China News Service, March 25. The 2024 Annual Meeting of the China Development Forum will be held on March 24-25, 2024. The "Carbon Neutrality and Global Climate Governance Symposium" was held on the afternoon of March 24. Zhu Yunlai, former president and CEO of CICC and visiting professor of management practice at Tsinghua University, said in his speech in the "Group Discussion II" session: Suggestions Replacing existing thermal power systems with photovoltaic power generation can not only solve the problem of carbon emissions, but also bring new economic growth momentum.
Zhu Yunlai analyzed the history and current situation of climate change, as well as the technical and economic paths to address climate change. He pointed out that the concentration of carbon dioxide is now 50% higher than it was 170 years ago, and the temperature has also increased by 1.5°C compared to 170 years ago according to experimental measurements. So action must be taken.
Zhu Yunlai suggested using photovoltaic power generation to replace the existing thermal power system, which would not only solve the carbon emission problem, but also bring new economic growth momentum. If optoelectronic investment is carried out systematically, China will need about 5 trillion to 10 trillion yuan of investment every year on average, and about 100 trillion to 200 trillion yuan of investment in 20 years. Based on the calculation that the world's electricity consumption is three times that of China, the world will need a total investment of approximately US$100 trillion in 20 years to completely replace thermal power with photovoltaics.
Zhu Yunlai pointed out that with technological advancement and cost reduction, the global ability to solve the carbon emission problem will become stronger and stronger; new technologies will further promote the energy revolution, making energy cheaper and bringing effects similar to the industrial revolution.