It is a great pleasure and honor to have guests coming from afar to gather on this time-honored land of Changsha, Hunan, China. The International Cooperation Forum on Resources and Environment, 2009 was successfully held on the Orange Islet of Changsha yesterday. Huang Mengfu, vice president of National Committee of the CPPCC and chairman of All-China Federation of Commerce and Industry, declared open the Forum. Wang Zhongyu, former vice president of National Committee of the CPPCC and chairman of the China Enterprise Federation attended the opening ceremony and made a speech, while Zhang Chunxian, secretary of Hunan Provincial Committee of the CPC and director of the Standing Committee of Hunan Provincial People’s Congress, and Zhou Shengxian, minister of Environmental Protection Administration of the People’s Republic of China, addressed the opening ceremony. Zhou Qiang, deputy secretary of Hunan Provincial CPC Committee and governor of Hunan Province presided over the opening ceremony. Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and executive director of UN Environment Programme (UNEP), sent his messages of greetings to the Forum.
Hunan Governor Zhou Qiang Presided over the Opening Ceremony
This international forum is sponsored by Hunan Provincial People’s Government, Ministry of Environmental Protection of PRC, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, China Society for Promotion of the Guangcai Program and China Enterprise Confederation, co-sponsored by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and United Nations Global Compact Office. The Subject Words of the Forum is OUR WORLD, OUR LIFE.
At 9 a.m., Huang Mengfu declared open the Forum, followed by the launch of the forum symbol——the Sundial of the World by nine representatives from government, the general public and enterprises.
Huang Mengfu Declared Open the Forum
Wang Zhongyu said in the forum that environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction as well as the sustainable development are common subjects mankind is faced with. Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy developed rapidly and has scored tremendous achievements, but meantime it also pays a lot for the over-consumption of resources and the harm done to the environment. Therefore, the Chinese government put forward the scientific outlook on development, which focuses on the people and regards energy conservation and emission reduction as an important yardstick to examine the economic development, and has established restrictive indexes in the 11th Five-Year Plan to decrease resource consumption by 20% and the major pollutant discharge by 10%. From the statistics in the recent 3 years, the tendency of high resource consumption and pollutant discharge has been effectively curbed, but there is still a long way to go before we can realize the goal set in the 11th Five-Year Plan.
Wang Zhongyu Delivers a Speech in the Opening Ceremony
The global financial crisis has made great impact on the world’s economy, including China’s. As for enterprises, it is very necessary to actively conduct the transformation and upgrading of economic modes with firm confidence. In the progress of safeguarding economic growth and coping with the financial crisis, enterprises should always keep their social responsibility in mind, and not to make energy protection and sustainable development the victim of the struggle out of this crisis. The old path of high energy consumption and severe pollution, as well as the low-level redundant and repeated construction must be avoided. The idea of sustainable development should be applied to every level, field and aspect of the business administration and operation to maintain good image of enterprises, a link in the ecological system, and consciously maintain its balance with nature and other social groups.
As Wang summed, it is our common pursuit to construct a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society. Environmental protection is a grand cause related to the sustainable development of mankind. We should take on the responsibility to construct and maintain our homeland, keep to the scientific outlook for development and find out a new way to build a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society.
Secretary Zhang Chunxian thanked relevant organizations and ministries such as UNEP and the Environmental Protection Administration of China in his address for their support to the environmental protection cause of Hunan. As Zhang said, the global financial crisis could not see its bottom now, and we met on the Orange Islet to discuss such general issues as resource-conservation and environment-friendliness, as well as measures to handle the economic crisis and to build our better homeland so as to realize sustainable development. Hunan boasts picturesque scenery, abundant natural resources and profound cultural deposits. Scientific development will make life better as long as we keep to the scientific outlook on development, and actively propel the construction of ‘Two-oriented’ society featured by resource conservation and environment-friendliness.
