Beijing 2008: Environmental Review

Jamie Choi, Wen Ning and BOCOG

Author: Amy Zhang Advisor: Blair Palese, Lo Sze Ping With contributions from: Wang Xiaojun, Designed by: Sophia Liu Photographs by: Simon Lim, Kuang Yin, Greenpeace

Thanks to:
Edward Chan, Mario Damato, Catherine Fitzpatrick, Li Yan, Li Yifang, Zoe Li, Sarah Liang, Ma Lichao, Liu Bing, Kevin May, Sarah Neal, Tamara Stark, Sze Pang Cheung, Wang Jingjing, YangAilun, Yue Yihua, and Zhang Dong for providing comments on earlier drafts of this report.

Special Thanks to:
Mr. Yu Xiaoxuan, Deputy Director of the Construction and Environment Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) Ms. Yu Jianke, Deputy Division Chief of the Construction and Environment Department, BOCOG Mr. Du Shaozhong, Deputy Director ofthe Beijing’s Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau Mr. Chen Tian, Chief Engineer of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau Ms. Liao Xiudong, Environmental Consultant, BOCOG Mr. He Weijia, Beijing Olympic Forest Park Expert Group Mr. Eric Falt, Former Director of the Division of Communications and Public Information, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Mr. Theodore Oben,Chief Outreach Unit, Division of Communications and Public Information, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Contents

Section 1
02 Executive Summary 09 The Environment, Beijing and the 2008 Olympic Games

Section 2
12 The Beijing 2008 Games Environmental Performance Evaluation 13 17 23 26 30 33 36 40 42 Air Quality Climate Change, Energy Use and Refrigerants TransportationWater and Sewage Treatment Forests Toxic Materials and Waste Management Olympic Sponsor Environmental Commitments Public Engagement Conclusion

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Executive Summary
Beijing is a city of 16.33 million and China overall boasts 1.3 billion people – 20% of the world’s population. As a rapidly developing nation with growing energy and resource needs, no nation has a more important role to play thanChina in making the urgent transition to sustainable development.

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Section 1: Executive Summary

Greenpeace’s rating of Beijing should be taken in the context of a number of factors:
• As a developing country, China faces serious environmental challenges associated with its rapid growth, population and limited experience in environmental solutions. Yet, the environmental Olympicinitiatives and investment made by Beijing in some cases far exceed those of many developed and developing countries with vast experience in managing environmental issues such as This report aims to provide an independent assessment of the environmental initiatives of Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games. In 2006 Beijing’s population was 16.33 million and China overall boasts 1.3 billion people – 20% of theworld’s population. As a rapidly developing nation with growing energy and resource needs, fewer nations have a more important role to play than China in making the urgent transition to sustainable development. The Olympics “Green” theme has been the force driving both short-term projects and long-term infrastructure initiatives in Beijing. Planning for this international mega event has presentedunique environmental challenges and opportunities for Beijing as it has for all Olympic hosts. Sydney and Athens. • A number of Beijing’s achievements represent the world’s best environmental practice — a huge leap from the existing polluting or destructive technologies and systems currently in use throughout the developing world. In this, Beijing has been able to show that making thetransition to more sustainable approaches is possible when a concerted effort is made. • Despite Greenpeace’s earlier on-going engagement with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) in the form of regular consultations, during the drafting of the report, Greenpeace did not have sufficient access to important information regarding Beijing’s environmental...