China to boost construction of green buildings

 　　BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has established a goal of having green buildings account for 30 percent of new construction projects by 2020, according to an official document released Sunday.

　　The document, which was jointly¹ released by the Ministry² of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, marks the first time for China to set a goal for the development of green buildings.

　　The move underlines China's intent to speed up the development of energy-efficient construction following other documents published earlier this year aimed at the same goal.

　　According to the document, the government will speed up the sector³'s development by increasing policy incentives⁴ and improving industry standards, as well as promoting technological⁵ progress and the development of related industries.

　　The document also specifies⁶ a goal of bringing China's building energy consumption ratio closer to that of developed countries by 2020.

　　Different from ordinary buildings, green buildings require construction projects to save as much energy, land, water and materials as possible throughout their life cycle to protect the environment and reduce pollution, according to an evaluation⁷ standard for green buildings released by the Chinese government in 2006.

　　Analysts⁸ said the move indicates that the "green construction" sector will be an economic breakthrough in terms of spurring growth and play a large role in the country's energy-saving efforts.

　　It will leverage⁹ a green market with trillions of yuan, as developing green buildings will effectively drive the growth of new building materials, new energy and related service sectors¹⁰, said Zhang Shaochun, deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance.

　　The property sector possesses a strong ability to boost downstream industries. It is responsible for 50 percent of the country's steel consumption and 60 percent of cement consumption, Zhang said.

　　China's construction sector is estimated to account for more than 30 percent of total social energy consumption by 2020, becoming a major energy user.

　　But energy consumption can be effectively lowered by constructing green buildings. A preliminary study showed that an amount of energy equal to 45 million tonnes of standard coal can be saved by building energy-efficient buildings during the 2011-2015 period, according to Zhang.

　　"The document indicates that the country's green construction sector is moving into a fast development phase, and shows the government's resolve to speed up energy-saving and emission-reduction efforts," said Wang Youwei, deputy head of the China Association of Building Energy Efficiency.

　　Wang said the room for developing energy-efficient buildings is huge, as the total combined floor area of China's existing energy-efficient buildings amounts to less than 40 million square meters.

　　The construction of energy-efficient buildings will be subsidized according to a three-tier grading system specified¹¹ in the 2006 evaluation standard, the document said.

　　First-tier buildings will make their builders eligible¹² a subsidy¹³ of 80 yuan (about 12 U.S. dollars) per square meter, while second-tier buildings will qualify for 45 yuan per square meter.

　　The document also aimed to apply green construction standards to all government-funded public welfare projects and the low-income housing projects by 2014.

　　The document said more of these projects will be energy-efficient, with the goal of building more than 1 billion square meters of energy-efficient floor space by 2015.

　　The government will take concrete measures to strengthen fiscal¹⁴ support and prioritize funding to encourage the construction of green buildings in those projects, Zhang said.

1 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

6 specifies   

v.指定( specify的第三人称单数 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• The third clause of the contract specifies steel sashes for the windows. 合同的第三款指定使用钢窗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

10 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

12 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

13 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

14 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。