Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 12 (Reporter Wang Zhao) Promoting green development and building ecological civilization is the common cause of all mankind. South-South cooperation is crucial for developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change and achieve sustainable development goals, and will also play an increasingly important role in responding to common global challenges. At the theme forum "Building a Green Silk Road to Promote Global South-South Cooperation" and the "Belt and Road" Green Development Roundtable held in Beijing on October 11, Chinese and foreign guests held heated discussions on topics such as strengthening cooperation among developing countries in the field of environment and climate, innovating models and paths for global ecological and environmental cooperation, and promoting low-carbon transformation and green development.
Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, pointed out in his speech that the Belt and Road Initiative is not only a path to economic prosperity, but also a path to green development. China adheres to the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, widely builds international consensus on green development, deeply participates in global environmental and climate governance, and deeply promotes the construction of the Green Silk Road, actively contributing to the world's green and low-carbon transformation. The current world pattern is evolving at an accelerated pace, and the international community expects to achieve fairer and more sustainable development. China is willing to work with Chinese and foreign partners to build bridges and ties to promote South-South cooperation and North-South cooperation, and to promote ecological and environmental cooperation by taking the construction of the Green Silk Road as a starting point.
Pictured: The conference site
International cooperation is needed to meet the dual challenges of development and climate change
Climate change is a common challenge faced by all mankind. Developing countries are facing the dual challenges of development and climate change, which has released huge demands in infrastructure construction and production development. The "Adaptation Gap Report 2023" released by the United Nations Environment Programme pointed out that the current funding gap for developing countries to adapt to climate change is as high as US$194 billion to US$366 billion per year.
Han Peidong, Vice Chairman of the Belt and Road Green Development International Alliance and CEO of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, said that climate change has intensified the impact on the world's most vulnerable groups, and extreme weather has put many families in difficult situations. China has made remarkable achievements in poverty reduction and green economic transformation, and has also created more opportunities for international cooperation.
Green and low-carbon development is the international trend and the general trend. "Cooperation among developing countries is crucial. Only through cooperation can we achieve substantial results in the ecological transformation that the world must face." Carlos, special adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil, said that as a major agricultural country, Brazil plans to restore 40 million hectares of low-yield degraded land and transform it into high-productivity areas. To ensure the feasibility of the plan, Brazil is actively seeking cooperation from the international community.
China's practical experience promotes the deepening of global green cooperation
Since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, China has actively established a green and low-carbon development cooperation mechanism with the countries and international organizations involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly promoting green development and jointly addressing climate change. Statistics show that China has signed 53 memorandums of understanding on South-South cooperation on climate change with 42 developing countries, and has trained more than 3,000 ecological and environmental management personnel from more than 120 countries. Through the implementation of the "African Light Belt" project and the joint construction of low-carbon demonstration zones, China has provided practical help to developing countries in improving their ability to address climate change.
The Belt and Road Initiative is not only a path to economic prosperity, but also a path to green development. Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Regional Openness Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the Belt and Road International Green Development Alliance has attracted more than 170 partners from more than 40 countries to join, and the Belt and Road Green Investment Principles have received positive responses from domestic and foreign financial institutions. The Belt and Road South-South Cooperation Plan on Climate Change and the Green Silk Road Envoy Plan have been widely welcomed by the co-construction countries. Chinese companies have participated in the investment and construction of a large number of green projects in the co-construction countries, which has strongly supported the green and low-carbon development of the co-construction countries.
Sachs, chairman of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and professor at Columbia University, said that the current era requires accelerating energy transformation to achieve a zero-carbon future. China's strong production capacity can provide the world with much-needed green, clean and digital infrastructure. The Belt and Road Initiative is an important mechanism to promote these transformation projects and accelerate the global transformation process.
"The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China has huge potential," said Lambertini, co-chair of the Belt and Road International Alliance for Green Development and former director-general of the World Wildlife Fund. The Belt and Road Initiative can provide comprehensive support for developing economies by promoting dialogue and cooperation in key areas such as scientific and technological innovation and capacity building, helping them to move away from a high-carbon emission development model and toward a greener and more sustainable future.
Innovative cooperation models help developing countries achieve green and low-carbon transformation
Green development is an issue that must be taken seriously in global sustainable development. It requires the concerted efforts of all countries, and the innovation of cooperation models and paths is even more crucial. Tumiwa, executive director of the Indonesian Institute for Basic Services Reform, said that Southeast Asian countries are working hard to establish a cross-border energy network so that countries can share wind, solar and hydropower, achieve synergy and reduce costs. "We can use China's technology and local infrastructure construction experience to develop high-quality, environmentally friendly and socially responsible projects." He said, "These projects require financing mechanisms tailored to local conditions."
In order to explore innovative paths for green and sustainable development of opening-up and South-South cooperation under the new situation, the special policy research report "Green Opening-up and South-South Cooperation" released at the meeting proposed a series of policy recommendations, including establishing a coordinated, demand-oriented intergovernmental green South-South cooperation management framework and working mechanism; strengthening the China-ASEAN regional strategic partnership in clean and green energy development and energy infrastructure connectivity; exploring China-Africa cooperation in sustainable trade, green industrialization, and key minerals; and leveraging China-Brazil green cooperation opportunities through high-level dialogue mechanisms.
The conference is hosted by the Belt and Road International Alliance for Green Development, supported by Sequoia Climate Foundation and World Resources Institute, and is one of the series of activities of the 2024 Annual Meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.