The 2024 Tianfu Carbon Neutrality Forum is Held in Chengdu to Foster Green and New Quality Productive Forces

On December 1, 2024, the 2024 Tianfu Carbon Neutrality Forum, hosted by Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory, was held at the Western China International Expo City in Chengdu. The forum was centered around the theme of "Innovation-driven Low-Carbon Transformation, Development of Green and New Quality Productive Forces". Relevant department leaders including Liu Zhenmin, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change; Tian Chengchuan, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee and Deputy Mayor; and Chen Lizhang, Deputy Secretary of the Sichuan Tianfu New Area Party Working Committee and Director of the Sichuan Tianfu New Area Administrative Committee, attended and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was moderated by Zhang Yuanhang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory, and the roundtable forum moderated by He Kebin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of the Academic Committee of Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory. 

This forum was conducted in a hybrid format, combining both reporting and seminar sessions, with one main forum and seven parallel sub-forums. Participants delved into discussions on the paths to achieving carbon neutrality, shared fruits of technological advancements, and jointly outlined a strategy for green, low-carbon, and high-quality development, all contributing to China's "Beautiful China" initiative and "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals. The forum was attended by 20 academicians, including Jiang Yi, Duoji, Shi Bi, Wang Qi, Liu Zhongmin, Sun Yize, Huang Hui, Shen Xueshun, and Wang Hualin from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Yu Guirui from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

Top Experts Gather to Offer Insights and Strategies for Achieving the "Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality" Goals 

Liu Zhenmin, in his video address, emphasized that climate change, a pivotal global issue impacting the destiny of humanity, necessitates our collective efforts to confront this unprecedented challenge. The advancement of energy transformation calls for the establishment of cross-border, cross-sectoral, and cross-industry cooperation platforms, so governments, societies, enterprises, academia, and other stakeholders should team up and work together to establish a unified and concerted push. We should persist in collaborating and striving relentlessly towards the shared aspiration of achieving a globally sustainable development. 

Tian Chengchuan pointed out that in recent years, Chengdu has oriented itself as an economic center of western China, a hub for scientific and technological innovation, a center for international exchanges, and a cornerstone for China's advanced manufacturing industry. By thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization and the CPC Central Committee's strategic deployment for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, Chengdu has centralized itself in the overall construction of becoming a park city demonstration zone, steadfastly advancing on the path of ecological priority and green development. It has concurrently promoted a synergistic approach to carbon reduction, pollution mitigation, enhancement of green coverage, and economic growth, accelerating the exploration of new paths for green transformation and development in megacities. Greenness and low-carbon practices have emerged as the new defining characteristics and growth engines of a city's development. 

Chen Lizhang mentioned that since Sichuan Tianfu New Area was designated as a state-level new area in 2014, it has implemented the decisions and strategic deployments of the central, provincial and municipal governments. Through innovative research and practical exploration on "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals, Tianfu New Area has initially forged an urban development framework that is oriented to ecological values. Based on the outcomes of this exchange and mutual learning, Sichuan Tianfu New Area will enhance support in policy formulation, pilot projects, and technological services. It will expedite the establishment of an industrial structure that is resource-efficient and environmentally friendly, endeavoring to make positive contributions to the realization of the "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals. 

Yu Guirui, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Member of the Academic Committee of Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory, presented a lecture titled Spatiotemporal Patterns of Carbon Fluxes and Carbon Sink Functions in China's Terrestrial Ecosystems. Yu expressed that as the greenest, most economically viable, and largest-scale technological path for achieving carbon neutrality, ecosystem carbon sinks are highly consonant with the national objectives of ecological civilization construction. Consequently, the realization of the "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals primarily hinges on the ecosystems' carbon sequestration capabilities. 

Liu Zhongmin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a report titled Opportunities and Challenges for Technological Development Paths and Industrialization under the "Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality" Goals. According to Liu, the current era is witnessing a call for technological revolution amidst the energy revolution and industrial revolution, with artificial intelligence converging upon these transformations, initiating an unprecedented transformation. In this context, we must reassess traditional processes based on the new "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" concepts, actively confront challenges, seize strategic opportunities, reconstruct energy and industrial systems, accelerate the green and low-carbon technological revolution, and spearhead industrial innovation and development. 

