The “2023 Industry Green Development Conference” was held on 1 June 2023 in Guangzhou city, China, co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT), the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Guangzhou Municipal Government. Mr. Ciyong Zou, Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director of UNIDO delivered a keynote speech at the main forum entitled “Promoting Green Transformation and Upgrading to Accelerate Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization.”

Nowadays, the world is facing three major interconnected crises: climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. UNIDO data show that industrialization is one of the most important drivers of resilience face to both climatic and economic crises. Mr. Zou emphasized that, more than ever, policy makers were called to urgently design bold industrial policies to achieve green and sustainable industrial development and carbon neutrality. “We need to provide strategic directions and guidance to industries, firms, and institutions, set clear targets and create incentives to trigger the green transition, invest in research and development in the green industry, and create a predictable business environment that would allow firms and investors to grow, foster productivity and create jobs, while achieving climate targets.”

Mr. Zou stressed that industrialization and climate change mitigation are not necessarily rivals, but they need to go hand in hand. UNIDO will organize the 2023 International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum in November to facilitate solutions for advancing sustainable development in the energy domain and contribute to global climate action. To develop green hydrogen, UNIDO and the Beijing Municipal Government established the International Hydrogen Energy Centre (IHEC) in Beijing, producing hydrogen fuel demonstration products. UNIDO focused on clean energy transition and is seeking to accelerate the commercialization of innovative clean energy technologies by launching related programme. UNIDO stands ready to work on environmental protection and is now helping governments for a just circular economy transition and a sustainable management of natural resources through the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency.

The theme of this year’s conference goes: “Accelerating green and low-carbon Industrial transformation for high-quality economic development”. The conference brought together more than 10 international organizations, foreign government officials, ambassadors in China, more than 20 enterprises from Fortune Global 500, as well as multinational enterprises, to share the new trend, new opportunity and new practice of green industrial development. Mr. Guobin Xin, Vice-Minister of MIIT attended and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. Mr. Zhiguo Zhao, Chief Engineer of MIIT, presided over the opening ceremony.