Yantai, a coastal city in Shandong, is hailed as a leading example of low-carbon development in the province. [Photo/WeChat account: ytwlgw]

Yantai, a coastal city in Shandong province, has been honored with the chance to host the 2023 Green, Low-Carbon, and High-quality Development Conference, the first international conference of its kind to be held in Shandong province.

Yantai, which has achieved its energy-saving goals for 17 consecutive years, has been hailed as a leading example of low-carbon development in the province.

In 2022, Yantai's clean energy installed capacity reached 11.01 million kilowatts, accounting for 52.7 percent of Yantai's total installed capacity and the highest in Shandong province.

Yantai is also the first in the province to carry out the pilot construction of low-carbon communities and low-carbon demonstration areas, building 15 such areas. 

As a major manufacturing city in China, Yantai has been promoting circular economy to achieve low-carbon development. In Yantai Chemical Industrial Park, a CO2 Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) project has begun operating. About 11,000 standard cubic meters of carbon dioxide per hour is transported from the Wanhua Chemical production plant to Moon Environment Technology along a 170-meter gas pipeline. After compression, desulfurization, separation, refrigeration and other processes, about 480 tons of high-purity liquid carbon dioxide are generated every day, which is used in various industries such as welding and dry ice production.

Yantai also spares no effort in promoting the high-quality development of the marine economy. In the sea area two kilometers away from Fisherman's Wharf in Laishan district lies the "Genghai No 1" platform, a modern marine ranch complex. The ranch complex integrates fish farming, smart fishing, recreational fishing, scientific and technological research and development, popular science education, and solar farms, which can generate enough electricity to sustain the ranch's operation. Under the sea, artificial reefs have been put in to help improve the marine environment and provide attachment growth points for algae and shellfish to achieve of ocean carbon sequestration.

Green buildings are becoming common in Yantai. According to official data released by the local government, by the end of June, Yantai had obtained 130 star-rated green building label projects covering 16 million square meters, and the total area of green buildings reached 70 million square meters. The city also plans to create 22 national-level green factories, two green supply chain management enterprises, and two green industrial parks in the coming years.