COP 28 Side Event on Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China Practice gathers global insights

(ECNS) -- The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) kicked off on Thursday in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

COP 28 Side Event on Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China Practice gathered global experts to share insights on China’s ecological contributions to the world.

Huang Runqiu, Chinese minister of Ecology and Environment stated in his speech that as an important force in global climate action, the Chinese government has always attached great importance to ecological civilization.

Huang said he hopes COP28 will act on multilateralism and conduct global stocktake focusing on implementation. He also hopes it would fully respond to the demands of developing countries, promote developed countries to demonstrate the necessary flexibility in reaching multilateral solutions, send a positive signal to the international community through practical actions, and promote the comprehensive and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change, pointed out that China's economic and social development has entered a comprehensive green transformation track.

He said China's installed capacity of wind, solar, water, and biomass power generation ranks first in the world. Besides, China has become a major supplier of wind, solar, and power battery equipment, significantly reducing the deployment costs of global renewable energy and helping many developing countries access clean, reliable, and affordable energy.

“In the future, China will continue to take practical actions and engage in South-South and North-South cooperation, making greater contributions to addressing the global climate crisis, achieving sustainable development, and building a clean and beautiful world,” he said.

Zhang Xuguang, executive vice president of the Agricultural Bank of China emphasized that the bank is willing to work with international counterparts to address climate change and jointly build a clean and beautiful world.

Erik Solheim, former UN Environment executive director and under-secretary-general of the United Nations, has noted that China currently holds large shares in solar energy, wind power, hydrogen energy, electric vehicles, and is leading the green and low-carbon transformation globally. 

“You can take great pride that China is now leading the charge, in creating a green China and game transformation, both in diplomatic and technological terms,” he said. 

Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) from U.S. said that the Environmental Defense Fund shares President Xi’s vision for a beautiful China.

“The EDF has been working in China for well over 20 years in partnership and we are heartened by China’s actions and its resolutions to make further contributions to a clean and beautiful world,” he said.

Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation and vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said that “with our collective efforts, we are confident to help implement the Paris Agreement effectively .”

A panel discussion was hosted by Hu Jun, deputy director of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.

During the session, Wang Yi, vice-chair of the China Expert Panel on Climate Change and Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Warren Evans, special envoy for Climate Change of the Asian Development Bank, Gerbrand Haverkamp, executive director of World Benchmarking Alliance, and Jiang Fei, dean of the School of International Journalism and Communication at Beijing Foreign Studies University shared their insights on topics such as China's green development transformation, the crucial role of enterprises in achieving sustainable goals, and the international communication on climate issues.

Representatives from local Chinese governments and businesses, including Wang Wangsheng, director of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liu Lianwei, deputy director of the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Hainan Province, Zhang Zhitong, deputy mayor of Shanghai Chongming District People' s Government, Qiu Minghua, deputy general manager of Shanghai Electric Power Station Engineering, and Wu Xiao, chairman of the board CHN ENERGY Ledong Power Generation Company Limited, shared case studies of practices contributing to the beautiful China.

Hu Jun stated that the excellent case studies provided Chinese wisdom and solutions to addressing global climate change and promoting green development.

Yu Lan, deputy editor-in-chief of China News Service, and president of China News Network, said China News Service has hosted the side events for 11 consecutive years. In recent years, China News Service has continuously innovated its narrative approach, organizing a series of activities to better tell the stories of China's ecological civilization in the new era. These efforts aim to facilitate climate exchanges between China and other countries and boost global confidence in climate governance.

“In the future, China News Service will continue to be a communicator between peoples and a promoter of cultural exchanges, contributing to a clean and beautiful world while telling the stories of a beautiful China,” she said.

The side event is hosted by the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and China News Service, organized by the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy of Ministry of Ecology and Environment and China News Network and sponsored by Shanghai Chongming District People’s Government and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan Province.

During COP28, China is set to host more than 100 side events at the China pavilion.