Held in Shenzhen from November 26th to the end of the month, the International Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Forum was created with the purpose of gathering individuals with outstanding achievements in the field of sustainable development—frontier scientists, government representatives, entrepreneurs, international organizations, experts, and scholars were invited to the forum to share their works on combating climate change—in panel discussions and conferences over the span of two days in Shenzhen Long Gang International Low-Carbon-Emission Air Dome Exhibition hall, the world’s largest air dome construction project.
The forum begins with an opening ceremony featuring the Annual Report on Green and Low-Carbon Development in Shenzhen (2023), officially released by the National Research Think Tank. The report focuses on the top-level design, technological innovation, industrial upgrade, energy management, sustainable transportation system and green building, ecological environment, and open cooperation of Shenzhen’s green and low-carbon development, and summarizes the work and achievements of Shenzhen’s green and low-carbon development in 2023.
The next day, representatives from Uzbekistan shared the country’s innovative practices in low-carbon development and explored opportunities for cooperation between China and Central Asia in building zero-carbon cities and promoting green development. Bernhard Müller, Academician of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering, Henrik Gudmundsson, Senior Advisor of the Danish Low Carbon Cities Alliance, and experts and scholars from the World Resources Institute, delivered keynote speeches from multiple perspectives such as architecture, transportation, industry, electric power, and spatial planning, and discuss the implementation paths of carbon neutrality in different types of international cities from an international perspective
The forum also features youth advocacy as part of the path to sustainable development. Zhuangyan Shi, current senior at Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School, was also at the forum. Since 2020, Zhuangyan had begun leading a student advocacy under the theme of “Promoting Sustainability: It’s Our Turn.” The campaign focuses on organizing youth-led community cleanup drives and educational workshops in schools, mobilizing more than 32,000 youths in the city. Zhuangyan also co-authored a Green Subsidy & Strategy Policy research proposal with two senior researchers from the Shanghai Sustainability Commission, and the proposal was adopted by the Shanghai Ministry of Energy and Environment.
Following that, enterprises were invited to share their work, focusing on the development direction of the entire green and low-carbon industry chain. 168 well-known domestic and foreign enterprises in the industry, including Huawei, BYD, CATL, China Power, CGNPC, SAP, Sika, and Siemens, were invited to showcase their innovative achievements and applications in the fields of green energy storage, high efficiency and energy saving, and green and low-carbon services.
The International Carbon Peak and Neutrality forum has truly demonstrated China’s leadership in the field of green energy development. Today, the forum has become an important platform for China to engage with the world and exchange experience in green development, promoting the idea of green and low-carbon development. It highlights China’s determination in pursuing “dual carbon goals” and its commitments to sustainable development.