PR Newswire
A report from China Daily
As nations prepare for COP30, Baoting Li and Miao autonomous county in Hainan province is positioning itself as a model for local climate action.
At a conference centered around Hainan's participation in the COP process, held Monday through Tuesday in Baoting, over 100 representatives from international organizations, governments, research institutions, and companies gathered to discuss turning climate pledges into practice.
The conference highlighted Baoting's initiatives of the Hainan Free Trade Port, a UN Development Programme on green and digital innovation, and a World Health Organization-led project on the health benefits of climate action. The autonomous county proposed a plan to reduce its carbon footprint.
China's former special envoy for climate, Xie Zhenhua, stated in a speech that Baoting's practical cooperation with European partners will not only advance its own sustainable development and help Hainan achieve its goals of becoming a free trade port and a low-carbon island, but also offer a localized solution to global zero-carbon development.
Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation and special envoy to Europe for COP30, stressed that meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement requires action at the local level. She praised Baoting as an inspiring example because of its multi-stakeholder collaborations. She also mentioned that Hainan's experience could serve as a useful model for other island economies.
Baoting's Party secretary, Mu Kerui, shared innovative approaches to developing urban climate resilience in coastal and island regions. One example is the China-EU (Baoting) Green and Digital Innovation Zone, launched in December, which serves as a testing ground for collaboration on green technology, digital carbon management, and the expanding field of climate-health science.
Qiao Jie, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and executive vice president of Peking University, discussed using AI to address climate change and promote reproductive health. She proposed that a Baoting cooperation zone could offer a new model for life-cycle health management in response to the global climate crisis.
Yuan Feng, vice dean of the College of Architecture & Urban Planning at Tongji University, introduced the concept of using smart buildings to help build Baoting into a global demonstration site for climate therapy and health.
Jonas Tornblom, founding chair of the Sweden-China Green-Tech Alliance and co-director of the China-Europe Innovation Center for Sustainable Development, announced that the center would support Baoting by focusing on mutual recognition of carbon standards, digital twins, green finance, the blue economy, and health and low-carbon development.
As COP30 approaches in November, the small island county is translating China's national climate commitments into a local "construction blueprint". Driven by a strategy that combines artificial intelligence, zero-carbon goals, and proactive health initiatives, it is showcasing China's first county-level implementation of climate actions, offering a replicable model for other Global South nations and cities.
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