Workers debug solar panels in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

The nation's first system to evaluate the energy consumption efficiency and carbon emission performances of public buildings was launched in Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province on Feb 7.

The move follows 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 Zhejiang.

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

Buildings are classified into four grades according to their carbon emissions, which are calculated based on energy consumption data.

To date, the data of 286 public buildings in Huzhou have been collected during the trial run.

Of the 286 buildings, 52 companies that were rated as "bad" in the assessment have been told to take necessary measures to rectify the situation.

The system's establishment is expected to help the city reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 700,000 metric tons every year.

Energy consumption and carbon emissions incurred during 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, official statistics show.

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

Huzhou 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.