China Green Carbon Foundation

CGCF Publicized Green Carbon City at UN Climate Change Conference

On December 5^th, “China Corner” at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris welcomed a low carbon theme day. Jointly sponsored by China Green Carbon Foundation (CGCF), the All-China Environment Federation (ACEF), Beijing Forestry Carbon Administration (BFCA) and the University of British Columbia (UBC), the side event of Constructing Green Carbon City to Address Climate Changes was successfully held, kicking off the low carbon theme day.

Countries around the world are highly concerned about China's policies and actions to address climate change. In the seminar, representatives from CGCF and its partners together discussed how to mobilize and attract parties to actively participate in improving the regional ecological environment, dealing with the relationship between environmental protection and economic and social development, and enhancing the ability to slow down and adapt to climate change through specific measures like mechanism construction, capital investment, cultural construction and community mobilization, attracting the attention of many countries. Nearly 100 experts from 20 countries including the US, UK, France, Germany, South Korea, Afghanistan, Czech, China and international organizations attended the seminar. Dr. Li Nuyun, Secretary-General of CGCF and Deputy Director of Climate Change Office, State Forestry Administration of China presided over the seminar.

Attaching great importance to the restoration and protection of forest vegetation, China has become the country with the world's fastest growing forest area and the most artificial forest, making outstanding contributions to addressing global warming. At the opening ceremony of COP21, President Xi Jinping once again stressed China's confidence and ambition of independent contribution in the increase of 4.5 billion cubic meters of forest stock volume in 2030 than that in 2005. Governments at all levels responded positively to take measures to increase the forest area and improve forest quality, ensuring the realization of the national initiative. However, how to integrate development of forestry with ecology, economy, environment, livelihood and climate change to promote regional economy and coordinated social and environmental development has become a pressing issue for governments, NGOs, enterprises and the public.

CGCF is the first national public fund aiming at increasing the carbon sink and reducing emission to address climate change. Since its establishment in 2010, it has always been committed to mobilize all social forces to participate in addressing climate change actions, promote the establishment and improvement of forest ecological benefit compensation mechanism with forest carbon being the voluntary transaction object, and carried out relevant pilot actions. At the same time, considering the needs of regional economic and social development, it cooperates with domestic and foreign colleges and universities and research institutes and develops the Indicator System of Green Carbon City.

In her speech, Li Nuyun explained the connotation and structure of Indicator System of Green Carbon City, and the background and significance of constructing green carbon city. She said the green carbon city concept and index system were designed to implement the national strategy in response to climate change that equip those undeveloped areas with high forest coverage, fast increasing carbon sink, and low industrial emissions of greenhouse gases with the development idea of "beautiful scenery is the source for development”, and actively take measures to promote the ecological service market with carbon sinks being the core. A new mechanism of ecological compensation through marketization and monetization of ecological products should be explored to achieve the development idea. Therefore, the Indicator System of Green Carbon City not only emphasizes forest vegetation restoration, protection and scientific management, carbon sink increase, and emission reduction, but also considers the construction of ecological civilization. Giving those cities with high forest coverage, high carbon absorption capacity, few industrial and mining enterprises a name card of "green carbon city" is a new path for green, low-carbon, environmentally friendly and efficient city development. In accordance with evaluation, Chongli County in Hebei Province and Taishun County in Zhejiang Province were included in the first batch of green carbon city. Their successful experience has an important leading significance to promote the construction of ecological civilization and green low-carbon and livable city.

The supplement of Indicator System of Green Carbon City is the presentation on Public Awareness of Low Carbon Economic Development in Small Cities - Chinese Case Study. Promoted by Professor John Innes from UBC in his speech, it has attracted wide attention. According to survey, 89.5% of the people to a certain extent knew the low carbon economy, 85.2% supported it, 74.9% hoped to improve the environment through low-carbon economy, and 53.8% believed that the barrier was the high cost. At the same time, the public generally lacked the knowledge of low carbon economy. He proposed to intensify the publicity through mass media on the basic knowledge of low carbon economy and climate change, enhancing the understanding of realization paths.

Niu Gensheng, Initiator of Laoniu Foundation and Vice President of China Charity Alliance made a report on Cultural Development in Advancing Green Carbon City. He believed that the essence of constructing green carbon city was to scientifically reduce carbon sources and efficiently use carbon sinks. In addition to innovation and support in science and technology, policy, capital, and management, cultural construction cannot be ignored. He stressed that environmental protection was a concept and a culture. Only when the public were aware of it, can the energy saves and emission reduction is achieved to the maximum. In the restoration of the ecological environment, humanistic ideas should be further reshaped. In the process of urban industrial transformation and upgrading, the development of cultural industry was a scientific choice. He also said that the Laoniu Foundation would continue to support the public welfare projects like the forest planting projects to make more contribution to low-carbon green development and addressing global climate change.

The speeches were wonderful. According to Prof. An Fengjie, President of China National Sand Control & Desert Industry Society, the Society has been innovative in promoting the demonstration and application of new technologies and new achievements, academic exchanges, international cooperation, and popularization of science in the prevention and control of desertification to serve the local economy, improve the ecological environment and address climate change.

Wang Haidong, Director of Forestry Department of Hebei Zhangjiakou Municipal Government, said, Zhangjiakou City continued to promote the ecological construction, enhance afforestation and control air quality, comprehensively improving the ecological environment and guarding the ecological security of Beijing. It has achieved remarkable results in increasing forest carbon sink, fighting against climate change, promoting green development, introducing market mechanism, and broadening the financing platforms.

Zhou Caixian, Director of BFCA, focused on policies and mechanisms of water resources management and protection and experience of including carbon sinks into the watershed management, innovating ecological compensation mechanism and establishing the urban drinking water source protection fund.

Xie Yuhong, Deputy Secretary-General of ACEF, introduced the work to promote the construction and development of low-carbon communities. Ying Miaomiao, Secretary-General of Wenzhou Low-carbon City Institute and Dr. Chen Qiuxia from Zhejiang Subtropical Crops Research Institute jointly made a report on the series actions to address climate change in Wenzhou.

This seminar is themed with spreading the green and low carbon concept, sharing the construction experience of green carbon city, and disseminating the voice of China's forestry industry. With speech from experts in various fields, organizations, backgrounds, and professions, the seminar from different angles showed the international community the full range of social support and participation in adaptation and mitigation of climate change, made delegates of other countries know the significant role of the Chinese forestry in the ecological civilization construction, environmental protection and addressing climate change.

The atmosphere also touched representative from Beijing Guotou Shengshi Technology Co., Ltd, who said the company will donate its high-tech products - zeolite to CGCF, to jointly build demonstration bases in soil remediation and saline alkali land reform. In addition, it will actively participate in national ecological restoration and environmental management work, to make contributions in dealing with climate change.

In the seminar, the CGCF also provided the carbon emission reduction credits by forestation carbon sequestration project in Guangxi for participants to eliminate the carbon footprint and achieve carbon-neutral.

Author: Reporter Wen Yali and Correspondent He Yeyun

Media: China Green Times. Publication date: December 9, 2015