While the international community has high hopes that the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen will achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions, many provinces in China have already made tangible progress toward that end.

Ahead of the Copenhagen conference, China's State Council announced that the country will reduce the intensity of its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent, compared with its 2005 level. And the commitment is being accompanied by actions.

In China's Hebei Province, this hotel is famous for its power-saving system. The "Green Building" is covered with more than 4,000 square meters of solar panels. It can ensure the electricity supply for all 300 rooms in this building. Since the system went into service, it has cut local carbon dioxide emissions by more than 260 tons.

In 2006, Baoding City, in Hebei Province, launched a project to build a solar city. Within three years, nearly 2 billion yuan were invested. More than 16,000 tons of carbon emissions have been eliminated.

In Southern China's Guangdong Province, many small-scale coal-fired power plants have been shut down as a way of conserving energy and cutting emissions.

Instead, power stations using advanced technology and a sulfur-scrubbing system have been put into service. Meanwhile, hydro-power and nuclear power plants are also emerging as a popular trend.

(CCTV.com December 7, 2009)