Professor Yang Lei delivered a speech

The four expert lectures in the morning were hosted by Professor Yang Lei, Deputy Director of the Energy Research Institute at Peking University, who also delivered a welcome speech.

Speech by Academician Jin Zhijun

Professor Jin Zhijun, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of the Energy Research Institute at Peking University, delivered the first lecture titled "Challenges and Basic Pathways to Achieving Carbon Neutrality." Academician Jin believes that China faces three major challenges in achieving carbon neutrality: rigid energy growth, a coal-dominated energy structure, and a thirty-year timeframe. Professor Jin proposed that the dual engines of market and government driving, with emission reduction and absorption working together, should be the main path to achieving carbon neutrality in China. Among these, carbon pricing, carbon trading, and carbon taxes are the core levers for government-market cooperation. Professor Jin emphasized that the carbon neutrality pathway should properly handle five key relationships: stable development, coordination between local and municipal areas, balance between old and new, deployment both near and far, and international relations.

Academician Jiang Yi's speech

Professor Jiang Yi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, member of the National Climate Change Expert Committee, and Tsinghua University, delivered the second lecture titled "Building a New Rural Energy System Based on Rooftop Photovoltaics." From the perspective of integrated urban-rural development, Academician Jiang believes that the entry point for China's urban-rural energy transition actually lies in rural areas, and he elaborated in detail on the feasibility of rural rooftop photovoltaic projects from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Academician Jiang believes that rural electricity usage is far more flexible and flexible than in cities. Not only can it be self-sufficient, but it can also feed back into the main grid through village-level DC microgrids, contributing to urban electricity consumption. More importantly, rural photovoltaic power generation projects can also promote the development of biomass energy, thereby establishing a new energy system based on photovoltaic power generation and supplemented by biomass energy, thereby improving the modernization level of rural areas and becoming one of the key measures to address the issues faced by farmers and farmers.

Academician Qiu Baoxing's speech

Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Chairman of the China Urban Science Research Association, Qiu Baoxing delivered the third speech, titled "The 'Dual Carbon Strategy' Centered on Cities." Academician Qiu believes that the ideal carbon neutrality route should include five key characteristics: safety resilience, cost reduction, technological reliability, compatibility with gray-green systems, and import substitution. He proposed that the urban carbon neutrality path mainly includes five major modules: industry, rural agriculture, construction, transportation, and waste treatment. Next, Academician Qiu gave a detailed introduction to real-world cases and future technological strategies for urban green carbon reduction across four major modules excluding industry, providing a rich technical and policy roadmap for the implementation of the "dual carbon" strategy.

Academician Fang Jingyun's speech

Professor Fang Jingyun, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of Yunnan University, and Professor at the School of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University, delivered the fourth lecture, titled "Research on Terrestrial Carbon Sinks Toward Carbon Neutrality." Academician Fang first introduced the meaning of carbon neutrality, and stated that emission reduction and sink increase are the two decisive factors for achieving carbon neutrality goals. Second, based on multiple models, he proposed estimates of carbon sinks in China's terrestrial ecosystems, pointing out the future carbon sink potential of China's terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, he looked ahead to future research directions, emphasizing both precise estimation and forecasting of carbon sinks and their future potential, as well as research into sink enhancement technologies and implementation pathways.

After four presentations, the session moved into Q&A and discussion. Academicians focused on answering questions raised by online viewers, such as whether there is a conflict between the trend of rural populations moving to towns and photovoltaic power generation equipment requiring long-term cost recovery. Is it more effective for enterprises to lease and sublet individual farmers for rooftop photovoltaic power generation construction on a large scale than to motivate individual farmers to take action?

Professor Yang Lei delivered a summary speech on the morning agenda, thanking the speakers for their wonderful sharing and inspiration, and thanking the more than 6,000 online audience members for participating and discussing.

Professor He Canfei delivered a speech

The afternoon agenda included keynote speeches, roundtable discussions, and new book launches, chaired by Professor He Canfei, Dean of the School of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University. He introduced keynote speaker Professor A. Michaecl Spnece, looking forward to his insights on the overall carbon pricing field to help us more clearly outline the overall carbon reduction strategy.