Secretary Zhang Chunxian Addresses the Forum
As Secretary Zhang said, Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan comprise a distinct city cluster, and the approval of them as a state pilot area for constructing the resource-saving and environment-friendly society at the end of 2007 is a strategic decision of Chinese government. It is also a significant strategy of Hunan to achieve sustainable development and to shoulder that responsibility. Hunan will actively conduct the innovation and reform to speed up the progress of new-type industrialization and urbanization, building CZT city cluster into a livable city cluster featured by modern ecology and international high qualities as well as strong regional competitiveness, which can also offer precious experience to the ‘Two-oriented’ society construction in other parts of China, said Zhang.
As Zhou Shengxian mentioned, the ‘Two-oriented’ society construction is a groundbreaking undertaking, which requires the whole society to cherish the concept of ecological culture and respect the law of nature, change the out-dated mode of development nto an environment-friendly mode of production and consumption, and make sure that the socioeconomic development is within the ecologic capacity of nature so as to promote the harmonious relationship between mankind and nature.
On the opening ceremony, Huang Mengfu, Wang Zhongyu, Zhang Chunxian, Zhou Shengxian etc., unveiled the stele inscribed with the Xiangjiang Declaration. Zhou Shengxian and Zhou Qiang, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Administration of the PRC and Hunan Provincial People’s Government respectively, signed the Cooperative Agreement on the Construction of ‘Two-oriented’ Society in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster.
Unveiling the Stele Inscribed with the Xiangjiang Declaration
Right after the opening ceremony, the plenary forum on ‘Building a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society’ was held, presided over by Mr. Chai Szu Kiang, chairman of the Peking University Environment Fund. Mr. Zhou Qiang, the Hon. Maurice Strong, Mr. Qǔ Geping, Mr. Martin Khor, Dr. Michael Pulch, Mr. Oltmann G. Siemens, Mr. Laurence Bloom, Mr. Zhou Zhongshu and Mr. Ding Zhongzhi etc. addressed the forum in turn.
As Governor Zhou Qiang said, it is of great significance to propel the construction of ‘Two-oriented’ society in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan (CZT) city cluster. Hunan will stick to the notion of ‘environment-friendliness and resource-conservation’, concentrating on key projects to build the CZT pilot zone in an all-round way. Five pillar projects will be initiated, while the infrastructure construction of the CZT city cluster shall be intensified. Hunan Province plans to lay emphases on the construction of inter-city traffic artery in the CZT city cluster so as to form a connective network liking the north and the south among cities. Besides, high-end, hi-tech, resource-saving and environment-friendly industries as well as large-scale industries will be vigorously promoted. And the ecological construction of Hunan is also emphasized. Governor Zhou said, Hunan will conduct bold reforms and practices, creating sound environment to attract advanced elements including resources, technology, expertise etc., to Hunan, and is very willing to share and exchange the experience of the ‘Two-oriented’ society with the whole world.
On the afternoon, two parallel sub-sessions run at the same time in the Hunan International Convention & Exhibition Center Hotel, i.e., the Sub-session of Environmental-friendly Technology & Industry and the Sub-session of Energy Saving, Pollution Reduction and Corporate Responsibility, followed by a signing and closing ceremony in the Joyous City there. A series of projects are signed, and four cities of Hunan, i.e. Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan and Yiyang, as well as six enterprises are included into the UN Global Compact. Mr. George Kell, executive director of the UN’s Global Compact Office, issued the certificates of membership to the UN Global Compact to the four cities and six enterprises of Hunan. Another warm part of the closing ceremony is the awarding ceremony for the winners in Hunan Children’s Painting Competition on Environmental Protection. The Hon. Maurice Strong and other distinguished guests awarded the prizes to those lovely children.
Two Sub-sessions Held at the Same Time
Closing Ceremony
Awarding Ceremony of the Hunan Children’s Painting
Competition on Environmental Protection.
Finally, Hu Deping, on behalf of the Sponsors, summed that the earth is our sole homeland, so to conserve resources and protect the environment should be our duty-bound responsibility. As Hu said, this forum is a great starting point for us to join hands together and transform our confidence and determination into practical actions in order to build a resource-saving and environment-friendly society.
Hu Deping Addresses the Closing Ceremony on behalf of the Sponsors
Source: http://www.hnswtzb.org/
Editor: Chinese: Bai Shi, Ma Bi
Picture: Yu Ning
English: Qiu Xian
