In 2009, China overtook the United States as the planet's biggest polluter. The world's second economic power produced 11% of all greenhouse gases. Combining economic growth with reduced population is today one of China's major challenges. For some years now, the international community and France have been mobilized in support of the Chinese government's action in focusing policy on energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources.
Following the bilateral agreement signed between France and China, technological cooperation was reinforced between local authorities, research centers, companies, universities, and various NGOs. The AFD, the French development agency, organized a seminar in Wuhan on policies concerning energy use in public buildings. Robert Peccoud, the AFD's research director, attended the debate.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
To start with, there was an intention from the French government. We at AFD were asked to come and work in China. And instead of going up to them a little smugly, even arrogantly, as happens quite often in France, we came to see them and asked what they were interested in. They then told us about their concerns with regard to energy efficiency. On that basis, we asked them, what can we do for you? And they replied, we'd like to work with you. But the first thing that would interest us is that you tell us, since you work abroad, what's being done elsewhere so that we're not going to start from nothing.
So from that point on, because we'd been useful to them, they said, well, basically, these people are interesting. We'll work with them. So it's quite clear when one is able to approach people with a certain modesty and with a proven ability-- and there is a lot of ability in France-- about subjects that interest people and provide an added value they might be lacking at that moment, then it works all by itself.
In China, more than 90% of energy consumed in housing comes from coal. With more than 1,300,000,000 inhabitants and substantial growth in fossil fuel consumption, China has had to envisage new energy efficiency measures in the construction industry. Nils Devernois, in charge of sustainable urban development for the AFD, has been working with the Chinese authorities since 2006.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
The growth in housing in China has been phenomenal. The figures can't say it all, but they're astronomical. If I just give you one example, 8,000 tower blocks in 15 years in Shanghai in just one city, 8,000 tower blocks with between 17 and 20 floors, not counting the 400 or 500 meter high towers that were built at the same time. Since 2006, China has adopted very strict energy saving measures in all the provinces in all new buildings. This means that most new buildings must meet energy efficiency standards of between 30% and 50%.
To accompany the Chinese authorities in this campaign, the FFEM, the French World Environment Fund, and the Agency for the Environment and Energy Control work in close collaboration with the Chinese construction ministry. This partnership has already led to the construction of two housing complexes in the Bilinwan neighborhood of Shanghai. With PVC window frames, double glazing, solar filters, outside insulation, et cetera, these residential buildings benefit from energy-saving techniques that are rare in China. [? Mr. Yoo ?] [? Ling Chu ?] is the local developer.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
The project is subsidized by the FFEM. In the beginning, we didn't really understand their motivation. Why would these French people come so far to work with us? Little by little, we began to understand the FFEM's mandate. They help developing countries to reduce their CO2 emissions and to implement energy efficiency actions. The French experts said this, which really touched me.
We are the inhabitants of the same planet. We are here to help China improve the energy efficiency of its buildings. This will also benefit the French and children everywhere. China is currently a country that is developing rapidly. If we don't pay attention to energy issues, a lot of energy will be wasted. When the FFEM experts joined our project in the Bilinwan corridor, they brought a lot of ideas about architecture and about energy saving.
In 2003, when we started, we didn't really know about energy efficiency technologies. Their arrival here gave us a new vision. and They introduced us to new high-quality materials. We're new in this field, and we don't yet know all these materials. In France, they've been working on insulation and building structure for 40 or 50 years now. Europe and the US have at least 40 or 50 years experience with this subject. They know the energy efficiency techniques much better than we do.
For each building project, French experts, architects, heat engineers came to advise and train Chinese workers and site managers. The Chinese developers remain the real project leaders, however, and provide all the finance.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
We've already obtained concrete results. According to calculations done by the Chinese Architecture Institute, we've already attained results approaching 60% to 70% of energy savings.
The results are well above the Chinese average for an extra cost of just 20 euros per square meter, less than 3% of the total building cost. For the owners, it's a cost effective investment, and their apartments have already doubled in value. Mr. and Mrs. Wang show us the flat they bought in 2007.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Hello. Welcome to my home. Come in. This is our living room. It's big. It's very airy. There's a cool breeze in the summer. It's very comfortable. This is the kitchen. And here is where I hang my laundry. We're on the top floor, and there's a lovely view.
The apartment has six rooms. The Wang family previously lived in a small, two-room flat. And yet, today they're paying the same amount.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Here, look. That's our electricity bill. That's all we've consumed in one month.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Yes, we save a lot on electricity. Before, in our old home, we had to leave the air conditioning on all summer long and the heating on all winter. Here, that's not the case. And we save a lot that way.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
My son, from the younger generation, thinks it is really the right kind of development for our country. We need to develop this kind of building and buy apartments like this.
The Wang family can today live more comfortably while consuming less electricity. Their apartment is bigger, cooler in summer, and warmer in winter. Mr. Chu, the developer, takes us to the site of his latest housing project. The homes here will be even more economical. External insulation will be thicker, and roller shutters will replace the traditional textile blinds.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
So here, you can see the four buildings in phase three of our project. At the end of the year, we'll deliver these four buildings. We're at the stage of fitting the external insulation.