Keynote speech by Prof. A. Michael Spence

A. Michael Spence, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics and Emeritus Professor at Stanford Business School, delivered a keynote speech titled "Energy Transition, Carbon Pricing, Trading, and Urbanization." He first analyzed the challenges of economic recovery in the post-pandemic era and issues related to economic structural transformation, proposed how countries should respond to carbon reduction after COP26, and explored the relationship between reducing carbon emissions and economic growth. He then analyzed potential issues in the energy transition and how to achieve them, focusing on carbon budget allocation and emphasizing the importance of buffer mechanisms. Regarding the carbon trading system, he pointed out that carbon pricing can be an important means to address the issue of consistency. At the international level, he cited China and India as examples, pointing out that each country should respond to climate change at its own pace and prioritize developing cross-border technologies. Finally, he mentioned that other fields such as semiconductors, biology, and agriculture are closely related to climate change and should be given attention by all countries.

Director Liu Zhi presided over the roundtable discussion

Dr. Liu Zhi, Director of the Center for Urban Development and Land Policy at Peking University-Lincoln Institute, chaired the roundtable discussion session. Participating guests included: Professor of Environmental Science at KU Leuven in Belgium and former Vice Chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele; Dr. Ma Jun, Co-Director of the Macroeconomics and Green Finance Laboratory at the National School of Development at Peking University; Chair of the Green Finance Committee of the China Society for Finance and Banking and Co-Chair of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group; Professor Fu Jun, Academic Dean of the School of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University; and A. Michael Professor Spence.

Roundtable experts: Director Liu Zhi, Professor Fu Jun, Professor Spence, Professor Ypersele, Director Ma Jun (from top row, left)

During the discussion, Professor Spence analyzed the effects of past energy policies, proposed the need to consider climate change and economic development in a coordinated manner, and pointed out that countries should address issues in a unified and coherent manner. Professor Ypersele pointed out that COP26 sent positive signals in six areas, including recognizing the urgency of action, changes in the climate change cycle, establishing carbon trading market standards, international compensation mechanisms, the responsibilities and willingness of developed countries, and investment in climate adaptation efforts. Director Ma Jun discussed the development of global green finance. He first pointed out that China's green investment scope includes decarbonization projects, environmental protection projects, and various biodiversity-related projects, then proposed the future direction of green finance reform based on China's top-down experience. Professor Fu Jun introduced the challenges and uniqueness China faces in decarbonization, and analyzed the responsibilities in the carbon neutrality process from a political economy perspective. The guests discussed calculations for green investment and expressed a cautiously positive attitude toward achieving the 1.5-degree temperature control target achieved at COP26.

Professor Fu Jun's new book launch

The new book launch featured Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in China: Policy, Technology and Market ("China's Climate Mitigation and Adaptation: Policy, Technology, and Markets"). This book is co-edited by Peking University professors Fu Jun, Zhang Dongxiao, and Lei Ming. Professor Fu Jun introduced that this book brings together the perspectives of academia and current policymakers from policy, technology, and market perspectives, draws on international experience, and proposes localized engineering technology practices and policy recommendations based on China's actual conditions. Professors Zhang Dongxiao and Lei Ming respectively introduced the research content of this book. Director Liu Zhi introduced recommendations and critiques from internationally renowned scholars on this book, highly praising its contribution to China's carbon reduction policies.

Finally, Director Liu Zhi delivered a concluding speech for the sub-forum. He believes that while global attention to climate change and carbon neutrality is increasing, the road ahead remains challenging; Today's report and discussion have brought many new ideas and information, giving us a clearer understanding of the path to urban carbon neutrality; The wonderful sharing by the speakers, the intellectual exchanges at the roundtable forum, and the active participation of the online audience have filled us with confidence in the future path toward global carbon neutrality.

Contributions | Li Wenjing, Liu Jingyi, Tang Huizhen, Fang Jiawen, Li Shiyun, Xu Qingwen

Overall Composition | Liu Xiuying

Reviewed by Zhao Min