NINGBO:- Ningbo. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Forum on Green and Sustainable Development concluded on Thursday in China’s eastern coastal city of Ningbo. The conference, which ran from April 29 to 30, adopted the Ningbo Initiative, setting out new perspectives and future plans for climate change, environmental protection and promoting a green economy.

The three-day event, jointly organized by the Chinese SCO Committee on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Zhejiang Provincial Government, explored environmental issues and new avenues of cooperation.

The forum was attended by representatives of the 10 member states of the organization as well as 16 other countries affiliated with the SCO (observers and dialogue partners). The event, which brought together about 300 participants, including representatives of environmental bodies, entrepreneurs, experts, scientists and politicians, aimed to promote practical cooperation in the field of green and sustainable development.

Sending a congratulatory message to the conference participants, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the fact that China has made an important contribution to building a global ecological civilization. Participants also praised the host country’s steps, saying that China is now a global leader in reducing harmful emissions, planting trees, and securing carbon sinks.

As the most important achievement of the conference, the ‘Ningbo Initiative’ on SCO cooperation in sustainable development, titled ‘Joint Development of Ecology Towards a Green Future’, was unanimously adopted. The initiative is being put forward to address the growing global governance deficit, the delay in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and challenges such as climate change and the digital divide. The agreement aims to build a fair, equitable, and win-win global environmental governance system through the SCO mechanism that encompasses the Eurasian continent.

According to the adopted initiative, member states will now contribute to the global green and low-carbon transition by implementing the SCO Heads of State Council Statement on addressing climate change. Policies, rules and standards will be exchanged on air pollution control and coordinated governance of climate change.

Similarly, it has been agreed to establish partnerships in green and low-carbon technologies based on the China-SCO Ecology and Environment Innovation Base and accelerate joint research and development.

In addition, the initiative also includes linking the digital and intelligent development of ecology and environment with green industries, increasing the use of advanced concepts such as resource conservation, energy efficiency and low-emission development, and building a human resource training system covering the entire chain of green development.

Policy and technical tools will be developed for green investment and financing and carbon market development. For this, there is a consensus to find additional financial channels for green projects in coordination with international organizations and financial institutions. The Ningbo Initiative also places high priority on sharing practical experiences and technical achievements for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, while advancing the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

During the event, ideas and opportunities for implementing new projects were discussed in detail. China’s Dalian University of Technology presented the latest developments in clean energy, wind turbines, energy storage, and scientific risk assessment through an open exhibition, complete with statistics and diagrams.

In addition, other countries also shared their unique experiences on stage. On the sidelines of the conference, the Secretariat and the SCO Committee also organized a painting exhibition by children from SCO countries under the theme ‘Green SCO, a Beautiful Future’.

Concluding the event, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Sohail Khan said that the ideas expressed on the platform have given a new direction. “Everyone who spoke here has expressed something new. Their speeches included new ideas, their vision for a new future and how to move forward in that direction,” Khan said. “They have simply revealed to everyone that such directions and possibilities exist.”

The conference concluded by deepening the green partnership among member states to jointly promote the regional green and low-carbon transition and move towards a sustainable future.