The "2024 Innovation: Building a Sustainable Future Forum" has been held at the historic site of the Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education on the North Bund in Hongkou.
The event was a collaborative effort by the North Bund Group, Shanghai Climate Week Executive Committee, Tsinghua University Entrepreneurs Association, and the Imperial College London Alumni Association of Shanghai.
The Shanghai Climate Week aims to enhance multi-level societal participation in China’s "dual carbon" goals and share China's climate action stories with the world. The forum kicked off a 10-day countdown to Shanghai Climate Week.
The forum brought together top experts and industry leaders in carbon neutrality to discuss and envision the future of green development.
Lai Xiaoming, chairman of the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange, spoke on "Creating an Effective, Vibrant, and Internationally Influential Carbon Market to Serve the National Goals of Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality."
The exchange in Hongkou is designated as the national construction and operation organization for the carbon emissions trading system.
It is one of the initiators of Shanghai Climate Week and actively promotes the construction of China's carbon market while spreading green and low-carbon concepts throughout society and advancing international cooperation on climate change.
Alumni from Tsinghua and Imperial College shared their insights, and the forum featured two panel discussions on "Sustainable Development: Efforts and Challenges" and "ESG and Sustainable Development."
Hongkou is actively implementing the "dual carbon" strategy, aiming to establish the North Bund as a low-carbon development practice area and a new benchmark for green urban areas.
Green development will permeate every aspect of North Bund's development and construction, with Hongkou promoting ultra-low energy consumption and near-zero emissions projects throughout the area and planning central green axes and car-free zones in the North Bund core area.
The event focused on the practical application of ESG in the "dual carbon" era, playing a significant role in constructing a green, low-carbon, high-quality development pattern and establishing the North Bund as a highland for low-carbon industries.
North Bund will continue to deepen cooperation with all parties, actively promoting the research and application of green low-carbon technologies.
The forum marked the first alumni-level collaboration between Tsinghua University and Imperial College. Using the forum as a platform and alumni as a link, it aims to facilitate the landing of alumni enterprises and R&D institutions in Hongkou, establishing an alumni ESG business ecosystem and contributing to the development of new quality productive forces in Hongkou.