高大偉對話萊斯利·馬斯多普:中國十分關(guān)注智慧城市的構(gòu)建
萊斯利,你很了解天津,因?yàn)槟銇磉^天津很多次了。你也知道對天津來說,世界智能大會(huì)是一個(gè)非常重要的時(shí)刻。在這個(gè)大會(huì)上,我們會(huì)討論很多關(guān)于智慧城市的話題。我想問問你,萊斯利,你怎么看智慧城市這個(gè)概念中的綠色維度?
萊斯利:非常感謝你的邀請,大偉。你知道智慧城市的框架和概念在過去幾年里不斷演變。在所有大國中,包括中國,政策制定者和企業(yè)都十分關(guān)注智慧城市的構(gòu)建。
對于我所任職的金磚國家新開發(fā)銀行來說,我們認(rèn)為智慧城市是可持續(xù)發(fā)展的城市,更是綠色的城市。從智慧城市的設(shè)計(jì)特色來看,其本質(zhì)是提升城市的空氣質(zhì)量,消除城市中的過度污染。這些污染來源于車輛尾氣、工業(yè)排放、離城市近的燃煤發(fā)電站。金磚銀行會(huì)深度參與其中,幫助中國、巴西、俄羅斯、印度和南非建設(shè)智慧、綠色、更宜居的城市。因?yàn)闅w根結(jié)底,智慧城市關(guān)乎人們的生活質(zhì)量,使城市規(guī)劃更加以人為本,而不僅僅與技術(shù)有關(guān)。
通常當(dāng)人們想到智慧城市時(shí),首先想到的是信息、通訊、電信基建。對我們來說,智慧城市是以人為本的發(fā)展,是打造綠色空間、建設(shè)智能電網(wǎng)。隨著智慧城市理念的不斷發(fā)展,最終會(huì)在很大程度上依托技術(shù)。我們都會(huì)擁有個(gè)性化的應(yīng)用軟件,為我們設(shè)定每天和每周的碳排放足跡,每個(gè)人都能為建設(shè)更好更宜居的城市做貢獻(xiàn)。
大偉,我想強(qiáng)調(diào)一個(gè)事實(shí),世界上污染最嚴(yán)重的十個(gè)城市中有六個(gè)在金磚國家其中大部分在印度。所以我們的機(jī)構(gòu)和中國一樣,都非常關(guān)注智慧城市的建設(shè)。
我想說的最后一點(diǎn)是,智慧城市的理念若要獲得成功,需要有遠(yuǎn)見的政策制定者。在中國,在天津、廈門和我去過的很多其他城市,我都見到過高瞻遠(yuǎn)矚的決策者。因?yàn)橹挥徐`活變通、不斷適應(yīng),才能在新技術(shù)出現(xiàn)時(shí),做到逐步推進(jìn)落實(shí)。
因此,長遠(yuǎn)的眼光、長期的規(guī)劃,對一個(gè)高效的智慧城市而言至關(guān)重要。我認(rèn)為這正是天津與眾不同的地方。
萊斯利,非常感謝你告訴我們,當(dāng)我們思考智慧城市時(shí),當(dāng)然需要想到科技,但可持續(xù)性和治理方式也是我們需要探討的兩個(gè)關(guān)鍵議題。剛才你也提到,智慧城市必須是宜居城市。所以我想提第二個(gè)問題:你認(rèn)為什么樣的城市是宜居的?生活在怎樣的城市里人們會(huì)感到幸福?
萊斯利:大偉,你知道城市是全球最大的碳排放源。為了讓世界應(yīng)對氣候變化,城市處于這個(gè)議程的中心。
大家可能知道,在所有國家中,中國做到了(以下這點(diǎn))。2020年9月,中國國家主席習(xí)近平在聯(lián)合國大會(huì)宣布將力爭在2060年前實(shí)現(xiàn)“碳中和”;在2030年前,也就是在未來9年中,實(shí)現(xiàn)“碳達(dá)峰”,這意味著自那一時(shí)點(diǎn)起 中國的碳排放將只減不增。
回到你的問題上從城市宜居性角度來看,這意味著什么呢?這意味著城市規(guī)劃的全部重心都必須轉(zhuǎn)移到更好地規(guī)劃人們的生活上來,使人們的生活質(zhì)量得以改善。
宜居城市是綠色的城市。在這樣的城市里,孩子們上學(xué)可以用智能交通工具,公交車都是電動(dòng)的。對了,中國擁有世界上90%的電動(dòng)公交車,所以宜居城市離不開電動(dòng)車,因?yàn)槠囄矚鈽O大加劇了我們正在經(jīng)歷的污染。另外,目前全球50%的電動(dòng)車銷量在中國。所以,建設(shè)宜居城市涉及所有這些不同的元素。正如我強(qiáng)調(diào)的,最重要的是靈活變通和規(guī)劃部署的能力,當(dāng)新技術(shù)出現(xiàn)時(shí),我們就采用和適應(yīng)。
非常感謝,萊斯利。我們會(huì)密切關(guān)注天津世界智能大會(huì)的。這是一個(gè)非常重要的會(huì)議,對天津、對中國、對世界都是如此。因?yàn)樵谥腔鄢鞘小⒄J(rèn)知城市、宜居城市這個(gè)領(lǐng)域,我認(rèn)為世界需要向中國學(xué)習(xí)。由量向質(zhì)的轉(zhuǎn)變在“十四五”規(guī)劃中有很詳盡的闡述,這是中國構(gòu)思設(shè)計(jì)也必將執(zhí)行的新發(fā)展藍(lán)圖。萊斯利,非常感謝你對天津世界智能大會(huì)的豐富貢獻(xiàn),謝謝。
萊斯利:謝謝。
David: Leslie, you know Tianjin very well, because you have been several times in Tianjin. And you know that, again, this is a very important moment for Tianjin with the World Intelligence Congress, a Congress in which we are going to speak a lot about smart cities. I wanted to ask you, Leslie, how do you see the green dimension in this concept of smart city?
