east-west question｜john lougheed: my opinion on the world's joint efforts to promote green, low-carbon and sustainable development
2024-09-26
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hangzhou, china news service, september 26, title: my opinion on the world's joint efforts to promote green, low-carbon and sustainable development
——exclusive interview with john lougheed, foreign academician of the chinese academy of engineering
author: bao mengni
in september 2015, the united nations adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, which set goals such as ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, reliable and sustainable modern energy. in this process, what can china bring to the world? how can the world work together to create a green, clean and sustainable world? recently, john lougheed, a foreign academician of the chinese academy of engineering, a fellow of the royal academy of engineering of the united kingdom, and a fellow of the australian academy of engineering, accepted an exclusive interview with china news service's "east-west questions".
the following is a summary of the interview transcript:
china news service: why should the world work together to achieve green, low-carbon and sustainable development? what challenges has the world encountered in this process?
john lougheed:over the past decade, humanity has realized that the challenge is far more difficult than imagined. there is now a global scientific consensus that humanity needs to take action faster than ever before to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the scale of global warming.
the fate of mankind is shared. if a country emits excessive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it will affect other countries. as a british proverb says, "two heads are better than one (there is strength in numbers)". carbon reduction requires international cooperation to study more solutions to quickly respond to larger-scale problems. this does not require each country to develop the same application alone, but to exchange and make up for the knowledge and technology needed in each process.
globally, economic competition and political differences still exist, and countries cannot move in unison. although many countries have announced greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and sought to achieve win-win cooperation, many problems still need to be solved at the practical level.
on november 30, 2023, the opening ceremony of the china corner of the 28th conference of the parties to the united nations framework convention on climate change (cop28) and the side event of "ecological civilization and beautiful china practice" were held in dubai. photo by han haidan, a reporter from china news service
one is that the innovation and research funding systems of various countries are different, including funding structures, approval processes, time spans, etc., which requires finding ways to be compatible with various systems and work together synchronously. for example, in the field of nuclear fusion, some countries jointly launched the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (iter) project to develop a nuclear demonstration system. the difficulty lies in what kind of framework to establish for different countries to jointly build and operate. it is worth mentioning that after successfully cooperating on multiple scientific research projects, china and the united kingdom have gradually worked out how to unify their pace through a common collaboration procedure.
the second is the fairness of benefits. the partners need to determine the equity interests and reach an agreement before they are willing to cooperate. otherwise, there may be problems such as one country believing that the information involves sensitive issues and refusing to open it.
it must be acknowledged that international cooperation is only a small part of any country's efforts, and each country is more concerned about its own development. the biggest challenge is to find areas that meet the interests of all parties and achieve a win-win situation. the difficulty is not what you want to do, but to make a practical plan that can be implemented.
china news service: in the field of energy, how should countries establish a more efficient multilateral mechanism for international cooperation?
john lougheed:the existing energy transformation solutions in the world are similar, but they have their own advantages in meeting the specific needs of each country. although new discoveries and inventions are rare, many people have done a lot of meticulous work in perfecting, developing and improving solutions. for example, researchers are now considering applying ai to energy system optimization and planning, so that user behavior can be associated with the control system.
every small step of progress is valuable to all mankind, and communication provides the possibility of "amplifying progress". the multilateral mechanism of international cooperation is undoubtedly a platform for all countries to work together.
in order to build a more effective multilateral mechanism for international cooperation, i think there are two aspects that need attention. on the one hand, it is about communication and promotion. we should publicize the cooperation platform that has been built and be open about what we have done and the research results. on the other hand, we should establish a reasonable access mechanism to allow more knowledgeable people to join. at the same time, the goals of cooperation need to be precise and focused, rather than too broad.
china news service: 12 years ago, you said in an interview with china news service that china and the uk could strengthen in-depth cooperation in the energy field. what achievements have the two countries made in the energy field now? what is the future direction of cooperation between the two countries?
john lougheed:in 2012, i was invited by the british consulate general in chongqing to visit guizhou to exchange ideas with local energy companies. during this trip, i found that the uk and china have a lot in common and room for cooperation in the use of new and old energy.
in 2013, the china-uk (guangdong) ccus (ccuc, carbon capture, utilization and storage) center was established. this institution carried out cooperation in the mode of the uk providing theoretical guidance and planning and the chinese side building demonstration projects.
after the outbreak, it became difficult for people to move around, and face-to-face negotiations between the two countries were suspended. however, exchanges between the two countries at the government level and at the individual scholar level continued, focusing mainly on future energy systems based on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy. these renewable energy sources have put forward new requirements for control systems, energy storage systems, and user integration in energy system control. now, with the joint efforts of the uk and china, more and more results are being made public.
