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360 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

l Planning for the future must set goals and implement projects to achieve
them, so the public sees and benefits from the changes.
l Mass transit (especially as a partial remedy to major fuel consumption
issues) must be improved and remain part of the public lifestyle.
l Harmony with the social, cultural, and political aspects surrounding a
region and the IMAR in particular must be a continuous concern.

Solutions to Barriers for Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Nations, states or provinces, and regions (collections of nations and states)
must develop proactive strategies for the long term and use their remaining
fossil fuels as efficiently as possible without accelerating global warming
further. This requires development of many options during this transition. Of
the available options, renewables have the most environmental appeal, and in
many cases are already, or soon will be, cost effective and available. Clean
coal technologies can also play a significant role in the near and intermediate
time frames.
Renewable generation technologies tend to be underutilized due to higher
costs today, but they are rapidly decreasing. Wind power, for example, only
8 years ago was expensive, but today (since 2003), it can be cheaper than natural
gas. Issues such as intermittency have been resolved through government
policy, tariffs and financing as well as hybrid technologies, metering, and
storage devices. Given the approaching worldwide “peak oil and gas” crises,
along with energy security issues, development and use of renewable energy
generation is far more strategic and cost competitive.
Long-term contracts based on stated policy visions, goals, and regulations
along with finance mechanisms can reduce both the risk and costs for
alternative sources of energy. Other strategies include more effective use of
energy, such as cogeneration, other uses of “waste” heat, and more efficient
processes and appliances.
Fig. 18.3 illustrates the history and projection of where the world got and
1
will get its energy over 2 / 2 centuries, by the International Institute of Applied
Systems Analysis. This projection shows coal use phasing out by 2100, which
we believe is unnecessarily soon. If new clean coal technologies are employed,
coal can play a more major role in the transition from fossil fuels, which needs
to take place.

Policies to Move the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Energy
Structures to Meet Its Future Needs

l Enact specific public (civic) policies and plans to establish regions or areas
within IMAR as “energy bases” for IMAR and the PRC.
l Eliminate import duties for equipment for wind, solar, or clean coal-
related equipment.