◎Reporter Liu Hao Wang Zhuhua
The sea is green, the mountains are green, the wind is light and the sun is warm, and Boao, Hainan has once again attracted the attention of the world.
The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 has begun.
This year's annual meeting will set up a "green development" section, and the participants will conduct in-depth exchanges around related topics through offline + online methods, collide with sparks of ideas, and discuss the future.
At present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still continuing, which has brought a huge impact on the economic development and social life of all countries in the world. Creating a green and low-carbon development model has become a major issue for countries to achieve sustainable development.
"After this century's epidemic, the world has realized the importance of green recovery and sustainable development more than ever," said Li Baodong, Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia.
To address the challenges of global climate change, more than 130 countries and regions around the world have proposed carbon neutrality goals, and green, low-carbon and sustainable development have become an international consensus.
"Climate change is an important topic at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Meeting every year." Ban Ki-moon, Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia and former UN Secretary-General, pointed out that addressing climate issues provides countries with opportunities for green transition.
What are the specific implementation roadmaps under the carbon neutrality target?
Zhou Xiaochuan, vice chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, believes that the carbon market can play an important role in optimizing resource allocation. With the improvement of consensus on carbon neutrality among all parties, a unified and wider market may emerge.
Liu Qiao, dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, said that carbon neutrality is not a purely technical issue, but a very profound economic and management issue.
Liu Qiao suggested that carbon neutrality requires a lot of infrastructure investment, and fiscal policy should play a more active role in it.
In addition, green finance, green bonds, and green credit should more actively promote technology investments related to carbon neutrality.
The achievement of carbon neutrality relies heavily on technological breakthroughs in energy efficiency and clean energy use.
Looking ahead, what are the potential technologies and models?
"In the future, solar photovoltaics will become the cheapest, clean and safe energy source in the world." Gao Jifan, chairman of Trina Solar Co., Ltd., said that solar energy will play the most important role in the entire carbon neutralization process.
Gao Jifan believes that through technological innovation, the cost of solar energy is already 1/25 of what it was 25 years ago.
As solar photovoltaic technology advances, costs will continue to decline.
On the other hand, compared with wind energy and hydropower, solar energy resources are more abundant, and there are no geographical restrictions. If fully developed, energy disputes will be effectively resolved.
Zhang Yue, chairman and president of Yuanda Technology Group, also expressed a similar view: "Solar and wind energy will be the most important solutions to energy problems in the future, but the first priority is to save energy."
The real estate construction industry has always been known as a "big carbon emitter".
In this regard, Zhang Yue said that the construction industry can also contribute to green development by enhancing thermal insulation and thermal insulation technology, constructing factory buildings, efficiently utilizing waste heat energy, and extending the service life of buildings.
Carbon neutrality is a systemic change in the economy and society, and green and low-carbon development of energy is the key.
"Green and low-carbon development of energy is the key to achieving green and low-carbon development globally," said Song Hailiang, chairman of China Energy Construction Group Co., Ltd.
As a national team and leader in the field of energy and power, China Energy Construction Group has mastered a number of "high-end, high-tech" technologies such as UHV AC and DC power transmission and offshore wind power in recent years, and has also deployed major new energy technologies such as wind power generation at altitudes above 1,000 meters. .
On April 20, the flagship report of the 2022 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference "Sustainable Development in Asia and the World 2022 Annual Report - Green Transformation in Asia in Action" was released.
The report pointed out that Asia is a major "world factory" and an important growth engine for the world. Carbon emissions have exceeded half of the world's total emissions. Countries must find the right path to take into account carbon emission reduction, economic growth and social stability.
In 2021, many Asian countries have made carbon neutrality commitments, and governments, businesses and civil society are all actively taking action.
The UAE is an important oil producer in the world.
Ali al-Zahiri, UAE Ambassador to China, said that the UAE has begun its economic transformation, from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, and the UAE is also committed to addressing global climate change.
"Strengthening global and regional cooperation will strongly boost carbon neutrality in Asia, and Asian countries will make important contributions to the sustainable development of the world," said Li Baodong.