U.S.-Asia Sustainable Development Summit at Harvard Successfully Convened

Uniting for a Sustainable Future, Accelerating Global Climate Action and Cooperation

The U.S.-Asia Sustainable Development Summit was successfully held at Harvard University on April 13th, 2024. The summit attracted global policymakers, scholars, and industry elites to discuss multilateral cooperation strategies to confront global climate change challenges and advance sustainable development. Themed "Crossing Boundaries: Uniting for a Sustainable Future," the conference aimed to enhance international cooperation, overcome national and industrial barriers, and accelerate the achievement of global sustainable development goals.

Opening Ceremony

Jerry Huang, Chairman of the U.S.-Asia Sustainable Development Summit, inaugurated the summit with a speech emphasizing the global environmental challenges and the urgent need for cooperation. He stated that effective international collaboration is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals and urged nations to strengthen resource coordination and information sharing to promote the globalization of the new energy industry and achieve more inclusive, practical, and efficient cross-border cooperation.

Robert Hertzberg, former Speaker of the California State Assembly, explored the essential role of policy innovation in promoting green technologies and sustainable environmental practices. He emphasized the government's lead in formulating environmental policies and discussed the economic positives and market potential of green technologies.

Zhiqiang Zhang, Director of the Foreign Cooperation and Exchange Department at the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, detailed China's climate change strategies and highlighted the potential for Sino-American cooperation in environmental policies, emphasizing the significance of international collaboration in global environmental governance.

Bingxi Li, President of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Americas, discussed the challenges and opportunities faced by Chinese new energy companies in international development and global energy transitions.

Xiaoguang Wang, Executive Director and CEO of China State Construction International Corporation, introduced China State Construction and the efforts made by the Chinese construction industry in reducing pollution and carbon throughout the entire lifecycle.

Qiuzhao Hu, SES AI Founder and CEO, introduced their advanced technology in the innovative application of lithium metal batteries, serving top global automakers. They utilize artificial intelligence to develop new materials, monitor battery health, and employ blockchain technology to track the entire lifecycle of the batteries.

Summit Panels

The summit featured five major themes covering a wide range of topics from technological innovation to policy research: The Green Technology and Industry Development Panel was chaired by Mitchell Presnick, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Super 8 Hotels. Jing Li, Supervisor of JA Solar, Director of ESG and Sustainable Development Department, and Chief Sustainability Officer, along with Steve Weikal, Industry Chair of the MIT Center for Real Estate Technology Hub, and Professor Yi Zheng, Tenured Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Director of Nano Energy Laboratory at Northeastern University, discussed the application of green technologies in industrial development. 

The Green Finance and Technology Innovation Panel was chaired by Ji Zhao, Founding Partner at Liquidmetal Ventures, with Professor Nalin Kulatilaka, Wing Tat Lee Professor of Finance at Questrom School of Business at BU and Co-Founder of NineDot Energy, Mitchell Dong, Funder and CEO of Pythagoras Investment Fund, Wei Wang, co-founder and CEO of Robostreet Trucks, and Gui Chang, founder of Infinitealgae. They discussed how green financial tools and technological innovations can jointly promote the implementation of sustainable development projects, with a special focus on investment strategies for green projects.

The Academic and Policy Research Cooperation Panel was chaired by Dorinda Elliott, Executive Director of the Fairbank Center of Chinese Studies at Harvard University. Desheng Huang, Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Economic Department of Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, P.R.China, Professor Benjamin Sovacool, Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development and Professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University, and Yi Jian, founder of the Good Food Fund, emphasized the close integration between academic research and policy-making. They explored how research could better guide policy-making to support the implementation of environmental policies with scientific data. 

The Green Cities and Buildings Panel was chaired by Elence Chen, Instructor in Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design. Siqi Zheng, Academic Director at the MIT Center for Real Estate and Director of the Sustainable Urbanization Lab, Professor Jonathan Buonocore, Assistant Professor at Boston University's School of Public Health, and Serena Shu, founding member of The Energy Efficiency Institute, discussed innovative practices in green building and sustainable urban design and how architecture and planning can reduce urban carbon emissions.

The International Development of New Energy Enterprises Panel was chaired by Baihe Gu, Associate Research Fellow at the Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Brad Li, President of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Americas, Professor Sufang Zhang of the economics and management, North China Electric Power University, Shen Wang, Special Senior Research Fellow at the Beijing Institute of Green Finance and Sustainable Development, and Joel Li, founder and CEO of EV.COM, focused on how renewan;e energy companies face global challenges and opportunities, sharing competition and cooperation strategies in international markets.

Closing Ceremony

In the closing remarks, Santiago Creuheras, former Deputy Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Energy of Mexico, summarized the discussions and outlined future directions for action, stressing the importance of ongoing international cooperation and policy support for long-term environmental sustainability. Jerry Huang concluded the summit by reflecting on the new consensus reached on global climate action and cooperation, which not only provided hope for the participants but also injected new energy into the pursuit of global sustainable development goals.

Fan Dai, Director of the California-China Climate Institute, introduced the broad prospects for cooperation between China and the U.S. in local climate action and academic exchanges. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Huang Ruijie, Chairman of the U.S.-Asia Sustainable Development Foundation, summarized the summit. Chairman Huang Ruijie pointed out that through the in-depth discussions at this summit, participants reached a new consensus on understanding global climate action and cooperation. This not only brought hope to the participants but also injected new momentum into the achievement of global sustainable development goals. Chairman Huang emphasized that unity and collective effort are the perpetual themes in addressing global environmental challenges and advancing sustainable development.

Through this summit, participants deepened their understanding of climate change and mitigation strategies and reinforced the necessity of international cooperation in environmental governance, paving new pathways for cooperation and development, and laying a solid foundation for future environmental policies and sustainable practices. The summit is expected to further strengthen the cooperation between Asia and the United States, collectively promoting the global sustainable development agenda.