China Youth Daily client news (China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Zhang Yi) "The 'circle of friends' of green 'Belt and Road' international cooperation is getting bigger and bigger." Sun Jinlong, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said at the "Belt and Road" Green Innovation Conference held recently that so far, China has signed more than 200 "Belt and Road" cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations, all of which regard the joint construction of the Green Silk Road as an important content. China has also united with 31 countries to jointly launch the “One Belt, One Road” Green Development Partnership Initiative; and with 43 countries and more than 170 Chinese and foreign partners, it has jointly launched and established the “Belt and Road” Green Development International Alliance.

Sun Jinlong introduced that China has issued the "One Belt, One Road" Ecological and Environmental Protection Cooperation Plan and the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of Green "One Belt and One Road", which clarified the overall idea, main goals and key tasks of the green "One Belt and One Road" construction, and provided a roadmap and construction drawings for the continued promotion of the construction of the green Silk Road. It also released the "Guidelines for Ecological and Environmental Protection of Foreign Investment and Cooperation Construction Projects" to guide Chinese enterprises to strengthen ecological and environmental protection when designing and constructing projects, and to build a systematic and complete green "One Belt and One Road" policy system.

Chinese technologies and Chinese solutions are constantly being transformed into actions and results. Among them, small but beautiful projects such as the "African Light Belt" have helped solve the lighting problem of more than 50,000 households in Africa without electricity. In the desert of the United Arab Emirates, the average annual power generation of photovoltaic power stations built by Chinese companies can meet the electricity needs of 200,000 households, reducing carbon emissions by an average of 2.4 million tons annually. In Egypt, the central business district project undertaken by a Chinese company has adopted a number of energy-saving and environmentally friendly measures in project planning, architectural design, construction and other aspects. Once put into use, it will become the first net-zero carbon building in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sun Jinlong said that practice has fully proved that the "Belt and Road" is not only a road to economic prosperity, but also a road to green development. The green Belt and Road Initiative not only helps co-building countries enhance their endogenous motivation and capabilities for green development, but also provides an important carrier for developing countries to explore new paths for coordinated progress in development and protection.

The jointly built national environmental governance capabilities have been significantly improved. China implements the Green Silk Road Envoy Program and the "Belt and Road" South-South Cooperation Plan to Address Climate Change, providing and mobilizing 177 billion yuan in project funds to support developing countries in coping with climate change. The Kunming Biodiversity Fund established with funding has been put into formal operation, and the first batch of 9 projects supported has benefited 15 developing countries. China has signed cooperation and assistance agreements on climate change with 42 co-building countries, and has implemented more than 70 assistance projects of various types. It has held more than 300 training sessions for more than 120 developing countries, with a total of more than 10,000 people trained, helping relevant countries improve their environmental management level and ability to cope with climate change.

Regarding how to promote the green Belt and Road construction with high quality and help co-building countries accelerate the realization of green and low-carbon transformation goals, Sun Jinlong suggested that we should further strengthen dialogue and exchanges around climate change, biodiversity loss, plastic pollution and other aspects to jointly respond to global environmental crises; respond to the practical needs of developing countries in technology and capacity building, continue to expand cooperation in areas such as clean equipment, green technology, and ocean development, support green technology research and development and the application of advanced green technologies, and promote the formation of more replicable and promoteable practical results.

In addition, he proposed that investment and financing channels should be expanded, promote the construction of a more open, transparent, and inclusive green investment and financing system, form a green development-oriented development model and investment and financing mechanism, continuously enrich financial products and tools, further optimize the rational allocation of resources along the "Belt and Road", and stimulate the enthusiasm of all sectors of society to participate in the construction of the Green Silk Road.

Sun Jinlong also proposed to speed up the establishment of the international alliance for green development of the "Belt and Road" and scientifically prepare the medium and long-term development plan of the green "Belt and Road"; continue to improve the "Belt and Road" ecological and environmental protection big data service platform, strengthen the research on ecological and environmental protection laws and regulations and international rules; implement the Green Silk Road Envoy Plan, strengthen the interaction and exchange of environmental management personnel of the co-building countries, and increase the talent support for the green development of the "Belt and Road".

It is reported that the “Belt and Road” Green Innovation Conference, as an important international cooperation platform under the framework of the Green Silk Road construction, has been successfully held four times since its inception in 2019. With the theme of "Gathering Financing to Drive Green Development", nearly 300 guests from 38 countries attended the conference.