'Human-centered' urbanization a way out of smog: experts

Experts say "human-centered" urbanization, a topic raised at a recently concluded conference of China's leaders, may help bring a breath of fresh air to the smog-smothered nation.

A statement from the conference, which ended Friday and was the highest-level conference the Chinese leadership has held on urbanization, offers a path for the nation's future development and a way out of heavy smog, experts have said.

Lingering smog, which covered much of China for several days last month, has raised public concern and prompted the government to take more effective measures to tackle the problem.

Statistics show that 2013 has had the most smoggy days of any year in the last 52 years. Thirteen regions and provinces have recorded historic high pollution levels, with visibility in some parts less than 50 meters.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has blamed the smog on an accumulation of pollutants caused by a combination of adverse weather conditions, vehicle emissions and coal-fired pollution.

The smog and haze are also attributed to population overcrowding and excessive energy consumption from buildings and heavy industry.

ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

The conference statement pins great importance on ecological safety, while also promising to focus on the quality of urbanization and to improve the living standards of urban residents.

The statement has promised the expansion of forests, lakes and wetlands in urban areas and "to make mountains and rivers visible and let people remember the old times," the statement said.

Yi Peng, a researcher from the China Center for Urban Development under the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the "urbanization process should be restrained as a compromise to nature and to leave space for more greenery."

The statement also urged cutting energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, and increasing efficiency in energy use, which is a positive sign toward reaching the goal set by the State Council earlier this year, according to Yi.

Under the goal, the country would rein in consumption of standard coal to less than 4 billion tonnes, and electricity consumption to under 6.15 trillion kilowatt-hours by 2015.

The statement stressed the importance of developing urban clusters, which Yi said will help fight air pollution, which is not confined to a certain region and would be better dealt with on a larger scale.

"The strategy now is to concentrate people into several urban clusters and control the overall volume of energy consumption and emissions, which will cut emissions and consumption per capita," according to Yi.

The human-centered urbanization model should not simply encourage farmers to swarm into cities, which could put even greater pressure on the environment, as city dwellers emit triple the volume of carbon dioxide as those in the countryside, he explained.

QUALITY DEVELOPMENT

Some have argued the smog problem is simply a reflection of China's current economic development model.

The conference statement emphasizes quality development in urbanization and stresses the importance of green and low-carbon development in future urbanization.

The statement shines a spotlight on the "extensive, unsustainable and unscientific use of resources" revealed by the smog, according to Wu Bihu, director of the Center for Recreation and Tourism Research at Peking University.

"Smog suggests a dead end for the traditional urbanization and development model," Wu said, adding that "we have to fundamentally change the economic structure and prompt the development of the service industry."

Promotion of urbanization through the development of the service industry has not been widely accepted, posing a challenge for all of us, Wu added.