For this external insulation, Mr. Chu contacted the Shang Hou Dong Ou company. Mr. Ji Wei Lian is their project manager.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Here, we are putting cement on the insulation panels. We fit the panels with the cement. We put a thickness of 50 millimeters all around. In our specific field, we're contributing to saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It should be noted, however, that they are not yet using plant-based products, much more environmentally friendly than plastics. These buildings are not qualified as HKU, the green building standard in France, even if they are a reference today in Shanghai. New energy-saving measures may have been introduced for all new buildings since 2006, but for previous constructions, the problem of upgrading is by no means easy. Rehabilitating old buildings is today China's biggest problem.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
The building you can see behind me is a huge energy consumer in my opinion. And it's a new building, but it doesn't meet the standards for energy efficiency that we might expect today. Throughout the province of Hubei, there is estimated to be some 37 million square meters of public buildings, offices, commercial and service industry premises that require thermal upgrading. In the temperate regions like Wuhan, where we are now, we're still at the experimental stage with a few pilot projects and wondering what to do.
To improve the energy yield of buildings and industry, energy service companies called ESCOs can intervene. They are springing up all over the country and already number some 400. In Wuhan, 1,200 kilometers west of Shanghai, [? Mr. Chan Bi ?] is the director of the [? Kang Chan ?] ESCO. He has a meeting in one of the town's hotels, which called on his services.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
This is the system that our ESCO installed for this hotel. It's the air conditioning control center. It's an intelligent system for regulating the whole network. We've managed to reduce energy consumption for the AC in this hotel by almost 25%.
The first ESCOs, created in the 1990s, were supported by the Chinese government with funding from the World Bank and the FFEM.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
China consumes a lot of energy. And so there's a huge potential for the energy efficiency market. The EPC model-- Energy Performance Contract-- enables the market to develop. It's this model that we use to provide our customers with a service. I'll give you an example. An industry spend 1 million euros per year on its energy bill. We make an energy diagnosis and then propose various solutions, like changing their equipment or technology.
Thanks to that, the company can save 200,000 euros per year. We then share this profit, 80% for us and 20% for the company, our client. Then at the end of three years, it will be 50% each. For the client, it's zero investment and zero risk.
This system of payment without any direct state intervention is spreading rapidly. The ESCOs are private companies.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Improving the energy efficiency of new buildings is much easier than upgrading the energy performance of old buildings. The policies and objectives fixed by the government concerning new buildings are by and large well respected. Government measures and controls are very strict, aiming at 50% reduction in energy consumption in new buildings. In coastal regions, the target of 65% is not that hard to reach, either.
However, concerning the rehabilitation of existing buildings is more complicated. We'll need the agreement of all the owners and awareness of the issues among society in general. It's not so easy. It'll take time to get there.
The Energy Efficiency Bureau in Wuhan is studying the degrees of rehabilitation that are possible and carrying out energy audits with help from the AFD and the ADEME. Energy efficiency techniques are also taught at Chinese universities. The success of the France-China partnership is based on the transfer of knowledge and savoir faire. The science and technology university in Wuhan has created a sustainable urban development department. [? Mrs. Yoo Yun Lee ?] teaches architecture and energy saving there.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Our country, China, and all the countries in the world are faced with an important challenge, how to protect the planet and economize its resources. Saving energy is a major issue in sustainable development. So in our school, we put an emphasis on this subject. We want to integrate the concepts of energy saving into all our classes.
Even students are being mobilized. A group from the local polytechnic has decided to rehabilitate part of their dormitory building to compare energy consumption between the two areas. [? Shu Wei Jian ?] is a PhD student. He explains his group's research project.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
I'll show you the two buildings. There are dormitories for foreign students. One has been the object of an energy upgrading, and the other hasn't. In the rehabilitated building, we've made improvements to the roof, the walls, and the windows. We haven't touched the other one.
According to our observations, the latter is colder in winter and hotter in summer. Whereas this one, which has been rehabilitated, consumes less electricity and is much more comfortable. Personally, I'm very interested in the energy question, climate change, and protecting the environment. And I think in general that young Chinese people and students are interested, too. Everyone is affected by these subjects.
This study project is all the more important to these students as they pay part of the cost of the air conditioning.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
China today is quite rightly preoccupied about its considerable energy consumption growth rate, because in effect, if it follows the American model, we'll need more than one planet full of fossil fuels. In 15 or 20 years, we'll be facing overwhelming problems, where fossil fuel reserves or tensions over fossil fuel reserves will no longer be able to absorb the overall growth of all the planet's developing countries.