Leslie: Thank you very much for having me, David. As you know, the smart city framework and concept have been evolving over the last number of years. In all of the biggest countries, China included, there's been a significant focus by policy makers, by business, to contribute towards this effort, to create smart cities.
For us, where I sit at the New Development Bank, we look at smart cities as sustainable cities, but a strong green element. If you look at the design features of what is a smart city, ultimately, David, it's about cleaning up the quality of air, it's about ridding the cities of the excessive pollution, which comes from vehicle exhaust, which comes from industrial emissions, which comes from coal-fired power stations, which are near the cities, to be very centrally involved as a bank in helping China and helping Brazil and helping Russia, India, South Africa to not only create smart cities, but green and more livable cities, because, ultimately, David, for us, smart cities is about quality of life and making a city's urban planning more people-centered. It is not about technology.
Often when people think smart cities, the first thing they think about is information, communication, telecoms infrastructure. For us, a smart city is about people-centered development. It's about green spaces. It's about smart grids. Eventually, as the small city concept evolves, David, it will become very much technology-based. We will all have personalized apps that will set out what is our emission footprint per day, per week, so that we can each contribute to a better, more livable city.
David, I should highlight to you that some of the most polluted cities in the world, six of the top ten most polluted cities in the world are in the BRICS countries. Most of them are in India. So, there's a significant focus by our institution, and also here in China, as you know, on creating smart cities.
Maybe the last point I'd like to make is that it is very important for a smart city concept to be successful, to have far-sighted policy makers. What we have in China, Tianjin, Xiamen, and many other cities that I have visited, I have seen policy makers focused on the long term, because it's only the agility, the ability to adapt as new technologies coming, you implement in an incremental manner.
So, long-term horizons, long-term planning is central to an effective, smart city. I think this is where Tianjin will differentiate itself.
David: Thank you very much, Leslie, for telling us that when we think about a smart city, of course, we need to think about technology, but sustainability and governance are also two key themes that one needs to discuss. But you said also in your presentation that a smart city has to be a livable city. I wanted to ask you a second question, what in your opinion makes a city livable, a city in which we feel happy to live in?
Leslie: Cities, David, as you know, are the single largest contributors to emissions globally. In order for the world to deal with climate change, cities are right at the center of that agenda.
As you know, just as a backdrop, in all of our countries, China has, in September 2020, President Xi Jinping at the United Nations General Assembly announced 2060 as the date when China wants to achieve carbon net zero. And by 2030, which by the way is 9 years from now, China wishes to have peak emissions, which means that from that point onwards, China will only remove more emissions from the atmosphere.
Come to your question, what does that actually mean in terms of the livability of cities? It means that the entire focus of planning has to shift towards organizing people's livelihood in such a manner that they can improve their quality of life.
A livable city is about green spaces. It's about a city where children can go to school with smart mobility where buses are electrified. China, by the way, has 90% of the electric bus fleet in the world. So, livable cities is about electric vehicles because emissions from cars contribute greatly to the pollution that we are experiencing. Again, 50 % of all electric vehicle sales in the world today are in China. So, making a city livable is about all of these different elements. And what’s important, as I highlighted, is that agility, the ability to plan, move forward, when new technology comes, you adopt and you adapt.
David: Thank you very much, Leslie. So, we will pay attention to the World Intelligence Congress. This is a very important event for Tianjin, for China, but I think also for the world. Because in terms of smart cities, cognitive cities, or livable cities, it seems to me that the world also has to learn from what China is doing and the shift from quantity to quality is very well illustrated in the 14th Five-Year Plan that China has just conceived, designed, and that China will implement. Thank you very much, Leslie, for your very rich contribution to the World Intelligence Congress. Thank you.
Leslie: Thank you.