The 2023 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges was held in Shenzhen on September 21, 2023. Incumbent and former legislators from 17 countries and regions were invited to participate in the forum. Themed "Towards Sustainable Development for All", the forum was hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
Low-Carbon Strategies Sub-forum
GWP China Regional Secretary General, JIANG Yunzhong is the member of the Environmental and Resource Protection Committee of the National People's Congress (China's highest state authority).
As one of the Chinese legislators, JIANG Yunzhong was invited to the forum and led the sub-forum of low-carbon strategies. After the opening ceremony, the Forum has six parallel sub-forums held to spotlight discussions on topics such as democracy, the rule of law, basic human rights, green and low-carbon strategies, innovative cooperation, and peaceful development.
JIANG Yunzhong Chairing Low Carbon Sub-Forum
Under the topic of 'Low Carbon Green Development and Ecological Environment Protection', Yunzhong opened the event, "We are experiencing a critical historical moment as global climate change and ecological degradation have become major challenges for all humanity. Addressing these challenges requires global joint efforts and collaborative solutions of policy makers from all countries and regions. The sub-forum is expecting all stakeholders to promote low-carbon green development and ecological environment protection through exchanging ideas and sharing experiences."
In his speech, he expressed that China, as the world's largest developing country, has made significant achievements in low-carbon green development and ecological environment protection. "The National People's Congress of China attaches great importance to strengthening the legislative revision of low-carbon and green development and ecological environment protection", said he, "It has successively formulated and revised relevant laws to address climate change, including the Environmental Protection Law, the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, the Renewable Energy Law, the Circular Economy Promotion Law, the Clean Production Promotion Law, the Forest Law and the Grassland Law."
With effective management tools and technologies, in 2022, the proportion of coal consumption in China's total energy consumption decreased to 56.2%. The proportion of clean energy consumption reached 25.9%, and the installed capacity of renewable energy power generation was 1.2 billion kilowatts. It also launched virtual trade platform, the largest global carbon market, that can cover greenhouse gases with an annual coverage of over 4.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions. In the past decade, China has supported economic growth of over 6% per year with an average annual energy consumption growth rate of 3%. The intensity of carbon dioxide emissions has decreased by about 35%, equivalent to reducing emissions of 3.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide, exceeding the goal promised to the international community. Against the backdrop of continuous reduction in global forest resources, China's forest coverage rate has significantly increased from 12% in early 1980 to 23.04% today, with an increase in forest stock of 8.5 billion cubic meters.
The sub-forum was formed by a strong panel, including:
- Mr. Vashid AlsSaid Sheikh, member of the Algerian National Assembly, Vice Chairman of the Algerian China Friendship Group of the National Assembly, and former Vice President of the National Assembly.
- Mr. Gonzalo Vente, Member of the Chilean House of Representatives and Chairman of the "Broad Front" coalition House of Representatives affiliated with the Social Integration Party.
- Mr. Ramon Barrios, Member of the Honduran Parliament and Member of the Lao Parliament.
- Mr. Kansen Sisafong, Member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.
- Mr. Surapong Suvanaya, Thai councilor.
- Ms. Li Yue'e, President of the Shanxi Provincial People's Association for Friendship and Exchange with Foreign Countries and former Deputy Director of the Shanxi Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee.
- Mr. Laqiong, Representative of the National People's Congress of China and professor at the School of Ecology and Environment at Tibet University.
- Ms. Huang Xiqin, Representative of the National People's Congress of China and Chairman of the United States of China Construction Engineering Management Consulting Co., Ltd.
This is the first time that the forum has been held in Shenzhen. The forum aims to build an institutionalized exchange platform for legislators who have a supportive attitude towards China, strengthen friendly exchanges among parliaments of participating countries by integrating the resources of legislators of different countries, and promote common development between the participating countries.
Shenzhen is referred to as the "window" on China's reform and opening-up drive. Shenzhen is actively promoting sustainable development and firmly committed to green development, making it a perfect place for the forum, according to a media briefing held last night at the Civic Center.