Minister Carr Promotes Canadian Wood Products and Clean Technology During Visit to Eco-District in China Français
TIANJIN, China, June 9, 2017 /CNW/ - China's green-building objectives provide exciting opportunities to showcase Canadian softwood lumber, energy efficiency standards and clean technologies.
Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, today visited the Sino-Canadian Low-Carbon Eco-District in Tianjin, China, which uses Canadian lumber, technology and know-how to help China address climate challenges. Minister Carr participated in the official launch of the eco-district site and presented certificates recognizing the district's first Super E® townhome built using Canadian lumber and clean technologies.
Earlier this week, Minister Carr and Yi Jun, China's Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, renewed a memorandum of understanding to support the development of eco-cities, which will promote the use of wood in construction and Canadian energy efficiency technologies to further green building in China.
The CAD$2.5-billion eco-district project showcases Canada's unique expertise in wood-frame construction and energy-efficient technologies, which contribute to carbon sequestration, reducing emissions and enhancing energy efficiency.
About 100 townhomes will be built in the Sino-Canadian Low-Carbon Eco-District in Tianjin to the Super E® energy efficiency standard, which was developed by Natural Resources Canada. Already used successfully in homes in Canada, Europe and Asia, the Tianjin eco-district project will be the first large-scale deployment of this standard worldwide. Canadian wood will be used in innovative ways (e.g., in-fill wood walls) in commercial mid-rise buildings that will be constructed at the Tianjin site.
Partnership projects like the Sino-Canadian Low-Carbon Eco-District present a model for the use of Canadian wood construction innovation and clean technologies on the global stage. This project is an example of the Government of Canada's work to support jobs in Canada's forest sector by expanding market opportunities for Canadian wood products, as well as its efforts to increase the use of wood as a green infrastructure material.
Quick Facts
- Since 2002, ongoing diversification efforts to promote Canadian wood products have boosted Canadian exports to China by more than 25 times to $1.6 billion.
- Canada's wood products are exported to more than 140 different countries.
- Canada's forest sector is a key industry in the Canadian economy supporting rural communities and generating $22 billion in GDP.
- Natural Resource Canada's Super E® energy efficiency building standard is built on the long-standing and successful R2000 standard led by the CanmetENERGY–Ottawa laboratory.
Quotes
"The eco-district in Tianjin is a remarkable testament to what can be achieved when international partners cooperate in the interest of promoting environmental best practices. Canada is a proud participant in this ambitious project and will be happy to work with China to realize its goal of creating thriving green cities."
Jim Carr
Canada's Minister of Natural Resources
Related Link
Find out more:
- Export markets for Canadian wood products
- Advantages of wood buildings
- Backgrounder: The Tianjin Eco-District
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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada
Alexandre Deslongchamps, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 343-292-6837; Media Relations, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, 343-292-6100
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