Within the context of Franco-Chinese cooperation in the fight against global warming, France is also providing support in the development of renewable energy. Around 65% of China's energy requirements are still met by burning coal. The environmental stakes are therefore considerable. Mrs. Yong Li Wang is head of the science and technology bureau for the town of [? Aning. ?] She takes us to a small village in the Hunan region, 1,300 kilometers southwest of Wuhan. In this model village, where each house has a solar-powered water heater, the inhabitants use biogas for cooking, heating, and lighting. They obtain the biogas thanks to the methane and the excrement produced by their pigs.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
This is the biogas tank here. We can see the pigs over there, and this is the gas tank we've built. The excrement enters through this hole in the tank. Excrement from our toilets also goes into the tank. All the excrement will ferment and produce gas. There we can see the pipe that transports the gas. It takes the gas into the kitchen.
Here we have an example of a household that uses the gas for cooking. The gas comes in through this pipe. We can cook rice with this cooker, for example, thanks to the gas. The biogas is used for all our cooking.
The promotion of biogas in rural areas is led by the Chinese government and the French ONG Initiative Development.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
We've been using the gas since 2006, more or less. It's very practical for doing the cooking and heating the water. It was the government who helped us, who encouraged us to install the system. Before, we used wood that we went to fetch in the mountains. But today, we no longer need to cut wood.
The biogas tank also produces a residue that can be used as a fertilizer. The process is an important factor in combating global warming. The methane produced by animal excrement contributes to warming more than CO2. Using it prevents it from being released into the atmosphere.
The Chinese government are developing the process on a wider scale. Pig excrement is collected in large vats to supply gas to local villages. Over 19,000 homes are already beneficiaries. In addition, China is embarking on a program to provide isolated villages with electricity. A solar cell manufacturing company has been mandated to install panels free of charge.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
In 2007, we installed this solar panel for electricity. We use it for lighting, for watching the television, and for the telephone. Inside, we have light with an energy-saving bulb. This is the battery containing the electricity produced by the solar panel. We stock it to use later whenever we want.
Mr. Jun Dong, who installed the panels, comes to make sure they're working properly.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
In 2006, the government wanted to distribute electricity to all households. We first of all carried out a study with a local campaign. And we quickly realized that if we had to install cables all the way out here, it would be very complicated. It's too isolated, and the houses are too dispersed. So after the study, we reached the conclusion that solar energy was the solution. There are nothing but advantages here.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
If we didn't have the solar energy, we couldn't have lighting or watch the television. And young people would go off to the town because they have all the facilities.
China produces its own solar panels, but the manufacturing equipment and quality control processes are European. The theme at the World Fair in Shanghai in 2010 will be "a better town, a better life." The Rhone-Alpes Region is one of three French regions to have been selected to participate in the Best Urban Practices section. It will present a four-story eco-pavilion. Jean-Maurice Hebrard is in charge of the Rhone-Alpes International Enterprise.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
The pavilion will cover 3,500 square meters. It exists already as it was constructed by the architect Denis Dessus in [? Ballans. ?] The objective and the specifications of our Chinese partners and requirements of the expo organizers involved building the same pavilion but with more Chinese and more modern characteristics. That's why we called upon a number of partners from Rhone-Alpes Region, as our aim is to make it a real showcase for all Rhone-Alpes companies. And each one is asked to contribute their best technology.
For example, we have a green roof and wall, which enable the outside air to be filtered. So the air inside will be of better quality than the air outside. Another innovation-- and this is not widespread in China-- is that we have a filter system which enables us to have drinking water on every floor of the building.
The building will have a green vegetable roof and wall, and the structure will be surrounded by a wall of bamboo. The Rhone-Alpes Region is working with the Veritas Company, a standards and quality control bureau. Frederik Cornu is their commercial director in Shanghai.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
We could sum it up in a general manner by saying that the Veritas Bureau's mission is to ensure the quality of the project, its integrity, and conformity in relation to the French architect's original plan. The best of French technology is involved here, so it's a real showcase that will stay in Shanghai over the coming years. So it's a very important project.
The expo opens on May 1, 2010, and more than 70 million visitors are expected. On the request of the French government, the Rhone-Alpes pavilion could remain open to the public for several years. As an exhibition center and workplace filled with environmentally friendly materials, it will help to promote the very best in French energy-saving technology.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
We will learn a lot from the Chinese. For example, during our research program, to begin with, we had the impression we were contributing a lot. But then they set up, for example, a surveillance system for monitoring a building's energy consumption, and that's something that's still not done very often in France.
Energy efficiency always involves a mix of technical solutions and a mix of financial solutions, where we have incitements and tax relief and preferential rates. It's always a mix between regulations and encouraging the general public or owners. It's also a way of being able to encourage a market dynamic to further the energy reputation and capacities of existing buildings.
China is today becoming aware of the necessity of investing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Progress in living standards hoped for by the Chinese population is legitimate. But they must avoid creating excessive imbalances too quickly. Keen to establish international partnerships, China is progressing rapidly. But the road is still long, as reconciling economic growth and sustainable development is imperative. "Get richer, but not at any price" could be China's new slogan, as limiting gas emissions means preserving the planet and its inhabitants.