On a visit to China I held a series of strategic dialogues with senior representatives of government on governance systems to tackle pollution; with potential private sector partners on innovation in urban service delivery; and with university students on research for the environment. I congratulated Minister Li Ganjie, Minister of Ecology and Environment, on his new role in taking forward green development and environmental protection in the country.
I paid a visit to the Zhejiang province where the ‘River Chief’s model put in place 10 years ago, is now demonstrating outstanding results. Each river chief, a government official is assigned a particular stretch of river to keep clean. Their names and contact details are displayed near their stretch, so people can share feedback. This accountability mechanism is accompanied by innovative technology which has helped waste management in the area. The Zhejiang Vice-Governor summed it up well saying success could be attributed to: political will; philosophy of ‘Green is Gold’; and public awareness and participation.
I was delighted to launch the Young Champions of the Earth competition for China. This marks the first country edition of our global prize to recognize the world’s best, young innovators for the environment. Funded by Social media giant Weibo, the programme will attract hundreds of young people with great ideas and provide seed funding, to scale these ideas. I also held meetings with private sector leaders including DiDi to explore broader partnerships with UN Environment on mobility and smart cities.
