Energy saving lights used to decorate the Rong (Dragon) bridge in Da Nang. The central city has been named national green city by the World Wide Fund for Nature’s One Planet City Challenge programme. (Source: VNA)Da Nang (VNS/VNA) - Da Nang cityhas been given the title of National Green City 2017-18 by the World Wide Fundfor Nature (WWF)’s One Planet City Challenge programme, making it onto a listof 21 cities from around the world.
Vice Chairman of the municipal people’scommittee Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, said the award was a tribute to the city’sendeavours over past decades to commit to sustainable development.
Da Nang, along with other cities in Vietnamincluding Hue, Hoi An and Dong Ha, entered the One Planet City Challengeprogramme in 2017 to show how cities can become hubs for creativity, ambitionand innovation in dealing with climate change.
The four cites qualified out of 132metropolises from 23 countries, but Da Nang was finally selected for the award.
The central city had submitted a target ofreducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 2016, along with plans forsolar power development, biofuel use, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes andwastewater treatment.
According to a WWF statement, citiesgenerate 70 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, and the WWF’s One PlanetCity Challenge was a biennial competition that recognised and rewarded citiesfor developing infrastructure, housing, transport and mobility solutions topower the global transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.
It said 50 percent of the global populationlived in urban areas, and cities would be home to about 6 billion people by2050.
Da Nang city is giving top priority tohigh-tech and clean technology investment projects to become a green city by2025.
In 2012, Da Nang city was selected for anAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation project along with 20 low-carbon model citieswith energy-efficient technologies, smart grids and renewable power generation.
The city had cut 12,000 tonnes of carbonemissions through a pilot project of low-carbon models includingbattery-powered bicycles, renewable energy, a metro system and BRT.
Da Nang city plans to build its first solarfarm covering 6.7ha on the now-closed Khanh Son Landfill at a cost of 5 millionUSD, supplying 7.7 million kWh per year to the city’s power grid, and reducingnearly 5,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
The city has great renewable energypotential, with a 90km coastline, 2,000 hours of sunlight per year and anaverage wind speed of 3m per second.
According to the city’s Industry and TradeDepartment, around 30 percent of the city’s population were using solar power forwater heaters, while around 20 five-star hotels and resorts were using solarpower water heating systems.
The European Commission (EC) has alsoagreed to fund the city 415,000 USD to install solar equipment at healthcentres and schools, as well as research into solar technology capacity andmanagement.
Da Nang city has also been operating 20battery-powered cars to serve tourists on the Son Tra Peninsula since 2012.
Japanese Mitsubishi plans to cooperate withDa Nang City in the production of battery-powered cars in the near future.
In 2016, the WWF recognised Hue city as Vietnam’sNational Earth Hour Capital 2016 as part of the highly selective global EarthHour City Challenge.
The One Planet City Challenge was designedby the WWF to mobilise action and support from cities in global climateefforts, including the goals now set forth by the Paris Agreement. About 400cities in the world have joined the programme since 2011.-VNS/VNA
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