SHANGHAI, May 1 -- Tongji University has launched a research program for a tailor-made carbon dioxide emission reduction scheme for Shanghai and three neighboring cities.

CO2 emissions, which are mainly caused by coal burning and vehicles, are a major cause of global warming, according to experts.

Sponsored by the HSBC Bank (China), the two-year program will analyze the industrial structures and energy consumption patterns of four Yangtze River Delta cities - Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi and Nantong. The latter three cities are in neighboring Jiangsu Province.

A study report will work out effective solutions to balance economic growth with CO2 reduction, researchers said.

"Despite brilliant rapid economic achievements, the four cities are also facing the highest environmental protection pressure seen in recent years," said Li Fengting, vice dean of Tongji's school of environmental sciences and engineering.

China had a CO2 emission volume of 84,000 tons last year, second only to the United States.

Of the country's more than 600 cities, Shanghai topped the ranking of CO2 emission volume, according to a report by the UNEP-Tongji Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development.

The Kyoto Protocol signed by 180 countries in 1997 ruled that Western developed countries should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2, by an average of 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels by 2012.

"Although no specific reduction goals were set for China, the country is facing increasing international pressure," Li said. "Raising our energy efficiency as well as developing new clean energy is the only solution."