Acting Chief Executive Sonia Chan Hoi Fan said Thursday that Macau as one of the core cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), apart from promoting the adequate diversification of its economy, ecological civilisation construction was the “only way” to achieve sustainable development.
Chan made the remarks while delivering her welcoming speech during the opening ceremony of the three-day 12th Macau International Environmental Cooperation Forum and Exhibition (2019 MIECF) at the Venetian in Cotai.
The three-day event will end Saturday .
Chan referred to what President Xi Jinping said before about ecological civilization construction: “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”.
Chan also said that the local government has always regarded building ecological civilization as the focus of its governance, adding that the local government was determined to work on “transforming Macau into a low carbon centre, and creating an ecological life”.
She pledged that Macau would contribute to local and regional sustainable development.
Chan also stressed that Macau aimed to exercise its “link effect” through the MIECF communication platform, to promote regional and international communication about environmental protection cooperation and ecological civilisation construction, with special emphasis on the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and the GBA.
Science and Technology Minister Wang Zhigang said that China, as a responsible developing country, was becoming a “participant, contributor and leader” in the world’s sustainable development, adding that the central government has included “eco-friendly technologies and recycling resources with high efficiency” into its national technological innovation plan.
According to the MIECF official website, this year’s fair has been joined by more than 500 exhibitors, most of them from the mainland, countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), European nations, and Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs).
The website points out that the 2019 MIECF is a combination of eight “Green Forums” and the “Green Showcase”.
New Energy Finance founder-cum-Bloomberg New Energy Finance former chairman of the advisory board Michael Liebreich was yesterday’s keynote speaker.
He talked about how the green economy and industrial upgrading could support urban sustainable development.
At this afternoon’s Special Session, Liebreich will have closer interaction with participants and share his view on the state of the green industry.
Saturday is the fair’s Green Public Day, when the “Green Showcase” is open to the public free of charge, allowing the general public to gain a better understanding of environmental protection around the world, apart from displaying the latest information and technologies on environmental protection.
Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On was unable to address this year’s MIECF opening ceremony as he was attending the opening ceremony of the 2019 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan province which was being held at the same time.
An article by Xi on building an ecological civilization was published in the Qiushi Journal on February 1. The bi-monthly political theory periodical is published by the Central Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
In the article, Xi demanded the coordination of economic and social development and the building of ecological civilization.
The people’s aspirations and needs should be responded to in an active manner so as to meet their ever-growing demands for a beautiful environment, Xi writes.
Xi orders concrete efforts to control pollution, promote green development, contain environmental risks and improve governance on environment issues.
The president stressed the need to enhance the party’s leadership to win the battle of pollution prevention and control.(Macaunews)
