Gasgoo.com (Shanghai February 8) - The National Development and Reform Commission, in association with the Ministry of Finance and 16 other national agencies, has announced new measures to lower emissions among government offices, chinanews.com reported today.
Part of the legislation focuses on revolutionizing the way official vehicles are used, with a new rule that government cars be driven one day a week less than usual. Measures also include ordering public servants to drive one day less than usual per month and not allowing use of the vehicles for any distances of less than five km. Public servants will be requested to walk, bike or use public transportation depending on the distance.
Furthermore, official vehicle purchases will be accurately recorded in order to ensure that funds are properly spent. Purchases of automobiles with low emission ratings will be encouraged.
Additional measures include decreasing use of air conditioning in the office by one hour, closing windows then air conditioning is being used and turning off lights in unoccupied rooms, as well as encouraging the use of recycled paper and setting computers to stand by mode rather than powering them off. The legislation goes further to cover proper usage of printers, batteries and computers.
