On August 10, 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) launched an experimental project to build low-carbon provinces and cities. The first batch of participants encompass five provinces - Guangdong, Liaoning, Hubei, Shaanxi and Yunnanand - and eight cities - Shenzhen, Xiamen, Tianjin, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Nanchang, Guiyang and Baoding. These areas are required to develop a low-carbon development plan, fostering a green economy, lifestyle and consumption pattern. But how can they achieve this without any precedents to follow? The Shanghai Expo might provide inspiration.

The national flag of the People's Republic of China floats in front of the China Pavilion as the National Pavilion Day for China opens on Oct 1, 2010, which is also the 61st anniversary of the founding of the PRC. [Xinhua]

Save Your Legs, Save the Planet

The Expo Park boasts over 300 pavilions, representing individual countries, cities, enterprises and international organizations. Assuming you spent 10 hours a day here, with just half an hour in each pavilion, without any waiting in line or refreshment breaks, you'd still be doing the rounds two weeks later. And who has that much energy?

The new-energy vehicles running through the site would be a big help, getting visitors to any pavilion within a few minutes. The Expo's green transportation fleet includes the newly unveiled extended-range electric vehicle - the Chevrolet Volt. Drawing on its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery, the Volt can be driven for 64 emission-free kilometers.

Besides international brands, China has over 1,000 homegrown "zero emission" new-energy vehicles serving the Expo, including about 300 powered by electricity and super-capacitors and 200 by fuel cells.

The Expo organizers also issued the Green Commuting Guidelines, using which tourists can find a green Expo-visit plan that best suits their particular needs. An online calculator allows them to figure out their personal carbon emissions for a trip by entering basic information such as start and end locations, travel methods and the number of people. Also they are able to "offset" their carbon emissions by purchasing a low-carbon travel card at RMB 40, half of the cost going to funding non-profit environmental protection projects.

"Low-carbon" Penetration

Shanghai has grown into China's largest industrial base and an international metropolis since it opened to foreign trade more than 100 years ago. The industrial and commercial boom brings it immense prosperity and but tremendous pressure on its environment at the same time.

A report jointly published at the end of 2009 by Bayer Group, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and China's Tongji University pointed out that Shanghai is now No.1 in carbon emissions among the four major Asia-Pacific cities, with its carbon emissions per unit of GDP three times that of the other three, namely Tokyo, Bangkok and Sydney.

In fact Shanghai has been working strenuously to clean its air and clear its name. Since 2000 when preparation for the Expo started, the city has scaled up its financial allocation for environmental protection. The 2009 investment reached RMB 42 billion (US $6 billion), triple that of 2000. Now the World Expo gives Shanghai a chance to demonstrate to the world its will and potential for green growth.

The Expo Park is a testing ground for low-carbon innovations. Unlike previous expos featuring newly built constructions, the Shanghai Expo values the industrial heritage buildings which have stood here for decades: the idea of preserving the existing structures and remodeling them into beautiful exhibition space met surprising approbation. Old factories and building in the area that would become Expo Park were renovated to create 300,000 square meters of pavilion space. Since the first World Expo held in London in 1851, electricity consumption per visitor for each expo has climbed greatly. The Shanghai Expo is expected to get a record-breaking 70 million visitors, so it's not difficult to imagine the amount of electricity required.

In order to reduce the energy consumption, the organizers have tried out various green solutions. Since the event is held during the summer, when Shanghai comes under the influence of the southeast monsoon, the Expo Park is designed in accordance with the prevailing wind at this time, channeling the wind into each building and. by doing so greatly reducing air-conditioner use.

In addition, solar battery systems have been installed on the roof and glass curtain walls of many pavilions, including the five permanent constructions -- the Central Axis, China Pavilion, Theme Pavilion, Expo Center and Performance Center -- and some national pavilions. The China Pavilion and the Theme Pavilion also incorporate BIPV technology, which integrates photovoltaic systems into the building materials themselves to supply electricity needs. Using this system the Theme Pavilion alone can generate 2.8 million kWh a year - enough to meet the annual electricity demand of over 4,000 Shanghai households.

Low Carbon, High Visibilty

The Chinese government has set itself a target that by 2020 it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent compared with the 2005 level. To help towards this ambition, Shanghai Expo is using multifarious green technologies.

"We built the Expo Park for a sustainable and harmonious city future, not just a six-month party," states Wu Zhiqiang, chief planner of the Expo Park. "The site formerly seated 280 factories and a shanty town of 10,000- plus households. Construction of the Expo Park allowed us to clear out a source of pollution in the heart of the city and what's more, to resettle these people in much better accommodation."

The external cladding of the Vanke Pavilion is made of straw, a common agricultural waste around the world, which is normally burnt. You might think there was no way a "straw" building could be solid enough, but Vanke's bold innovation is changing opinions. Vanke's construction material, composed of 95 percent wheat straw and 5 percent environmentally safe adhesive, undergoes a series of processes involving air-drying, surface smoothing and high-pressure compression, and has proved robust and stable. As one of China's leading real estate developers, Vanke aims to build eco-houses and promote low-carbon communities around the country. Currently the company is working on turning agricultural waste --from beet and corn for example -- into construction materials.

The Shanghai Eco-Home is completely made from "waste." Its brickwork walls are made with reclaimed bricks from demolished buildings; the tabletops inside are made of scrapped circuit boards; and it is designed to make the maximum use of solar energy and captured rainwater, saving 75 percent more energy than conventional buildings.

Other cutting-edge green technologies include: the Japanese pavilion's footstep-absorbing floor that can generate electricity when walked on; the Swiss pavilion's energy-generating and bio-degradable curtain made from soy fiber; the Portuguese pavilion's recyclable cork walls; the Madrid Pavilion's "Air Tree" that can produce electricity from wind and regulate ambient temperature; the London Pavilion's grain roof that catches rainwater to cool its interior. …