this year, the uk and china have had very close exchanges. earlier this year, the two embassies invited british researchers and companies to visit china and attend seminars to share practical and useful experiences related to energy. not long after, i participated in an industrial carbon reduction exchange event in beijing to help three provinces in china develop carbon reduction solutions. in addition, the guangzhou institute of energy conservation of the chinese academy of sciences is studying industrial decarbonization in the pearl river delta region, and i mainly provide them with expertise in carbon capture and storage, as well as advice on related strategy formulation.
now china has clearly proposed the goals of "carbon peak" in 2030 and "carbon neutrality" in 2060, and the uk has also proposed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. the need for energy cooperation between the two countries is more urgent. as i said 12 years ago, china and the uk have rich experience and should learn from each other. for example, china's photovoltaic industrialization has led to lower photovoltaic prices, which in turn has led to lower photovoltaic application costs around the world. china is also the source of solar photovoltaic panels for the uk during its low-carbon transition period. in terms of policy, management, analysis and target setting, the uk has many experiences that are applicable to china. china's economic scale, especially in the energy sector, is huge and can deploy projects on a larger scale.
we can do much more in the future. although a developing country, china is not inferior in the field of scientific research, especially in supporting disruptive and creative scientific research activities. i believe that china has the ability to develop new energy technologies and provide them to other countries, and the uk's significant scientific and technological innovation capabilities and direct experience in low-carbon transition management can complement it. in the academic field, a certain authorization framework can be provided at the national level to allow individual researchers to find (other countries) researchers with common interests and strengthen exchanges.
china news service: historically, britain's path to industrialization was "pollution first, governance later". china, on the other hand, has gradually explored the path of development of "clear waters and green mountains are gold and silver mountains" over the past two decades. how do you evaluate these two concepts and paths?
john lougheed:more than 200 years ago, britain did not realize that industrial development would harm the environment. it was not until more than 50 years ago that people realized that extensive development had an impact on carbon dioxide emissions, biodiversity, and population health. at first, everyone thought that pollution was inevitable with development. but with the emergence of new technologies, people's environmental awareness has continued to improve, and they know that different approaches should be taken to deal with the relationship between development and environmental protection. therefore, britain is developing new energy power generation applications to reduce the consumption of fossil energy such as coal as much as possible.
this process is not as simple as just switching from a coal-fired power plant to a wind farm. in the uk, public participation is key to any change. changing people's mindsets is difficult. whether it's the way you heat your home or the choice between a petrol car or an electric car, it all comes down to personal choice.
based on different national conditions and social cultures, the chinese are very proactive and willing to change. for example, the popularity and speed of electric vehicles in china are astonishing, which is completely different from that in the uk.
in the field of ideology, the theory that "green water and green mountains are gold and silver mountains" shows that a good ecological environment is both natural wealth and economic wealth, and it is short-sighted to damage the environment for the sake of economic development.
next year will be the 20th anniversary of the concept of "green water and green mountains are gold and silver mountains". huzhou, zhejiang is the birthplace of this concept. when i attended the 2024 green and low-carbon innovation conference in huzhou this year, i felt that the city attached great importance to green carbon reduction. the local government hopes to obtain intellectual support from top experts through the conference to formulate a strategic plan that is more in line with the goal of low-carbon development. i am very happy to see a vivid portrayal of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature here.
on august 15, the 2024 green and low-carbon innovation conference was held in huzhou, zhejiang, with john lougheed delivering a keynote speech. photo courtesy of zhejiang association for science and technology
china news service: how do you evaluate china's low-carbon energy development model?
john lougheed:whether it was 10 or 15 years ago when china was more concerned about the energy demand for economic and industrial development, or the current plans based on the carbon neutrality goal, these are in line with national conditions.
the international energy agency's world energy investment 2024 shows that china accounts for one-third of global clean energy investment. at the same time, china has the world's largest hydropower generation capacity. in terms of the scale of clean energy development, china ranks among the top in the world.
china has a vast territory and huge differences among regions. in response to the "dual carbon" goal, china has built a "1+n" policy system, which includes national-level global climate governance policies and policies representing various regions and industries. it is a remarkable strategy to comprehensively carry out multi-field and multi-level collaborative innovation and encourage customized design solutions for various regions.
although china has a clear understanding of the problems and challenges, there is still room for improvement in clarifying the carbon neutrality "roadmap". since carbon neutrality involves structural changes in the economy and society, it is necessary to make society understand the benefits of this move. therefore, china should have a more detailed plan to study the speed at which carbon emissions can be reduced at a specific time and in a specific field, which will put forward more specific goals for the development of industrial technology. (end)
about the interviewee:
john lougheed. photo by wu junyi
john loughead is a foreign academician of the chinese academy of engineering, a fellow of the royal academy of engineering, and a fellow of the australian academy of engineering. he is a professor at the university of birmingham, uk, former chief scientific adviser to the uk department of energy and climate change and the uk department of business, energy and industrial strategy, former chairman of the steering committee of the ministerial global cooperation mechanism of the "innovation mission" of the paris agreement, and former president of the uk industrial technology institution. he mainly engages in research on power systems, energy strategy, industrial policy, etc.
