AMNC24: What to know about climate, nature and energy
One of six key pillars of AMNC24 is 'Connecting Climate, Nature and Energy'. Image: Denys/Unsplash
- Public and private sector leaders will gather in Dalian, People's Republic of China, for the Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC24) from 25-27 June.
- One of six key pillars of the meeting is 'Connecting Climate, Nature and Energy'.
- Follow live coverage and curated insights from the meeting.
Experts maintain that combatting the climate crisis requires a systemic and holistic approach, combining efforts to tackle climate change and protect nature.
Moreover, while progress has been made in transitioning to cleaner energy sources, experts emphasize the need for increased investment and action to meet climate goals. Emerging markets, in particular, face a significant investment gap of $2.2 trillion for the energy transition and are disproportionately affected by climate change impacts.
As the World Economic Forum's latest edition of the Energy Transition Index notes, the "speed and trajectory of the global energy transition are now more important than ever."
Connecting climate, nature and energy will be major topic of discussion at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, taking place from 25-27 June.
The meeting will bring together leaders from business, government, civil society and international organizations to explore this topic and more.
One of the Co-Chairs of AMNC, André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Roche Holding Ltd, set the tone in a press conference introducing the Co-Chairs:
“If we want to create sustainable prosperity we are going to have to protect life because life supports us, and if we don't support life, we are going to disappear. It sounds a little bit like science fiction, but it isn't.
"We are seeing the limit to the system more and more. If our growth is not contained within planetary limits, we are just going to outgrow the system, and that's not going to be beneficial in the long term.”
AMNC24 Key sessions
All times are CST (GMT+8)
25 June
As progress on the global energy transition is hit by geopolitical and economic winds, what will 2024 hold for energy across the globe?
Zeng Yuqun, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) joined Wen Shugang, Chairman, China Huaneng Group; Paul Gruenwald, Global Chief Economist, S&P Global and Hu Min, Executive Director and Founder, Institute for Global Decarbonization Progress (iGDP) to discuss how secure, sustainable, affordable energy can be delivered to everyone - while transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
"There's enough money or what we call 'dry powder' in the world to finance the energy transition. We just need to unlock that and get it to the countries that need it," said Gruenwald, adding that "the climate is a global public good".
"With the advancement of technology and with the efforts made, the energy transition will drive forward economic growth and also ensure a secure supply of clean energy for the society and for the economy, contributing to the wellbeing of the people," said Wen.
The world's top emitters of carbon dioxide will play vital roles in effectively implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. As we look towards COP29, where will cooperation be possible?
Liu Zhenmin, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change, joined Kim Sang-Hyup
Co-Chairperson, Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth, Korea, and Julie Zimmerman, Vice-Provost, Planetary Solutions, Yale University to discuss.
Liu said the cooperation between China and the US on climate change since 2013 has been "roughly good". He said the two countries have set out four pillars to work on: the energy transition, reduction of methane and other non-CO2 gases, the circular carbon economy and cooperation among all levels of government and institutions.
Catch up on the full session below.
As temperatures rise, so does the likelihood of extreme weather events.
The UNHCR's Hai Kyung Jun, Director for Asia and the Pacific, joined Veronica Scotti, Chairperson, Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re Management Ltd and Amanda Leland, Executive Director, Environmental Defense Fund, to discuss how leaders can work together to tackle the humanitarian challenges that arise from such events and also build resilience.
"Extreme weather is where climate change hits home for all of us," said Leland. "Floods, extreme heat, hurricanes, storms, wildfires are becoming more normalized in everyday life... this reality is actually reshuffling the way the world is and how it operates and how we need to think about it and how we need to plan for the future."
She said 15 plants account for 90% of the calories we intake from plants today.
"We need to create a food system that's going to be resilient and recognize that there's already warming happening."
Jun said there are around 120 million people in the world who have had to leave their homes because of persecution or conflicts: "Climate change actually is compounding their difficulties because lack of resources, lack of water makes conflict [worse] and leads to more people needing to go.
"We are talking about people who are not at the table of decision-makers... they are not part of the discussion."
Catch up on the full session below.
Global supplies of renewable energy increased by 50% last year, but this still fell short of meeting growth in energy demand.
Zhang Lei, Chief Executive Officer, Envision, joined Yang Yanqing,
Executive Head, Digital Economy Programme, Shanghai AI Laboratory; Rafizi Ramli, Minister of Economy, Economic Planning Unit of Malaysia; Pang Xiaogang, President, State Grid Corporation of China; Lina Noureddin
President and Founder, Lamar Holding and Benedikt Sobotka, Chief Executive Officer, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), to discuss how we can take advantage of opportunities to cut demand and reduce energy intensity.
Ramli explained Malaysia's approach to leveraging energy efficiency to enhance economic development, with an ambitious National Energy Transition Roadmap.
