Capital to cut consumption of energy, bring back blue skies

Beijing will cut its yearly energy consumption to around 77 million metric tons of standard coal by 2020 to save resources and reduce carbon emissions, with an aim to bring back blue skies.

That means the city's energy consumption for every 10,000 yuan ($1,500) of gross regional domestic product will drop by 17 percent compared with levels in 2015.Carbon emissions for every 10,000 yuan of gross regional domestic product will decline by 20.5 percent compared with 2015 levels, according to a municipal governmental plan released on Aug 17 on saving energy and coping with climate change during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

New energy and renewable energy will account for more than 8 percent of the city's total energy consumption by 2020.

To reach the target, the government will accelerate subway construction with advanced equipment in an attempt to cut emissions.

By the end of 2020, the total length of subway lines will reach 1,000 km, according to the plan.

Meanwhile, clean-energy buses will account for 70 percent of all buses used for public transportation by 2020. The city will own 400,000 electronic vehicles by then, the plan said.

Beijing Mayor Wang Anshun said an imbalance between the population and resources still exists in Beijing and that energy saving and cutting emissions is a serious task.

"We have to let the market show the supply and demand of resources and use market measures to solve the problems," he said. "It's also important to achieve breakthroughs in technologies for energy saving."

To maintain the capital's core functions, Beijing will continue to start several projects which might add to carbon emissions, including a new airport.

It is expected that the expanding air-transport industry will add 4 million tons of standard coal to annual energy consumption. The city will hold the International Horticulture Exhibition in 2019 and prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will both add to carbon emissions.

Facing the challenges, the city will make efforts to increase energy efficiency and utilization rate.

The government will complete a carbon trading and energy management contract to better allocate energy resources.