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This paper is based on an ongoing research project funded by the World Bank GEF Program, which aims to identify the key barriers to green building development in Ningbo China and suggest policy improvements to the local government. China is undergoing the largest scale of urbanization in history and at an unprecedented pace. The construction and operation of buildings have inevitably brought severe pressures on resource conservation and environmental protection. China has initiated policies, strategies and financial incentive schemes at national level to address these issues. It is also seen that there is a growing interest in recent years at local government level in promoting green buildings. This paper will take a look at the current national policies and targets and then discuss the motivations and opportunities of developing green buildings from a perspective of local governments. Questionnaire surveys and interviews with relevant stakeholders have been conducted in the case study city. Based on the surveys and interviews, the key barriers to developing green buildings in the case study city have been identified, and recommendations for policy change are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ningbo is located in the south-east of Yangtze River Delta by the East China Sea, 220 km south of Shanghai. The city has been an important port in East China for foreign trade since 7th century. Since 1980s, encouraged by China’s economic “open-door” policy, one of the ways the city attracted foreign investment and thus grew its economy was by establishing multi-functional economic development zones near its deep-water port. As a result, Ningbo is now one of the top ten coastal ports in the world (as measured in Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, TEUs). Similarly, the city’s GDP per capita is approximately three times the national average. The current and historic prosperity of Ningbo is in no small way related to its geographical position, just 20 km inland from the Hangzhou estuary and the gateway to the East China Sea. It is also the approximate centre of a 1000 km 2 coastal plain, at the confluence of the Fenghua and Yao Rivers, and from where the Yong River leads to the sea. However, also a result of this geographic location the city is now facing an increasing risk of coastal flooding caused by increase in urban area; climate change (increased rainfall intensity); and predicted sea-level rise. As a result both water management and current flood management practice (and related infrastructure) are under scrutiny. In addition to describing the evolution of the city, this paper focuses on the implication of current planning practices in Ningbo, which aim to ensure the sustainable development of the city both in terms of its natural resources and its expected rate of economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]