Session 2.4: Air Quality Improvement Program in the Greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

February 20th, 2020

It is possible for ADB to support multiple Operational Priorities of its Strategy 2030 with a multi-year, multi-sector investment program, and the air quality improvement program in the greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region is perhaps the best such example in ADB’s portfolio today. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been suffering from severe air pollution as a result of decades of rapid economic development and heavy dependence on coal, especially in the greater BTH region. ADB is participating in the government initiatives to address air pollution through the BTH program using various financing instruments, lending modalities, and a number of technical assistance (TA) projects to support sustainable infrastructure and cleaner production in order to reduce air pollution from fossil fuel use. The BTH program is based on air quality management driven by public health concerns. It targets sustainable infrastructure (e.g., cleaner transport, geothermal district heating), industrial cleaner production (energy efficiency improvement, cogeneration, industrial waste heat recovery and utilization), biomass and agricultural waste-to-energy, etc. This session will discuss experience from the BTH program, including diversification of financing tools, waste to energy technologies and approaches, clean heating and cooling, and green transportation.

Potential topics in this session could include:

  • Tailored financial services to support green and sustainable development
  • Rural waste-to-energy: biochar-based compound fertilizer for green agriculture and poverty reduction
  • Switch from coal to clean energy in rural households: benefits for air quality
  • Air pollutant reduction from the iron and steel Industry in Hebei Province
  • Energy efficiency improvement and potential in the cooling sector: a case study from Zhejiang Province