[2022 PAGE Academy] Accelerating the Transition to Inclusive Green Economy: Synergy between Pollution Control and Carbon Reduction

PAGE Academy ended successfully on 18 November. For a week, participants engaged online with experts and country representatives to talk about Green Economy & synergies between pollution control and carbon reduction. On this occasion, PAGE China, led by UNEP, celebrated its graduation ceremony in collaboration with the Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD), a partnership between UNEP and Tongji University based in Shanghai.

From 14th to 18th November, the 2022 PAGE Academy, with venues in China, Thailand and online, brought together Chinese governments at different levels, international organisations (UNEP, ILO, UNDP and UNIDO), academia, enterprises and over 200 participants from over 15 countries, alongside facilitating deliberations to transform economies into drivers of sustainability by reframing economic policies and practices.

Siddaharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator, Steven Stone, Deputy Director Economy Division UNEP and chair of the PAGE management board, and Professor Peiming Lyu, Executive Vice-President of Tongji University opened the academy. The launch session was moderated by Professor Zhiwei Wang, Dean of the College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University.

Siddharth Chatterjee said that the UN in China will continue to assist China in advancing the greening of the industry alongside stimulating the creation and development of the new green industry. Steven Stone recognised the achievement made by PAGE China from 2015. Professor Peiming Lyu emphasised Tongji’s commitment to promoting sustainable development with UNEP by founding the Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) in 2002.

The opening was also complemented with three keynotes.

Joy Kim, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Economic and Trade Policy Unit, UNEP, shared about UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative to Inclusive Green Economy. She illustrated the evolution of the green economy concept in the context of the United Nations since 2008. Specifically, she pointed out that, with PAGE’s assistance in macro-level policy monitoring, all cities in Jiangsu have made progress in green development. Led by UNEP and UNIDO, policy recommendations, including strategic planning, industrial policies, environmental protection and risk management, social security, and capacity building, have been suggested for China’s green industrial development. UNEP and ILO have also provided technical support for greening the textile sector in China, covering voluntary sustainability standards, non-tariff measures for the textile trade, clean production in the textile industry and more. See Keynote – Joy Kim

Min Shi, Director of the Science and Technology Cooperation Department, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, shared about the green and integrated development of the Yangtse River Delta. One of the highlights is Shanghai’s industrial restructuring; for example, more than 10,000 municipal industrial restructuring projects were completed in Jinshan, Taopu, Nanda, and Wujing Districts. Since 2010, Shanghai’s carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption per unit of GDP have been reduced by more than 50%. See Keynote – Min Shi

Cary Krosinsky, Yale College and Faculty Advisory Committee, Energy Studies, Yale University, shared about sustainable investing and the current state of sustainable finance. He emphasised the importance of policy- and country-level commitment to green transitions. However, it is more important to accelerate corporate and investment strategy implementation, combined with maximised innovation as possible in parallel, and build a global consensus to act. See keynote – Cary Krosinsky

Day 2

Professor Yutao Wang, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, elaborated carbon neutrality and circular bioeconomy. Mr Jorge Laguna Celis, Head of One Planet Network, UN Framework of Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Product (10YFP), shared about the acceleration of SDG 12 implementation and the New Global Strategy of sustainable consumption and production (SCP). He further talked about the key results for country implementation and regional support made by the One Planet Network in 2022, including inter-agency collaboration, working with sister initiatives (GO2SDGs and PAGE), and mainstreaming capacity for countries.

Llorenc Mila I Canals, Life Cycle Initiative, UNEP, introduced the new UNEA Resolution “End Plastic Pollution: Towards a legally binding instrument” that establishes an intergovernmental negotiating committee for developing the specific contents of the new plastic pollution treaty. He further talked about the life-cycle approach that addresses plastic pollution, emphasising that circularity in the economy is a critical part of the solution. Professor Ming Xu, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, talked about life cycle thinking and carbon neutrality from an academic angle. See keynote – Llorenc Mila I Canals

Day 3

On Day 3, Merlyn Van Voore, Head of Secretariat, International Resource Panel, UNEP, introduced sustainable resource management. Professor Qi Zhang, Dean and Academy of Chinese Energy Strategy, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, talked about the prospect of Carbon Neutrality in terms of technological advancement. Moderated by Ms Fei Leng, UNDP; Mr Peiyuan Guo, UNEP FI China Advisor; Ms Dongwen Hu, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, and Claire Potdevin, Economic and Trade Policy Unit, UNEP, discussed the role of green finance and fiscal policy in pollution control and carbon neutrality. Notably, Ms Claire Potdevin indicated the need to address complexity, fairness, social and political acceptability, and revenue dependency when using fiscal policies to address failures. See keynote – Claire Potdevin

Day 4

On Day 4, ILO organised the International Summit and Capacity Building Workshop on Green Development and Responsible Transformation for a Just Transition in the Textile and Garment Sector in China with China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). The event was held in a hybrid mode in Human Township, Guangdong Province.

Mr Qingqiu Wu, Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor of Humen; Ms Cao Xuejun, First Level Inspector of the Consumer Products Industry Department, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT); Mr SUN Ruizhe, President of China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), and Mr LEE Chang-Hee, PhD, Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, were invited for opening remarks.

In the first session regarding Just transition in the Textile and Garment Sector, Dr Cristina Martinez, Senior Specialist Environment & Decent Work, Asia-Pacific Coordinator Green Jobs & Just Transition, shared about carbon neutralisation and just transition in Asia Pacific, alongside ILO Just Transition Guidelines and its application. Dr Samantha Sharpe, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Future (ISF)/University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Convenor of the Textile Eco-innovation Research Network Asia (TERN), introduced ILO Just Transition Toolkit for the Textile and Garment Sector in Asia. Mr Youngmo Yoon, Senior Specialist in Social Dialogue & Industrial Relations at ILO, talked about the role of social dialogue in promoting a Just Transition.

In the second session regarding Local and enterprise-level policies and practices on promoting Just Transition in the Textile and Garment Sector, Mr Zuo Chao, Executive Deputy General Manager of Dongguan Bili Garment Co. Ltd, shared the experience and practice of green development and responsible transformation. Ms Youngran Hur, Programme Management Officer, Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (GO4SDGs), UNEP, examined the industry’s environmental, social, and economic impacts. Ms Tang Di, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Senior Policy Analyst, recommended China develop a Just Transition disclosure framework for enterprises.

For more details on the Summit, please visit the ILO website.

Day 5

On Day 5, Mr Abu Saieed, Green Industry Expert at UNIDO, introduced the Green Industry Progress (GIPro) Index for 18 Chinese Provinces, a pilot study ion applying the International Framework for Eco-Industrial Parks to four Jiangsu industrial parks in China, and the identifications of industrial symbiosis and synergy opportunities in Shanghai Hangzhou Bay Industrial Park. See keynote – Abu Saieed

Mr Hannes Mac Nulty, Senior Green Industry Advisor, Green Growth Knowledge Partnership, introduced I-GO Network that connects and empowers SME Stakeholders in the green industry. He further indicated that via a global library of resource efficiency knowledge and support services, resource efficiency checks, access to tailor support, feasibility study, benchmarking, and performance tracking, it is possible to overcome the communication gaps for greening industries. See keynote -Hannes Mac Nulty

In the closing ceremony, Mr Tim Scott, Policy Advisor and Member of PAGE Management Board, UNDP, and Professor Jiang Wu, Dean, IESD, concluded the PAGE Academy in China. This Academy successfully engaged key experts and country representatives to share their knowledge and experiences on Inclusive Green Economy, alongside diving into a special cross-cutting issue — synergy between pollution control and carbon reduction.