Annual dialogue fostering sustainable practices for a greener future

A dialogue centered on green and low-carbon living, uniting officials, scholars and business representatives to deliberate on advancing low-carbon production methods and lifestyles, wrapped up in Beijing on Thursday.

For the last 15 years, this event, spearheaded by the China Newsweek journal, has been dedicated to serving as a crucial conduit for showcasing China's strides in green and low-carbon initiatives and as a forum for providing recommendations through dialogues, exhibitions, and media outreach.

Former Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua highlighted the impact of an event that has been consistently held for 15 years, capturing public interest with fresh content annually and deepening implications.

This year marks his 13th participation in the event.

He underscored the pivotal role of youth in realizing the "dual-carbon" objectives and global climate change targets, emphasizing that they represent the future of the world and serve as the primary driving force for safeguarding the planet.

Amid a century-long average temperature increase of 0.74 C from 1906 to 2005, a decadelong surge of 1.09 C from 2011 to 2020, a projected escalation of 1.15 C in 2022, and a spike of 1.45 C in 2023, the discourse on scientifically and efficiently tackling climate change continues to be a subject of global contention and serves as the central theme of this event.

Jia Feng from China Newsweek stressed that given over half of China's residential carbon footprint originates from consumption, attaining the temperature control objectives outlined in the Paris Agreement necessitates fundamental shifts in consumer behaviors toward embracing green and low-carbon lifestyles.

Assessing companies' achievements in areas such as regulatory adherence, strategic development, sustainable supply chains, environmental conservation, and community engagement, the event unveiled the "2024 Low-Carbon Success Stories", showcasing enterprises like China National Petroleum Corporation, Sinopec Group, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Sony China, and Ehi Car Services.