From October 18 to 20, 2024, Renmin University of China held the "Tongzhou Global Development Forum (2024)" with the theme of "Building a Development Community and Creating a New Era for Humanity" at the Beijing Grand Canal Museum and the Beijing City Library. Among the parallel sub-forums of the Tongzhou Global Development Forum (2024), the 7th Parallel Session, themed "Focusing on Global Green Development and Building a Beautiful World", was co-hosted by the School of Ecology and Environment of Renmin University of China and the Energy Foundation . It was successfully held in the Daohe Hall of the Beijing City Library. The meeting was chaired by Jia Tieying, the Party Secretary of the School of Ecology and Environment, and Wang Ke, the Vice Dean of the School. Jia Tieying delivered an opening speech on behalf of the organizer.

Experts and scholars such as WANG Jinzhao, the Executive Deputy Director of the China Center for International Knowledge on Development, LI Ting, the Managing Director of the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Chief Representative of the Beijing Representative Office, WANG Can, the Party Secretary of the School of Environment of Tsinghua University, CHAI Qimin, the Director of the Strategic Planning Department of the National Climate Strategy Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, FU Sha, the Director of Strategic Planning of the Energy Foundation, XIE Chunping, a Climate Economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, HU Tao, the Dean of the Hushi Institute for Sustainable Development, LIU Qiang, the Deputy Chief Representative of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation in China, HUANG Junling, the Director of the International Clean Energy Research Office of the Three Gorges Corporation, Professor TENG Fei, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy of Tsinghua University, YANG Xiu, the Director of the Research Department of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development of Tsinghua University, XU Guangqing, a Professor of the School of Ecology and Environment of Renmin University of China, CHEN Minpeng, a Professor of the School of Agricultural and Rural Development of Renmin University of China, and GU Baihe, an Associate Researcher of the Institutes of Science and Development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences participated in this event.

This forum focused on two major topics: "New Trends in Global Green Development" and "The Vision of a Beautiful China in 2035". In the first half of the forum on "New Trends in Global Green Development", keynote speeches were delivered by WANG Jinzhao, the Executive Deputy Director of the China Center for International Knowledge on Development, and LI Ting, the Managing Director of the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Chief Representative of the Beijing Representative Office. They deeply discussed the current status and future trends of global green development.

In the report "Strengthening Cooperation in Green and Low-Carbon Development", Deputy Director Wang Jinzhao introduced the progress and challenges of global climate governance. The report pointed out that climate change is a common global challenge, and developed countries have made limited progress in carbon emission reduction commitments, while developing countries face insufficient investment in renewable energy and other related issues. He proposed relevant response strategies such as strengthening the consensus on collective action to address climate change, enhancing the synergy between global climate trade policies and industrial policies, deepening international cooperation in key areas, and increasing climate financing support.

Ms. LI Ting gave a speech titled "International Progress and Outlook of Energy Transformation in Key Sectors". She said that to achieve the zero-carbon goal, countries around the world need to drive transformation in key sectors such as electricity, industry, transportation, and construction through goal-setting, policy support, and market forces, especially by promoting the expansion of the global market for low-carbon technologies. Specifically, in the electricity sector, attention should be paid to the current high dependence on thermal power; in the industrial sector, China's large-scale production of low-carbon technologies faces cost challenges, which can be alleviated by building a global large market; in the transportation sector, the focus is on solving the problem of new energy substitution for heavy-duty trucks, aviation, and shipping; in the construction sector, zero-carbon heating and emission reduction are promoted through energy efficiency improvement, electrification, and green procurement. All countries need to accelerate the matching of industrial layout and energy transformation to promote the process of global low-carbon development.

In the subsequent roundtable discussion session chaired by FU Sha, the Director of Strategic Planning at the Energy Foundation, associate Researcher GU Baihe, Dean HU Tao, Deputy Chief Representative LIU Qiang, and Economist XIE Chunping spoke in turn, discussing how to break the zero-sum game through cooperation, overcome trade protectionism and geopolitical challenges in energy, promote the sharing of green achievements, and analyze China's key role in global green transformation.

GU Baihe believes that although Sino-US relations are facing uncertainties, climate change remains an important window for global cooperation. China has huge advantages in green and low-carbon transformation, such as the new energy market, supply chain, and policy guidance. He proposes to promote healthy competition among major powers, prioritize diversified supply chains, formulate industrial policies that encourage spillover effects, and strengthen third-party cooperation through project financing, coordination of overseas investment standards, and capacity building.

HU Tao pointed out that currently, European and American countries are hindering China's green development by setting up green barriers, which contradicts the principle of fair competition. He emphasized that China's renewable energy subsidies contribute to global emission reduction and should be encouraged rather than criticized. He called for a return to the multilateral framework to prevent unilateralism from undermining global green cooperation. Confronting the mismatch between production capacity and demand, Europe and the United States should actively participate in cooperation to promote the development of global renewable energy and learn from China's green development experience to jointly address global climate challenges.

LIU Qiang said that the transformation towards green and low-carbon is a global consensus, but poor communication and market failures can lead to zero-sum games and hinder cooperation. He pointed out that through financial innovation and hybrid financing mechanisms, risks can be reduced and the development of green projects can be promoted. At the same time, he called for the promotion of global standardization, especially the unification of climate-related standards, to send clear market signals and achieve global win-win results. In addition, charitable foundations should play an active role in promoting transnational green cooperation and addressing climate change response and sustainable development.

