Individuals, enterprises innovate for low carbon living

(Xinhua)

Updated: 2015-06-18

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhuanet) -- A forum on low-carbon living has been held in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Participants are dishing out advice on practical steps, as well as technological innovations for low-carbon living.

Innovation in micro technologies may lead to major advance and success in low carbon living.

Du Qun is a deputy director of the Research Institute of Environmental Law of Wuhan University.

She thinks Chinese enterprises should lead in building a low-carbon living, which also enables them to reduce production cost.

"Innovations in micro-technologies have a direct bearing on increasing the efficiency in energy consumption. I think government should give an incentive to enterprises more than implementing compulsory measures. Meanwhile, enterprises can also benefit from saving production cost."

Chinese dairy giant, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, is one of the leading enterprises in applying technological innovations for the sake of energy conservation.

Zhang Jianqiu is the executive president of the group.

He explains the temperature is below zero in Zhaodong, Heilongjiang Province for nearly 6 months every year, so their researchers have developed a filter-like device that could well absorb cold air into their freezers.

In this way, their local factory does not need to open the refrigeration equipment during those six months. Each month, it could save 320,000 tons of electricity.

Zhang Jianqiu says he is happy about a small investment in technological innovations resulting in huge gains.

"In 2012, the Yili Industrial Group has adopted over 300 projects that apply the micro-technological innovations, saving a cost of 30 million yuan from energy conservation."

In addition to enterprises, individual contribution could also be vital to building a low-carbon lifestyle.

At the forum in Guiyang, experts also discussed new initiatives aimed at improving recycling behavior as part of its journey to a low-carbon lifestyle.

For example, Wang Jiwei, secretary-general of China Association of Resource Comprehensive Utilization advises practical steps in collecting beer bottle lids.

"I think our nation should now devote much of our attention to developing the recycling industry. Here I give you a concrete example: if we could gather and recycle the lids of beer bottles we consumed each year in China, we may get 1.7 billion tons of tin plate, which could be built into an aircraft carrier."

The forum on low-carbon living will last until this Sunday.