China, People's Republic of : Modeling Urban Low-Carbon Development in Xiangtan

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development

Urbanization has been a key driver of the economic development of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the last 35 years. The PRC's urbanization ratio increased from 19.4% in 1978 to 53.7% in 2013, and the urban population rose to nearly 700 million in 2013. The number of cities rose from 193 in 1978 to 658 in 2013, and the number of townships rose from 2,173 to 20,113 in the same period. Urbanization and industrialization have also caused environmental degradation and pollution which limit future options for sustainable urbanization in the PRC. Increasing air pollution and high labor costs in the eastern region of the PRC, coupled with western development initiatives, have led to a shift of manufacturing from large coastal cities to small- and medium-sized cities in the central and western regions. These cities, with an abundance of labor and resources, tend to attract high-energy and pollution-heavy processing industries. While these industries allow for short-term economic growth, they ultimately sacrifice the long-term and environment-friendly development of these small- and medium-sized cities.

Under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the Government of the PRC set a goal to build a _two-oriented society,_ defined as building a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society. This strategic task was recognized as critical to the long-term planning for the national economy and for social development. To support this, the Central Committee Communist Party of China has put forward a succession of relevant policies since 2007, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, and environmental protection measures in the anticipated Thirteenth Five-Year Plan, 2016 2020.

In support of this goal, the government considers urbanization as an opportunity to expand economic growth while promoting pollution-free and resource-efficient low-carbon urban development (LCD). In 2013, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) completed the policy and advisory technical assistance (TA), _Strengthening Capacity to Address Climate Change for Small- and Medium-Sized City Development,_ which aimed to assist the government's effort to strengthen the capacity of small- and medium-sized cities to address climate change and pursue LCD through knowledge sharing. The TA output effectively alerted the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the PRC Government that low-carbon city development of small- and medium-sized cities will face significant challenges, particularly in the areas of financing, knowledge, human resources, regulation, and infrastructure. The TA also identified national and international best practices best suited for small- and medium-sized cities in the PRC. Meanwhile, NDRC has identified 36 pilot cities for a wide range of LCD tasks such as developing city-wide GHG emission inventories, setting measurable emission-reduction targets, developing low-carbon action plans, and establishing performance tracking mechanisms.

In 2014, the government requested an additional policy and advisory TA from ADB to build on previous findings, in order to apply the lessons learned in Xiangtan, Hunan Province. With a population of approximately 1 million, Xiangtan is a medium-sized city within the Changsha Zhuzhou Xiangtan (CZT) city cluster. Established in 2007, the CZT city cluster is one of the only two-city cluster pilots aimed at exploring sustainable economic and social development in the PRC. Xiangtan was selected due to its size, location, historical importance, as well as the existing political commitment to environmental improvement despite heavy industrialization. While Xiangtan has made many efforts to advance local green and LCD initiatives, it is not one of the 36 NDRC pilot LDC cities. The Xiangtan municipal government (XMG) has very broad targets related to pollution reduction, with interest in lowering air pollution and carbon emission. Currently, the government does not know the overall carbon emissions for Xiangtan, and has requested guidance in measuring the existing emissions, and supporting the creation of a goal and workplan to ensure that international best practices are used to create a replicable model for small- and medium-sized cities in the PRC. While LCD initiatives affect multiple sectors, XMG has prioritized LCD planning for industrial development as the most urgent need for Xiangtan. The proposed TA is a timely response to the government's request for ADB assistance to identify suitable policies and mechanisms to promote LCD in small- and medium-sized cities in the PRC. The TA could also build on the ongoing PRC initiative, particularly development of the GHG accounting and monitoring framework. Additionally, the TA aims to identify new or innovative approaches to LCD projects in Xiangtan which could lead to potential ADB lending.

1. Inventory of current Xiangtan GHG emissions across all major urban sectors completed

2. LCD index system for Xiangtan to measure LCD and environmentally friendly development created

3. GHG monitoring and accounting system for Xiangtan established

4. Xiangtan LCD strategy and implementation plan created