Former UN official calls on companies to invest in other countries' markets

Erik Solheim, a former United Nations deputy secretary-general, said delegates to the annual two sessions should discuss how to create a global framework for renewables and green technology.

Solheim, who has been visiting China for decades, has witnessed the country's rapid transition to a green, sustainable economy.

"China is a superpower of renewables and a superpower of green development in the world," he said.

A former executive director of the UN Environment Programme, Solheim said he was deeply impressed that China has invested $900 billion in renewables, equivalent to Turkiye's annual GDP. He cited figures that China accounted for 60 percent of new wind capacity and about 60 percent of newly installed solar power capacity in the world last year.

China also accounts for 60 percent of electric car sales in the world and has six of the top 10 EV battery makers. In addition, Ningde in Fujian province, is home to the world's largest EV battery manufacturer, CATL, which Solheim visited last year.

He said China's green efforts have set a good example for the world, adding that China "can inspire others to go green faster".

"There is no way that the world can go green without China," he said.

The former Norwegian politician said European companies want to be competitive in the Chinese market, and vice-versa, so it's important for delegates to the two sessions to look at how to achieve these goals. Besides Europe, Solheim suggests Chinese companies invest in Brazil, the Middle East, India and other countries and regions to share its green technology and benefits.

He dismissed the accusation that China's advantage in EVs is due to government subsidies. "It's simply that China made a strategic decision to leapfrog from the traditional car industry to the electric ones," he said, adding that happened while Europeans and American automakers were sleeping. "So no one should blame China."

He said other automakers should learn from Chinese companies and move faster in that direction. To Solheim, the elephant in the room is the continuation of subsidies for fossil fuels.

According to a 2023 report by Climate Action Network Europe, fossil fuel subsidies in the European Union have been on the rise, due to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which have directly hindered efforts to transition to 100 percent renewable energy.

"That's the big issue," he said.

Solheim said China can also inspire others as "a leader on green protection", citing the nation's massive national park system. He praised President Xi Jinping's initiative to build a "Beautiful China".

He said many Chinese cities such as Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Kunming in Yunnan province have seen huge success in greening their cities. "That kind of development can also be showcased to the world, for the world to see and be inspired," he said.

He is optimistic about China's pledge to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060, saying that China may actually peak its emissions by 2025 or even earlier.