Low Carbon Economy in the Cities of China - Possibilities to Estimate the Potential os CO2-Emissions

Abstract

Increasing urbanization and climate change are one of the greatest challenges in the 21st Century. Many regions already face different negative impacts on cities such as growing local pollution, solid and liquid waste, traffic congestion and noise. A growing consumption of fossil fuels in cities leads to increasing CO2-emissions accelerating climate change. All over the world and also in China, cities are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. In that context, the concept of so called “low carbon cities” is promoted. Currently, 79 cities in China are considering low carbon concepts. To build a low carbon city is not an easy task as there are various barriers to be removed, such as financial, traditional and institutional barriers. Building belong to the most traditional and slow-changing innovative areas in industry. Further solutions are different for hot and warm climates than for cold climates. Due to a very fragmented and divided structure in smaller enterprises and in different areas, a holistic approach is hardly to get.