Bond with Beijing
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is an international organization initiated by Beijing's sister city London. Since the establishment of C40, Beijing has carried out pragmatic exchanges and cooperation with it. The city frequently dispatched personnel to participate in the international activities C40 conducted. The organization successfully settled in Beijing in 2017 as one of the first NGOs to set up representative offices in China shortly after the implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Activities of Overseas Non-Governmental Organizations Within the Territory of China. The relationship between C40 and Beijing has become even closer thereafter.
Recalling this story, one staff member of the C40 Beijing Representative Office said, "We are very grateful to the Beijing Municipal Government for its strong support and assistance during our registration. Without its coordination, we could not have completed it so fast."
Chen Boping, Chief Representative of the C40 Beijing Representative Office, pointed out that, "The major reason why C40 chose to settle in Beijing is that it serves as China's capital and international exchange center. Therefore, it offers a vital platform to help C40 communicate and cooperate with the Chinese government, embassies in China, and other international organizations. In addition, Beijing has considerable experience in addressing climate change. It also has outstanding advantages in terms of the international environment and large-scale event planning. There are favourable conditions for C40 to work and enhance its influence. "
Participate in Beijing's Low-Carbon Development
Since its establishment, the Beijing Representative Office has fully leveraged the advantages of C40 in terms of its professional experience and city network. The office has been actively strengthening exchanges and cooperation between Beijing and other C40 cities in climate change and green development, which can help Beijing achieve its carbon neutrality goal.
The construction industry is one of the areas where efforts to reduce carbon emissions have been focusing on. Since 2018, C40 has implemented the China Buildings Programme (C40-CBP) in collaboration with the Center of Science and Technology & Industrialization Development of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The aim is to help Chinese cities navigate climate change response in the construction industry and find out the best practices to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals by using C40's global network as well as technological and online resources. Within this framework, C40 supported Beijing in implementing its ultra-low energy building project. In the past three years since the implementation, Beijing has done relevant technical research, piloted demonstration projects, and conducted standards-making. 32 pilot projects of ultra-low energy buildings have been rolled out across the city, which covered a total area of about 530,000 square meters with various types of buildings involved. As a result, the project has provided strong support and reference for Beijing to research and develop ultra-low energy technical routes and standards with the city's own characteristics, and to develop an ultra-low-energy building industrial chain that could be replicated on a large scale.
Beijing strengthens training and promotion of ultra-low-energy building technology
In addition, C40 facilitates collaboration. It promotes in-depth cooperation between Beijing and other member cities under its framework through mechanisms and platforms such as its urban building energy efficiency network and the China Buildings Programme. With the support of C40, Beijing drew on Copenhagen's (its sister city and a member of C40) experience in reducing the energy consumption for heating buildings. The two cities jointly launched a program, Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings with Focus on District Heating. They implemented pilot projects in Beijing and Xi'an. The study of these projects found that the two cities witnessed significant achievements in energy conservation, emission reduction, better district heating services, and a more comfortable living environment by learning from Copenhagen's technology and experience and adopting energy monitoring and control measures that suit China's national conditions for district heating systems. Relevant research results were published at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the friendship between Beijing and Copenhagen, and they were well received by people from all walks of life. At the seminar on research results, Wu Yanting, a research assistant at the Tsinghua University Building Energy Research Centre (TUBERC), said: "The findings are of great significance for improving the precise control of the heat supply network, which will be widely applied in China in the future."
Beijing-Copenhagen Seminar on Research Results of the Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings with Focus on District Heating Project
In recent years, C40 has participated in the Beijing International Forum for Metropolitan Clean Air and Climate Actions hosted by Beijing annually. The organization also invited member cities to participate in the activity through its city network. These cities shared their experience in air quality monitoring, coordination of pollution and carbon reduction, carbon market development, and Olympic carbon neutralization. At the same time, they were also impressed by Beijing's rapid development and experience in carbon reduction. C40 participated in and witnessed how Beijing and foreign metropolises pursued green and low-carbon development together.
Experts from C40 attend the 2021 Beijing International Forum for Metropolitan Clean Air and Climate Actions via video link.
Communicate Beijing's Climate Action
In November 2021, a global urban climate action exhibition hosted by C40 captured much attention during the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 11 members of C40 shared their solutions to climate change at online and offline exhibition areas. On behalf of Chinese cities, Beijing showcased its extraordinary achievements during recent years in climate change response and ecological progress by presenting five cases in a virtual exhibition area that C40 offered. The five cases included the carbon neutrality plan for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the carbon neutrality plan of Beijing Drainage Group, and the smart parks of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
Click here to visit Beijing's online showroom of the Global Cities Climate Action Exhibition
In March 2021, the EU-China Mayors Dialogue: Cities Delivering a Green and Inclusive Recovery organized by C40 was held via video link. Representatives from Heidelberg (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc. attended the meeting, discussing inclusive recovery in the post-covid era. Representatives from Beijing shared their experience in pursuing low-carbon sustainable development by constructing new green buildings, converting existing buildings to green ones, and strengthening efforts in energy conservation. "In 2020, Beijing built 28.22 million square meters of green buildings, converted 2.3494 million square meters of public buildings to green ones, and put a limit on the power consumption of 12,222 public buildings covering163 million square meters…" The detailed data showed the world what Beijing has achieved in promoting green recovery in the energy efficiency of buildings. The achievements were commended by foreign representatives and experts who attended the meeting.
Video of Representatives from Chinese and European Cities participating in the EU-China Mayors Dialogue: Cities Delivering a Green and Inclusive Recovery
Join in Beijing's Green Development
Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40, said, "The C40 Beijing representative office has been developing in recent years. Every time I visit Beijing, I am amazed at how fast the city is changing - new bike lanes, more green spaces, cleaner air, and more and more electric cars on the road. All these show us that Beijing is making solid progress in green development."
The head of the C40 Beijing Representative Office said that C40 will continue to cooperate with Beijing, introduce international experience on its own initiative, and support Beijing's innovation and practice of policies on climate change, energy conservation and emission reduction. Together with Beijing, it will also explore innovative methods which can tackle climate change and suit the conditions of the city to jointly write a new chapter of Beijing's green and low-carbon development.
The Archives of International Organizations
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a non-governmental international organization based on cities. It is dedicated to helping cities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address climate change, and improve the health and well-being of urban residents. In 2005, C40 was initiated and established by the then mayor of London. Headquartered in London, it was originally a group of about 40 cities across the world. At present, it has nearly 100 members worldwide, representing a population of about 750 million. Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, serves as the C40's chairperson. Beijing has been cooperating with C40 as an observer city.
(Photo: C40 Beijing Representative Office, Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, Beijing Research and Development Center of Building Energy Efficiency)
(Source: Beijing Foreign Affairs Office, Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, C40 Beijing Representative Office)
