The Tianhe district government recently published its ecological environment protection plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

According to the plan, Tianhe will accelerate its green and low-carbon development, lead the country in energy utilization efficiency, and achieve remarkable results in the green transformation of its production sector and overall lifestyle by 2025.

The district will foster new green and low-carbon industries, as well as new business models that will contribute to its development into a demonstration zone for ecological progress and green economic transformation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Located in the core area of the Tianhe central business district (CBD), Liede boasts a green environment. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]

This plan includes a total of 24 indexes in the four areas: green development, environmental governance, ecological protection, and risk prevention.

Examples of these indexes include a household waste recycling rate that exceeds 42.8 percent; a harmless treatment rate for household garbage that reaches 100 percent; and a comprehensive utilization rate for general industrial solid waste that is 100 percent. Other goals include the proportion of days with good air quality surpassing 88 percent; and the annual average concentration of fine particulate matter in the air dropping to 26 micrograms per cubic meter.

Buildings like government office buildings, shopping malls, hotels and hospitals in Tianhe will be supported during their green transformation. Public institutions will also be encouraged to apply for star-rated green building identification. It is expected that by 2025, all newly built civil architecture in the district's urban areas will be green buildings.

A bird's eye view of green Tianhe. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]

Tianhe will encourage industrial parks, such as Tianhe Smart City and Guangzhou International Financial City, to carefully monitor and improve their graded electricity utilization, cyclic utilization of water resources, waste recycling, and land utilization work models.

All Tianhe-based industrial enterprises, key commercial and trade enterprises, and projects in the transportation and construction industries are encouraged to upgrade their technologies and equipment to ensure cleaner production.

The district will also support social capital and will set up funds and market-based guarantee funds to provide financial support and guarantees for green projects and the accelerated innovation of carbon finance businesses. These include mortgage and pledge loans on carbon emission rights, and ecological compensation based on forestry carbon sinks.

Tianhe will explore the establishment of a Greater Bay Area green finance cooperation platform that will support financial institutions within its jurisdiction in developing green finance cooperation and cross-border financial businesses with their counterparts in Hong Kong and Macao. This platform is set to encourage mainland enterprises to issue green bonds in Hong Kong and Macao.