Beijing, 15 December 2020: WBCSD President & CEO Peter Bakker, in his capacity of Convener of the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) Advisory Committee, delivered a message to the Belt and Road Initiative Green Innovation Conference 2020 and Sustainable and Innovative Development Forum held in Shenzhen in December 2020. The conference – attended by more than 200 representatives from the Chinese government, research institutes, universities, and global partners and international organizations – highlights how innovation will help build a greener, sustainable future.
In his video address to the conference, Peter Bakker noted that the global pandemic unmasked unprecedented health and economic crises that must be dealt with in a globally coordinated manner to ensure an inclusive and resilient new normal for all. He focused on the need for stronger international collaboration and innovation to facilitate a green and sustainable recovery and pointed out that the green Belt and Road Initiative has taken on a newer and deeper relevance and is expected to make major contributions to meeting these needs. He recognized BRIGC as an excellent platform for policy communication, knowledge sharing, technology exchange and transfer for a green Belt and Road Initiative.
“BRIGC is a great platform to bring all the key stakeholders together for exploring innovative green solutions. At WBCSD, we’re looking forward to contributing to the work of BRICG, the Chinese government and other BRI countries and businesses to accelerate the transition to a greener, more sustainable world,” Peter Bakker noted.
Attending the conference as well, Chinese Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) Zhao Yingmin stressed the importance of green recovery to drive global development and further enhance global cooperation on ecological and environmental protection along the Belt and Road. He stressed that Shenzhen, as a renowned city of innovation, has unique advantages in technological innovation and promotion: “We must focus on the BRIGC platform, share China’s best practices of harmonious coexistence between man and nature with the world, provide China solutions and Shenzhen solutions for environmental protection and sustainable development worldwide, and make great contribution to the building of a clean and beautiful world and a community with a shared future for humanity.”
Other remarks were made by advisors such as Erik Solheim, CCICED Vice Chairperson and Convener of the BRIGC Advisory Committee, and Huang Min, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and member of the Party Leadership Group of Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government.
The conference also shared the progress of the Belt and Road Initiative green investment that advances green recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlook of technological development in ecology and environment, the application of big data in global greenhouse gas emissions, and China’s low-carbon green development prospects to become carbon neutral by no later than 2060 and ensure its greenhouse gas emissions would peak by 2030.
