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP dropped 69.9 percent to 1.27 tons, and electricity use fell 64.5 percent to 1,242 kilowatt-hours.

“The statistics indicate that the boom in Shanghai’s economy is based on improvements to the industrial structure and to higher energy efficiency - not waste and pollution,” Jiang said.

In 1998, the city set up its first “energy cops” - Shanghai Energy Conservation Supervision Center - to police the industrial sector.

The center watches over the design, construction and operation of newly invested projects, monitors the quality of energy-related products and adjudicates cases of lawbreaking.

“The center plays an indispensable role in energy conservation,’ said Chen.

Along with enforcement efforts, municipal government also is adjusting its industrial structure.

Once China’s leading heavy industry base, Shanghai has shifted focus to high-technology industries that consume less energy and produce less pollution yet create more value for the economy.

Among them, the information industry has become the city’s largest pillar industry, surpassing automotives.

At the same time, the development of industries that use high amounts of energy such as the metallurgical, petrochemical and building material sectors has been curbed.

(eastday.com 11/06/2000)