BEIJING – December 16, 2014 – GGGI and the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy (PRCEE) held a workshop on “Scoping the Green Growth Opportunities in China” in Beijing on December 16, 2014. The workshop is the final effort of a joint project between PRCEE and GGGI. The project team reviewed the status and progress of green growth in China, identified opportunities of green growth at national and sectoral level, and put forward a draft strategic framework for future collaboration between GGGI and Chinese counterparts.

The Workshop drew on the expertise and insights from a wide range of experts, including from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center, Energy Research Institute of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), UNEP, China Renmin University, Tsinghua University, The Nature Conservation (TNC), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), EU-China Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) and others.

Mr. Yuan Qingdan, the Deputy Director of PRCEE, moderated the workshop. Dr. Myung-Kyoon Lee, the Director of Knowledge Services Division of GGGI, spoke about the scoping program.

Workshop participants focused their discussion on key opportunities and priorities in green growth at national, sub-national, and sectoral levels. There was a general recognition that there is a big gap between different regions in China with regard to green growth and that it is even bigger than the gap between China and developed countries. At the sectoral level, significant opportunities exist in agriculture, energy, and architecture.

There was also a consensus among participants that it is no longer feasible for China to achieve its modernization target by simply continuing along the pathways previously taken by industrialized countries. China needs to work to explore a new paradigm to address its practical problems and contradictions in environment and development, to respond to the requirement of China’s commitment to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, and to improve its own economic competitiveness and sustainability globally.