XIE Chunping emphasized the importance of coordinating global green finance standards and promoting innovation within multilateral banks and the green finance market. She pointed out that green bonds and climate policy loans can effectively support countries’ green transformation. Multilateral banks need to expand financing and leverage private capital for climate-related fields while paying attention to the synergy between natural capital and economic development. In addition, she proposed that capacity building is key to national transformation and that climate action should integrate nature conservation and health issues to achieve sustainable development goals.

The second half of the forum, themed "The Vision of a Beautiful China in 2035" and was chaired by WANG Ke, the Vice Dean of the School of Ecology and Environment of Renmin University of China. WANG Can, the Party Secretary of the School of Environment of Tsinghua University, and CHAI Qimin, the Director of the Strategic Planning Department of the National Climate Strategy Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, gave keynote speeches focusing on China's green development strategy and the long-term goals of building a beautiful China.

Professor WANG Can pointed out in the report "Economic Development and Climate Governance Contribution of Renewable Energy" that with the rapid development of renewable energy and a steep decline in technical costs, China has become a key player in the global supply chain. The renewable energy industry has become a new driving force for China's economic development and plays an important role in promoting exports, innovation, and employment growth and generating a pulling effect on the economy. At the same time, the development of renewable energy in China has brought positive impacts on pollution reduction, carbon emission reduction, health improvement, rural revitalization, and ecological protection, and has reduced the deployment cost of global renewable energy. Although its short-term development is uncertain, in the long run, the development trend of a high proportion of renewable energy is irresistible.

CHAI Qimin, the Director, took "Research on Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change under the Strategy of Building a Beautiful China" as the theme and shared five keywords: "scenario", "sentiment", "multi-objective", "pragmatism", and "long-termism". He said that based on the present, young scholars and experts need to maintain imagination and confidence in the future and introduce multiple hypotheses in academic scenario design. Currently, the world's dependence on China's green and low-carbon production capacity has led to the imposition of international trade barrier, and academic research in the environmental field should actively respond to such practical problems. Multiple development goals such as a beautiful China, climate change, and the dual-carbon goal urgently need to be coordinated and balanced. Domestically, attention should be paid not only to the role played by emerging industries but also to the transformation process of traditional industries. China's economic development faces both opportunities and challenges. We should maintain a pragmatic attitude, strategic focus, and flexibility to jointly move towards a green and prosperous future.

The roundtable discussion in the second half was chaired by Professor XU Guangqing from the School of Ecology and Environment of Renmin University of China. Professor CHEN Minpeng, Director HUANG Junling, Deputy Director TENG Fei and Director YANG Xiu took part in in-depth discussions on the policies, technologies and future development paths for achieving the goal of building a Beautiful China. They also explored how to align the goal of building a Beautiful China with China's modernization drive to facilitate the global green transformation.

CHEN Minpeng said that Chinese modernization and the construction of a beautiful China show coordination and unity in goals, strategies, and approaches. From the perspective of China’s economic, environmental, and social challenges, both aim to address the relationship between humans and nature, as well as the challenges of development and protection. In the future, relying on market mechanisms and environmental standards to further promote the efficient allocation of resources and the green transformation of the economic structure is the key to achieving these two goals.

HUANG Junling pointed out that the transformation of the power sector is key to achieving green and low-carbon future, and it is necessary to address the three levels of institutions, technologies, and enterprises. The national and local governments need to coordinate and promote market development and policy planning, and central enterprises play a key role in securing strategic projects and coordinating the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. In the next decade, the power industry will gradually undergo a green transformation through mechanism innovation and enterprise participation, and the development of industrial chains in energy storage, wind power, and other fields is crucial. Focus should be placed on market design and the "chain length" mechanism of the industrial chain led by enterprises.

TENG Fei said that developed and developing countries follow different approaches in addressing climate change. Developed countries emphasize addressing climate change independently, while developing countries need to address climate change within the framework of sustainable development. China's contribution lies in scaling up key industries through low-cost clean technologies and supporting global green transformation. He emphasized that capacity building is especially crucial for developing countries. China should not only provide technology but also assist these countries with long-term planning and promote the transformation of their energy systems for common development.

YANG Xiu pointed out that China has changed from a participant to a leader in the field of climate change and has made important contributions to global climate governance, carbon emission reduction, technology and practice promotion, and conceptual development. By using low-cost clean technologies, exceeding emission reduction targets, and promoting the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, China has demonstrated its leadership in driving global green development, provided successful experiences and development ideas for other developing countries, and addressing global challenges and seizing the opportunities of green transformation.

This forum activity was thorough and highly effective. The participating experts and scholars jointly discussed the strategic direction of the coordinated advancement of the vision of a beautiful China and global green development, providing Chinese solutions and wisdom to promote global green development and build a beautiful world.

The Tongzhou Global Development Forum, founded in 2023, and is jointly hosted by Renmin University of China and the People's Government of Tongzhou District. Driven by the mission of "paying attention to global development and caring about the fate of mankind", it creates a high-level dialogue platform for politicians, academics, and business leaders from all over the world to jointly discuss global development strategic issues and produces original, forward-looking, and high-quality research in the areas of global development, security, and civilization, providing theoretical guidance and intellectual support for the development practices of both China and the world.