Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

THE 2021 Maritime Silk Road Forum & International Forum on Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection was held in Nansha District, Guangzhou on Tuesday, mapping global opportunities against the backdrop of seeking carbon peaking and neutrality.

Themed as “Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality, Saving Energy to Empower a Win-win Future,” the forum’s focus was to discuss how to save energy and reduce emissions by transforming development concepts and using technological innovations.

Renowned guests at home and abroad, including U.S. economist Jeffery Sachs, Gabriela Seiz from AWEL, Lucie Merkle from the State of Bavaria China Office, and Wang Wen, executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, were invited to share their insights on related topics at the forum.

Merkle observed via a video link that energy transition and environment protection are two challenges the world is now facing. With the urgent need to protect our planet and fossil fuel resources, it is necessary to improve the ability to use new energy sources and formulate more solutions to improve energy efficiency for economic development.

Moreover, innovative energy solutions provide a huge potential for energy conservation in various fields, said Merkle.

China has already made specific plans to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Guangdong Province also mapped out its detailed plans to support the work.

Guangdong has made important progress in constructing its low-carbon energy system. The proportion of Guangdong’s non-fossil energy exceeded 30 percent last year, higher than the national average.