Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province plans to launch a system to evaluate the energy consumption efficiency and carbon emission performances of public buildings in March, local media reported.

The move came after the successful implementation of a similar assessment system for companies in early 2021. The system, which is the first of its kind in China, has been promoted across Zhejiang. To date, it has been utilized by 42,000 enterprises in the province.

The system for public buildings was built in collaboration with Tsinghua University and will offer a reference for the government to slash energy consumption and carbon emissions in public buildings.

Official statistics show that energy consumption and carbon emissions incurred in the operations of buildings take up more than 20 percent of the nation's total, and are increasing at a pace of over 9 percent year-on-year.

Huzhou has in recent years been focusing on reducing carbon emissions in recent years to support the nation's goal of hitting peak emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

Huzhou has been included in the national pilot program for green finance and is the first city to pilot the coordinated development between green finance and green architecture.