Reconstruct a safe, green and resilient future environment, and strengthen green and low-carbon science and technology cooperation

Bai Jie, a reporter from Southern Finance and Economics, reported in Guangzhou that "if one-fifth of the world's current fossil fuel energy consumption is replaced by biofuels, then about half of the world's agricultural and forest land will be consumed." This is the most concrete proof that climate change is closely linked to biodiversity. Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, former president of the University of Oslo in Norway and the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, said at the Sustainability Sub-Forum of the Greater Bay Area Science Forum 2021.

With the theme of "Reconstructing a Safe, Green and Resilient Future Environment", the just-concluded Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Science Forum invited academicians and experts from all over the world to discuss important topics such as environmental change and biodiversity conservation, carbon neutrality and industrial transformation.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has achieved initial results in pollution prevention, nature protection and the construction of cooperation systems, and further action is still needed in the future. "We hope to further strengthen the scientific and technological innovation construction with the Greater Bay Area in the big space of the 'Belt and Road', and achieve green, low-carbon and beautiful development through the joint efforts of everyone." Zhang Suojiang, director of the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

"Nature is at the heart of the biosphere and the key to its livability, from the material basis of health, food, water, energy, climate, livelihoods to more ethereal beauty and belonging, but when it comes to natural capital, many people don't know what we're talking about." Professor Gretchen Daily, a professor at Stanford and an academician of the American Academy of Sciences, said in the video that ecological protection is increasingly led by humans, and to what extent and where to protect it, and how to open up a green and inclusive development path while ensuring the safety of people and nature are important issues worth thinking about.

Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, who has long been involved in the ecology of global change and evolutionary biology, argues that climate change and biodiversity change are closely related to population growth and the overexploitation of natural resources, and that both must be balanced to solve the problem. "Next we need to conduct extensive interdisciplinary research that will lead to the sustainable management of the planet's natural resources."

He stressed the urgent need to establish a new joint United Nations group to integrate the work of THE IPCC and the Biodiversity Ecosystems Group. "This will activate important synergies between the research community and society, allowing us to seriously address the challenges we face today." All citizens and nations around the world should act. ”

After comparing the ecological construction level of some countries in Europe and the United States, Professor Gretchen Daily believes that China is at the forefront of the world in the construction of ecological civilization, ecological concepts and institutional development, and its ecosystem assessment can be extended to all countries.

In particular, she affirmed the new measure of ecosystem gross domestic product introduced by China. "This criterion, which is parallel to GDP, is more scientific and can tell people about the contribution that nature makes to the economy and society." The United Nations Statistical Commission has approved the standard for global use, and many countries have expressed support. ”

"We want to capitalize on this mainstreaming momentum to further innovate in science, shared language, thinking and methodology, and incorporate natural factors in all aspects of interest and day-to-day business operations, which will allow us to further promote and accelerate resource regeneration." Professor Gretchen Daily said the same thing.

For example, in addition to the use of institutional construction, achievement leadership, discipline linkage and other methods, Guangdong Chebaling National Nature Reserve (hereinafter referred to as "Chebaling") has achieved remarkable results in promoting ecological development by empowering ecological protection with science and technology.

Located in the Nanling Mountains, Chebaling is an ecological security barrier in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and was approved by UNESCO in 2007 to join the "World Biosphere Reserve", which is one of the 14 key areas for terrestrial biodiversity of international significance in China.

Since its establishment in 1981, the forest coverage rate has increased from 65% in the early days of the district to more than 96% now, "in the protected area, except for water sources, villagers' villages and farmland, the rest is forested." Shu Zufei, deputy director of the Guangdong Chebaling National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, said.

Che Baling has been taking scientific and technological innovation as the driving force to build a "sky-ground integration" scientific research comprehensive monitoring technology system and integrated information service system, using infrared cameras for field grid monitoring construction, and through independent research and development to build the first wildlife monitoring 700M network base station in Guangdong Province, to achieve real-time image upload, cloud storage, automatic cleaning, intelligent identification and correlation analysis and other functions.

In 2021, Chebaling discovered a total of 150 new species through scientific and technological means. At the same time, the value of ecosystem services GEP maintains a stable output of about 200 million yuan per year, and the GEP of Chebaling soared from 190 million yuan in 1987 to 220 million yuan in 2020.

"The demonstration role of Chebaling is inseparable from government policy support, financial support and technical support from the expert team, and I believe that the future high-tech monitoring results can be transformed into education, driving the learning of primary and secondary school students in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, while valuing the assets of the protected area, and promoting rural revitalization and green food development." Shu Zufei told the Southern Finance and Economics all-media reporter.

Continue to strengthen cooperation with the "Belt and Road" countries in green technology, and promote the incubation and transfer of scientific and technological achievements.

Protecting ecological diversity complements the realization of the "double carbon" goal, and the two jointly promote the construction of ecological civilization and ensure sustainable development.

"Judging from China's carbon peak carbon neutrality timetable, China will achieve carbon peaking by 2030, and if it wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, it needs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7.5 billion tons." Zhang Suojiang said, "The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has the largest petrochemical industry cluster in the country, and is currently ushering in low-carbon development and change, with a total investment of 215 billion yuan and an output value of 156.2 billion yuan, and will break through the trillion scale through technological upgrading planning in the future." ”

The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area proposes to promote the intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry in the Greater Bay Area and promote the construction of a green development demonstration zone. The in-depth promotion of the "Belt and Road" construction has opened up new space for enhancing the international influence of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and participating in international cooperation and competition at a higher level.

The "Belt and Road" countries have rich natural resources, such as the central region has rich fossil resources and mineral resources, West Asia can be rich in chemical resources, solar energy, Southeast Asia into rich biological resources and solar energy resources, so the development of green and low-carbon technology has great potential.

Zhang Suojiang believes that green and low-carbon technologies are crucial, "We have carried out a series of cooperation in biomass utilization, solar energy and CO2, fossil energy and minerals, and anti-epidemic in combination with the resource advantages of the 'Belt and Road' countries." ”

Global PET production in 2020 is 78.2 million tonnes, which means that bio-PEF will have a very large market and development potential if it can replace PET. Zhang Suojiang's team has adopted the ionic liquid method to help the traditional textile industry achieve a green transformation by using low corrosion, no waste emissions, controllable dissolution and other characteristics.

For example, considering that most of the "Belt and Road" countries are located in a tropical monsoon climate, hot all year round, and the existing mask protective clothing is suffocating and breathable, Zhang Suojiang's team has developed a cool mask that can quickly absorb heat in the mask, reduce the body temperature, and improve wearing comfort.

Speaking of the prospect of future cooperation, he believes that it is necessary to fully investigate the technological needs of the "Belt and Road" countries, continue to strengthen cooperation with the "Belt and Road" countries in green technology, and promote the incubation and transfer of scientific and technological achievements.

"We will actively promote the transformation and upgrading and transfer and transformation of green and low-carbon technologies in our respective fields, and hope to further strengthen the scientific and technological innovation construction with the Greater Bay Area in the 'Belt and Road' space, and strive to build a green and low-carbon technology pilot demonstration zone in the Greater Bay Area, achieve green, low-carbon and beautiful development, and contribute to improving the common living environment." Zhang Suojiang said.

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