Visit to "Near-Zero Carbon" Boao: Providing "Chinese Solutions" for Green and Low-Carbon Development

China News ServiceBoao, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Visiting "near-zero carbon" Boao: providing "Chinese solutions" for green and low-carbon development

Written by Zhang Yuehe

The rooftops are covered with photovoltaic panels, the roads are full of new energy vehicles, the seaside pier is equipped with flower fans, and the venue and hotel rooms are water-cooled and air-conditioned...... The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 will be held on the 26th, and the green and low-carbon lifestyle of Dongyu Island, Boao, Hainan Province, where the forum will be held, has refreshed the Chinese and foreign guests.

Boao Dongyu Island also has a name - Hainan Boao Near-Zero Carbon Demonstration Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "Demonstration Zone"), which has been jointly built by Hainan Province and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China since 2022 and has been put into operation recently.

From the air, dark photovoltaic panels cover almost all roofs in the demonstration area, and distributed photovoltaic power generation projects have been built on the roofs of the available buildings of the Forum and Conference Center, the Press Center and the hotel.

The roof of the Boao Forum for Asia International Conference Center in Hainan is covered with photovoltaic panels. (Data map) photo by Luo Yunfei

Hu Yaowen, president of the Hainan branch of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, said that the daily daily electricity consumption of the demonstration area is about 50,000 kWh, and during the annual meeting of the forum, the daily electricity consumption will increase to about 90,000 kWh. ”

While realizing the supply of green electricity, the demonstration area also focuses on reducing energy consumption. In the tropics, air conditioning is a big contributor to carbon emissions and energy consumption. In the high-efficiency refrigeration room of the Boao Forum for Asia Hotel, rows of silver pipes form the main engine of the air conditioner, and the low-temperature water in it sends a steady stream of cold air to all corners of the building. Lu Di, an engineer at China Academy of Building Research Co., Ltd., said that the total energy consumption of buildings in the demonstration area can be reduced by about 10% through energy-efficient maglev inverter units and water cold storage systems.

In the back kitchen of the Boao Forum for Asia Hotel, head chef Liu Su quickly cooked a plate of stir-fried shrimp with a full color and aroma with an induction cooker, without a trace of open flame in the whole process. Liu Su said that the electrified kitchen not only improves the safety of operation, but also adjusts the heat more accurately to ensure the stability of the dishes.

With a total area of 190.15 hectares, Hainan Boao Near-Zero Carbon Demonstration Zone has completed the construction tasks of 18 projects in 8 categories, including green buildings, renewable resource utilization, and green transportation, to achieve near-zero carbon emissions, and the overall energy consumption of building operation has decreased by nearly 50% after the transformation, and the energy consumption of transportation vehicles on the island has decreased by 80%.

"One of the major features of the demonstration area is that it belongs to the transformation of existing urban areas. Hu Yaowen said that 70% of China's carbon emissions come from existing urban areas, and exploring the path of carbon reduction, low-carbon and near-zero carbon in existing urban areas is of great significance for China to achieve the goal of "carbon neutrality" and respond to global climate change.

Hu Yaowen said that replicability and promotion are the starting points for building a demonstration area. At present, Hainan has formulated the "Technical Standards for the Creation of Boao Near-zero Carbon Demonstration Zone", which has reached the international advanced level after expert evaluation. In the future, the standard will be trialed in more areas with hot summers and warm winters, and while taking into account the economy, it will form a set of near-zero carbon technical standards that can be promoted to the world, and provide the world with Chinese solutions in the field of green and low-carbon development.

Zero-carbon power, new energy vehicles, low-carbon energy transition, green development, climate change...... During the four-day Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024, the participants will also have in-depth discussions on a series of green development topics and contribute Asian wisdom to the world's green and low-carbon development.