From an enterprise's perspective, Wang Jun, Member of the Party Group and Deputy General Manager of Dongfang Electric Corporation, delivered a presentation centered on Driving the Construction of a New Power System through Scientific and Technological Innovation in Energy Equipment within the Framework of "Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality" Goals. Wang expressed that the new power system represents a crucial component of the emerging energy system and stands as a pivotal vehicle for realizing the "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals. "The construction of a new power system is a prolonged and arduous endeavor, requiring concerted efforts across the energy equipment manufacturing sector to constantly foster technological innovation and industrial upgrading." 

In the roundtable discussion, Wang Qi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of the Polymeter Green Low Carbon Processing and Resource Utilization Research Center of Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory, Zhu Jingxu (Jesse Zhu), Fellow of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Ma Jun, President of Xi'an Longi Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd., Zhang Xiaoyu, Executive Vice President of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd., and Xia Zuxi, Director of Aviation Fuel & Chemical Airworthiness Certification Centre (FCCC) of CAAC, engaged in profound exchanges on the theme of "Dual Control of Carbon Emissions and Green and Low-Carbon Transformation". 

Announcement of Top Ten Exemplary Projects, including Two as "the World's Largest" 

To constantly establish the "Tianfu Carbon Neutrality Innovation Initiative" brand, demonstrate typical exemplary leadership, and propel industrial implementation, Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory has selected and released ten exemplary projects at the 2024 Tianfu Carbon Neutrality Forum. 

The innovative and exemplary projects unveiled this time encompass three categories: scientific and technological achievements, engineering applications, and capacity building, spanning across ten projects in pivotal technological breakthroughs, people's livelihood and public welfare, etc., including the world's largest 26MW offshore wind turbine, integrated technology of ecological restoration materials, processes and equipment in extreme environments, the world's largest chemical looping combustion (CLC) demonstration facility, new technology for producing green building materials from carbon dioxide mineralized solid waste, application of CCUS technology to explore a new path of green development in oilfields with a carbon focus, new technology for efficient recycling and resource utilization of decommissioned wind power blades, solid-state enzyme mediator-enhanced preparation of sewage carbon sources for concurrent reduction of pollution and carbon emissions, "Sweet Nest II" new model for zero-carbon heating in high-altitude cold regions, an auxiliary system for reporting under the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and Chengdu's "Tan Hui Tian Fu" green public welfare platform. 

The opening ceremony also witnessed the signing of strategic cooperation framework agreements. Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory entered into agreements with governments, scientific research institutions, and enterprises on industrial implementation, scientific and technological collaboration, and partnerships for achievement transformation, with the anticipation of fostering even more productive collaborative outcomes in the future. 

In addition to the main forum, seven parallel sub-forums were held concurrently, encompassing a wide array of fields such as low-carbon transformation, resource recycling, carbon sink and geological carbon sequestration, reduction of pollution and carbon emissions, and green transportation. Experts from diverse sectors contributed their profound wisdom and proposed innovative strategies for green and low-carbon transformation. Several roadshow events were also organized during the forum, serving as a platform for showcasing pioneering low-carbon technologies. 

Since 2022, the Tianfu Carbon Neutrality Forum has been held for the third time, witnessing multiple progresses with its attendees, from a few hundred to over a thousand, from its initial domestic focus to today's involvement of academicians from prominent countries worldwide, forms diversified, and its topics increasingly centered on leading-edge trends. The Tianfu Carbon Neutrality Forum has achieved substantial growth in terms of scale and internationalization, gradually establishing itself as an influential forum brand in the realm of carbon neutrality. 

As underscored by Jiang Yi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Member of the Academic Committee of Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory, and professor from Tsinghua University, "On the occasion of the third Tianfu Carbon Neutrality Forum, this year also witnesses substantial progresses. Reflecting on the achievements envisioned three years ago, the Laboratory have gradually yielded certain results. Within the broader context and trend of the 'energy revolution', we eagerly anticipate social support and collaboration for our development."