Beijing to offer coupons for green shopping

Beijing will offer coupons worth more than 300 million yuan ($47 million) to spur consumption in the energy-saving sector between April and September this year.

The Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau announced on Tuesday that the coupons will be offered on several online shopping platforms each month, and all consumers in Beijing can get them online.

The first batch of coupons will be available from April 18 to 30. Around 200,000 coupons worth 50 yuan to 400 yuan each will be given to buyers who want to purchase energy-saving electric appliances including TV sets, washing machines and air conditioners.

In addition to shopping online, consumers can also use the coupons at physical stores to buy qualified items.

Since 2015, the Beijing municipal government has offered subsidies to local residents for energy-saving products covering 13 types of goods, led by electrical appliances, to spread the low-carbon consumption concept among the public.

In the past six years, thanks to the policy, companies participating in the program have sold more than 11 million items and brought in revenue of 42 billion yuan.

The city has saved 760 million kilowatt-hours and cut carbon emissions by 522,000 tons as a result of the policy, according to the government.