Low carbon cities in China: opportunity or misconception?

(PhysOrg.com) -- There is plenty of room for improvement if Chinese cities wish to become ‘low-carbon’, according to visiting University of Melbourne academic Mark Wang.

Associate Professor Wang, from the Melbourne School of Land and Environment based in Australia, will be giving lectures in Tianjin and Shanghai as part of the University of Melbourne’s visit to China from May 18 to 28.
“’Low-carbon city’ seems to have become a fashionable label of late, with many Chinese cities adopting it,” said Associate Professor Wang. “But are these cities really low-carbon? In many cases this label is being used without concrete, comprehensive decarbonisation practices or policies. In fact, such policies would be in conflict with GDP development policies.
“Many cities have lost their personalities during recent development, and many buildings have been demolished which is not exactly a carbon friendly practice. The average life expectancy of a building in China is now only 30 years, compared to 74 in the United States of America or 132 in the United Kingdom.”
Associate Professor Wang said too many low carbon projects were just for showing off, and didn’t tackle the real problems. “Researchers should pay attention not just to low carbon transport or clean energy technology, but also carbon governance and how to get all the relevant stakeholders involved.”
While in China, Associate Professor Wang will also give a series of lectures on China’s 200 million strong ‘floating’ labour population - made up of peasant workers or rural-to-urban migrant workers - and how it’s remained so cheap for so long. “Undoubtedly they have transformed Chinese cities, constructing skyscrapers, providing a variety of services at low cost, and working in the assembly lines of ‘Made-in-China’ products. In these ways, not only do they greatly ease the lives of official urban Chinese residents, but also maintain the competitiveness of China’s globally exported manufactured products.”
“However there remain barriers that prevent rural migrants from being properly integrated at their urban destinations. The discrimination of job attainment is closely connected with wage discrimination and, consequently, migrant workers are paid much less than urban residents possessing the same skills.”
“My lecture will answer just how floating this labour force is, and what exactly helps determine their destinations of choice - is it affected by marriage status, gender and social networks, or education and experience?”
The University of Melbourne, ranked 36th in the world by the Times Higher Education rankings and 62nd according to the Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings, will hold a number of lectures in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai during the 10-day trip, including:
- Professor Simon Evans “Executive Power and the War on Terror”
- Professor Rob Saint “Cell division and its relationship to cancer”
- Associate Professor Paul Taylor “Plant pathogens and sustainable crop production”

Provided by University of Melbourne