"A move towards a more sustainable economy, and decarbonization efforts, has to be able to manage the energy trilemma and also lessen the shocks to society..."
"One of the flagship projects in ASEAN is to make sure we can progress towards an integrated grid all the way from Laos, to Singapore and Indonesia."
Catch the full session below.
26 June
Demand for electric vehicles is forecast to slow this year, but they remain essential to decarbonization targets. How can cities work with the private sector to accelerate the EV transition?
Wan Gang, President, China Association for Science and Technology joined Paul Dennett, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester and Mayor of Salford, Salford City Council; Niklas Gustafsson, Head, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Volvo Group; Inga Petersen, Executive Director, Global Battery Alliance (GBA), and Chaoyang Qian, Director of the Board and President, China Southern Power Grid.
The father of China's EV industry, Wan, explained his thinking behind developing the technology in China in the early 2000s, connected to the pollution levels in the country at the time.
He said there were four conditions needed to accelerate the transition to EVs:
1. Having a long-term goal and being the flagbearer in research and scientific development.
2. Societal support for energy conservation and reduction of carbon, with younger generations as champions.
3. An open market - private businesses must work alongside the national grid, so that people will have easy access to green electricity.
4. Digitalization and intelligent services must catch up, so people know where the nearest charging station is.
Without action, emissions attributed to the food sector are set to increase 60-90% from 2010 to 2050. How can market leaders transform food systems and boost sustainable production?
Gim Huay Neo, the Forum's Managing Director, joined Fang Li, Chief Representative, China, World Resources Institute, and Naoko Ishii, Director, Center for Global Commons, University of Tokyo to discuss.
Lithium-ion battery supply chains are complex, but the batteries are vital for electric vehicles and the transition to renewable systems. This session explored these supply chains and how batteries will contribute to a greener future.
Ni Jun, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), joined Melissa C. Lott, Professor, Climate School, Columbia University, and Inga Petersen, Executive Director, Global Battery Alliance (GBA).
Xin Baoan, Chairman, Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO); Melissa C. Lott, Professor, Climate School, Columbia University and Espen Mehlum, Head, Energy Transition Intelligence and Regional Acceleration, World Economic Forum, explored the latest Energy Transition Index and how countries are navigating their transition to clean energy.
Catch up on the full session below.
This session linked to the newly-commissioned Steering Group on Natural Capital, featured: Song Changqing, Deputy Director-General, Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection, National Development and Reform Commission; Li Pengcheng, Executive President, Mengniu Group; Lindsay Hooper, CEO, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership; Katherine Gao Haichun, Board Director, Trina Solar and Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman, Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, Government of Sri Lanka.
The panel explored how economic models can also prioritize critical assets of clear air, water, nutritious food and human well-being.
Catch up on the full session below.
The intersection of industrial evolution and energy transition is a critical moment for innovation and progress.
Yu Bing, President, China Energy Investment Corporation Limited, joined Shin Hak Cheol, CEO, LG Chem; Qian Dany, Global Vice-President, JinkoSolar, and Adrian Corless, CEO, CarbonCapture, discussed how we can ensure secure, equitable and accessible energy solutions for all industries.
Shin Hak Cheol said the mass production of new battery technologies are "more difficult than we think" with huge amounts of capital needed and "some trial and error".
"We are doing everything we can do in the industry to advance the cost... but we need to do more in research and development."
Yu Bing explained some of the breakthroughs China has made in terms of solar and wind technology, as well as hydrogen power.
Catch up on the full session below.
Reads, publications and Forum insights
Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2024: The energy transition is progressing but has lost momentum in the face of increasing global uncertainty. The Energy Transition Index (ETI), which benchmarks 120 countries on their current energy system performance and on the readiness of their enabling environment, finds that while there has been notable progress in energy efficiency and a marked increase in the adoption of clean energy sources, energy transition momentum has been held back by setbacks in energy equity, driven by rising energy prices in recent years.
Amplifying the Global Value of Earth Observation: By 2030, the economic opportunity afforded by Earth observation insights is projected to surpass $700 billion while directly contributing to the abatement of 2 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases annually, marking an era of unprecedented potential in monitoring and analysing Earth from space.
Translating Critical Raw Material Trade into Development Benefits: Demand for critical raw materials for the energy transition is soaring. Many countries are now engaging in state-to-state arrangements to encourage new project development and supply resilience in critical minerals. This white paper maps major examples of these arrangements.
Circular Industry Solutions for a Global Plastics Treaty: Plastic pollution is a defining environmental crisis of our time. In March 2022, 175 countries adopted a historic resolution at the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) to develop an international, legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
Investigating Global Aquatic Food Loss and Waste: Despite the critical role aquatic food systems play in nutrition and food security worldwide, these value chains encounter significant loss and waste challenges. In 2021, approximately 23.8 million tonnes of aquatic foods were lost or wasted, representing 14.8% of global production.