In an interview at the beginning of 2010, Yang Yiwen, Chief of Beijing Dongcheng District, first put forward the concept of building a “Low-Carbon Zone”. She introduces that Dongcheng will apply enterprise green acceptation standards. Oriented by the conservation of energy in buildings, it will explore a contract energy management mode and select government agencies, schools, hospitals and public facilities to renovate so as to form a set of green demonstration buildings. In addition, it will cooperate with Switzerland Lausanne and take advantage of multinational cooperation to implement low-carbon demonstration projects.
Headquarters of central energy enterprises form clustering advantages
“Dongcheng District is a functional core district of the capital and has many resource based advantages in developing a low-carbon economy,” Yang Yiwen said. According to the urban general planning of Beijing, Dongcheng District is the main carrier of the Beijing political center, a center of culture, a significant tourist location and a famous domestic commercial center. It has three functional zones, among which an important zone is Yonghe Park of Zhongguancun National Innovation Model Park.
From the perspective of industrial structure, Dongcheng District is suitable for developing low-carbon industries, such as the energy saving and environmental protection service industry and green finance. The headquarters economy and building economy of Dongcheng District are the leading sector, and the modern service industry is well developed, which have structural advantages of low energy consumption and low pollution. The tertiary industry, in which the modern services industry is the main body, accounts for 94.7%, which is the highest proportion in the eighteen districts and counties of Beijing. At present the four leading industries, i.e. financial services, information services, business services and cultural creation, account for over 50% of the economy of the district. The district has 4,621 buildings in total, wherein 162 are operated business buildings which provide tremendous demand potential for energy conservation and emissions reduction.
Yang Yiwen says that the headquarters of central energy enterprises form a clustering advantage in Dongcheng District. Now, China National Petroleum, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China Petroleum and Chemical and China Shen Hua Group Corporation are located in the East Second Ring. These enterprises are important investment subjects of the new energy source economy and the key participants of GHG Emissions Trading in the future. The advantages of central enterprises gathering play a significant role in introducing the main subjects of new energy sources and realizing low-carbon industry.
At present the enterprises of new energy source investment and energy-saving and environmental protection service are in a clustering state. The core industry of the low-carbon economy is the new energy sources and energy-saving and environmental protection industry. The functional orientation and industrial characteristics of Dongcheng District make Dongcheng unsuitable for manufacturing, but especially suitable for clustering investment and financing organizations supporting low-carbon industry and high-end service industry of energy conservation and environmental protection. According to statistics, more than 100 service industries of new energy investment or energy saving and environmental protection have clustered in Dongcheng District, which is forming an industrial cluster.
Yang holds that the industrial orientation suits for the development of low-carbon economy. Now Yonghe Park of Zhongguancun National Innovation Model Park is located in Dongcheng District and the new scheme for park expansion has covered all of the East Second Ring. Yonghe Park can enjoy two policies. One is the policies in the Opinions of Beijing Municipal Government on Promoting the Development of the Financial Sector in the Capital, in which East Second Ring is defined as Capital Financial Industry Developing Area. In addition, it enjoys the policy of Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone. With these two preferential policies, Dongcheng District has advantages of speeding up the systemic integration of emerging industries with finance, promoting green finance and building low-carbon economic demonstration parks.
 
Speed up the construction of green finance center
Yang Yiwen talked about some thoughts on how to establish a low-carbon district and how to build a low-carbon economical demonstration park in Dongcheng District in the years ahead.
In Yang’s opinion, the foremost thing is to strengthen government’s guidance and create a development environment. In the process of compiling the “12th Five-year” Development Planning, developing low-carbon economy and green finance, as the general goal, shall be stressfully studied, the industrial layout of developing low-carbon economy shall be studied, and relevant policies and concrete measures to promote the development of low-carbon economy shall be studied and issued so as to further define the low-carbon developing strategies of the whole district. In addition, advanced developing organizations shall be introduced and the construction of the demonstration park shall be promoted, including the monitoring standard, distribution and implementation.
The low-carbon economy is a new concept. Yang holds that market mechanisms should be introduced and energy conservation and emissions reduction should be boosted. Buildings in the district and energy consuming businesses shall be checked and highlighted. Dynamic monitoring for energy consuming shall be carried out to efficiently control carbon emissions. Now, Dongcheng District is looking for cooperation partners in energy conservation and emission reduction in the implementing area. For the purpose of realizing the goals of energy conservation and emissions reduction and laying down solid foundations for the construction of a low-carbon economic demonstration park, it will try to introduce contract energy source management, so as to establish the operating and incentive mechanism of building energy conservation and emission reduction jointly invested, undertaken and benefited by the government, financial institutions, energy saving and environmental protection enterprises and building owners.
Yang says, “It is crucial that we cluster low-carbon industries and build developing platforms.” The resource advantages of central enterprises should be put into full play to cluster industries related to low-carbon. The headquarters of central energy enterprises are the important backing for developing the low-carbon economy of Dongcheng District. Dongcheng District will grasp the crucial strategic opportunity in which central energy enterprises are investing in the new energy source industry on a large scale so as to guide the establishment of the investment funds for new energy source and the introduction of headquarters of new energy enterprises. It shall have an insight into the products, technologies and service requirements of central energy enterprises, take active measures, build platforms, attract new energy investments and promote the development of energy conservation and environmental protection so as to cluster low-carbon industries.
Meanwhile, it shall build a green market platform and promote element resource trade. Centered at the development of the low-carbon economy, Dongcheng District will build a professional trading platform, promote the investing and financing market trade for the projects and products of low-carbon economy and boost technical integration and talent resource introduction. It will create a good market environment for the property rights, products and technical trade of low-carbon economy and actively introduce talents which will provide intellectual resources guarantee. Dongcheng District will speed up talent cultivation and stressfully introduce talents of important low-carbon fields and high-end carbon consulting markets.
In order to make full use of the financial service advantages in promoting the development of low-carbon economy and the advantageous position of East Second Ring as the growing industrial financial function zone, Dongcheng District will speed up the construction of a green finance center in the Low-carbon Economic Demonstration Park of Zhongguancun National Innovation Model Park. The financial industry of this district has developed quickly over recent years. By the end of 2008, there were 379 financial institutions in Dongcheng District. From 1997 until the present, development has increased eight-fold. In 2008, the added value of its financial industry reached RMB 13.1 billion, accounting for 17.4% of its gross value of production, and a year-on-year rise of 30.6%, which is the fastest in its four leading industries.
Yang says that the function of green finance is to provide financing services for the development of low-carbon economy. Dongcheng District will make efforts to integrate resources of governments, enterprises and markets, promote the establishment of green industrial funds, guide financial capital elements that are in the direction of low-carbon economy development and have development advantages into Dongcheng, give strong financial support to develop the low-carbon economy, and provide new market spaces for financial enterprises. 
During the development of green finance and the guiding of new industries, the clustering of various professional institutions to establish an industrial ecological system is required. The gathering of green finance attracts various financial institutions including economic consultation, evaluation, certification and research to development of low-carbon economy. It helps to integrate financial trade and carbon trade, and establish a favorable industrial ecological environment. Meanwhile, it strengthens communication and cooperation. During the process of establishing the low-carbon district, developing low-carbon economy and building the low-carbon economy demonstration park, it will actively introduce professional research organization and social groups in the field of low-carbon development, strengthen the broad cooperation with international organizations and experts and the communication with transnational enterprises for the purpose of collaborative development through cooperation. (Source: China Economic Herald)