COPENHAGEN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- "As entrepreneurs, we are very glad to see the Chinese government made a strong commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and we fully support the decision," said Wang Shi, Chairman of China Vanke Co. Ltd. -- the biggest real estate company in China.
Chairman of China's Vanke Group Wang Shi, a representative of Chinese enterprisers, speaks on the "Climate Express" after its departure from Brussels, capital of Belgium, Dec. 5, 2009.(Xinhua/Xu Suhui)
He made the remarks Saturday in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on board the Climate Express from Brussels to Copenhagen where the UN climate change conference is set to begin Monday.
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The Climate Express, which was be powered by 100 percent renewable energy as part of the Train to Copenhagen campaign organized by the International Union of Railways, took on board more than 400 climate change negotiators, campaigners and other high-profile personalities going to Copenhagen.
"As a member of the Chinese civil society, I hope the voice of Chinese people can be heard by the world during the conference," Wang said as he explained the purpose of the trip to Copenhagen.
Wang is among several Chinese entrepreneurs, members of NOGs and environmentalists who were invited by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to take the Climate Express to the Danish capital.
Wang, who also chairs Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology, an environmental NGO in China, said his company has been increasing investment in "Green Building", which he said will contribute to the realization of China's emission reduction target.
"For example, the buildings provided by Vanke which use clean energy consumed 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in 2008. This year the figure is 100,000. It will increase to 2.9 million in 2011 and 4.6 million in 2012, " he said.
"However, even if it increased to five million a year, it will only be one percent of the total electricity consumption of all buildings produced by Vanke."
Wang said it is due to the huge potential of the "Green Building" that Vanke and other Chinese real estate companies are more and more interested in developing environmental-friendly buildings.
"To be frank, we are interested in Green Building not because of sheer personal conscience or company social responsibility, but because it represents the future of the real estate industry," said Wang. "As enterprises, we must act quickly to get the emerging opportunity although sometimes this means risk." "I knew the snow-capped Kilimanjaro in Africa from books. But when I climbed the mountain in 2002, I saw almost no snow three," Wang recalled.
After reading some articles online about the impacts of climate change on the highest mountain in Africa, he felt he should do something to help fight climate change. Wang said he and other Chinese entrepreneurs now want to help developing countries in Africa and other continents fight climate change through sharing knowledge and other cooperation programs. "Even if there was no issue of climate change, the traditional development way with low energy efficiency and high emission would not be sustainable because the resources on the planet are limited," said Wang.
