On October 17, 2024, the 136th Canton Fair held a green time and space event, announcing that the fair had achieved carbon neutrality for the first time in its history. Wang Baosen, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Guangzhou Ecological Environment Bureau, presented the 136th Canton Fair Carbon Neutrality Certificate to Su Bin, Deputy Director of the China Foreign Trade Center.
Issuing the Carbon Neutrality Certificate for the 136th Canton Fair
Pioneering domestic green exhibitions
The Canton Fair, known as the “First Exhibition in China”, actively responds to the national strategy of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, and deeply implements the concept of green and low-carbon exhibitions. Based on 100% green exhibition layout, this year’s Canton Fair actively and effectively reduces carbon emissions, explores the creation of zero carbon exhibitions, and offsets carbon emissions throughout the entire process through the purchase of local carbon reduction projects in Guangzhou, achieving carbon neutrality goals for the first time and pioneering domestic green exhibitions. This reflects the responsibility and commitment of the Canton Fair as a large-scale exhibition, and plays an important demonstration role in the green development of the global exhibition industry, effectively driving the green transformation and upgrading of the entire industry.
Wang Baosen stated in his speech that China’s ecological civilization construction has entered a critical period with carbon reduction as the key strategic direction, and the construction of the “dual carbon” policy system is accelerating. Guangzhou actively implements the national strategy of “peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality”, continuously strengthens carbon emission constraints, enhances the carbon sequestration capacity of the ecosystem, and guides green and low-carbon development in urban and rural areas. This year, Guangzhou has taken the lead in deploying and building a model of a beautiful Chinese city among the central cities in the country, setting five demonstration goals including sustainable green and low-carbon development, carrying out ten key tasks such as hosting the Green, Low Carbon, Smart and Beautiful National Games, leading the new trend of green and low-carbon civilization, and fully promoting the in-depth development of Guangzhou’s “dual carbon” work.
Guangzhou plans to introduce the first domestic exhibition carbon neutrality reward policy
Exhibition carbon neutrality is achieved by implementing emission reduction measures in the early stage, estimating the carbon emissions during the exhibition process, and purchasing “voluntary emission reductions” to achieve “balance of income and expenditure” of carbon dioxide emissions and ultimately achieve “carbon neutrality”.
In order to widely promote the new trend of green and low-carbon society, the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Ecology and Environment Bureau have launched a series of “Exhibition Carbon Neutrality” themed propaganda activities. They have visited exhibition enterprises and industry associations multiple times to promote the concept of carbon neutrality, discuss and exchange typical case experiences and implementation methods of exhibition carbon neutrality, and formulate the “Several Measures for Promoting High quality Development of the Exhibition Industry in Guangzhou”. They have added policy support for zero carbon exhibitions, supported exhibition enterprises to carry out carbon accounting, carbon credit procurement and cancellation, carbon neutrality certification, and achieved carbon neutrality in exhibition projects, quickly consolidating the consensus of the concept of green and low-carbon exhibitions.
Low carbon empowerment promotes Guangzhou’s green exhibition to a higher level
In recent years, the Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau has actively promoted low-carbon inclusiveness, low-carbon trading, and low-carbon pilot projects, improving the quality of “carbon” and empowering numerous fields and scenarios. By creating a low-carbon industrial chain and value chain, it helps to promote the development of green new quality productivity. In 2023, the “Guangzhou Carbon Inclusive Voluntary Emission Reduction Implementation Measures” were issued, the voluntary emission reduction trading registration platform was launched, and the policy system for verifying voluntary emission reductions in Guangzhou was improved to assist GAC Aion in building a zero carbon factory. In 2024, the construction of zero carbon parks will be launched to create a visual carbon inclusive base; The first release of the Guangzhou Forestry Carbon Inclusive Methodology fills the gap in Guangzhou’s forestry carbon sink policy; Signed a carbon inclusive framework cooperation agreement with the Hengqin Guangdong Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, exploring mutual recognition of carbon inclusive mechanisms and cross platform circulation of carbon credits.
The carbon neutrality of the Canton Fair this time is a good start. The ecological environment department and business department of Guangzhou will work together to create a series of carbon neutral exhibitions, promote green construction, green exhibitions, and waste free exhibitions, achieve comprehensive carbon neutrality for exhibition organizers and exhibitors, green low-carbon certification for exhibited products, guide the green and low-carbon transformation of the exhibition industry, promote the green and low-carbon exhibition industry to a higher level, and polish the golden signboard of Guangzhou’s exhibition industry brighter. In addition, the Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau will also explore the issuance of the “Guangzhou Large scale Event Carbon Neutrality Implementation Guidelines”, with the goal of implementing carbon neutrality more conveniently and quickly, promoting the creation of more zero carbon scenarios, and helping to build a beautiful Guangzhou and create a model of a beautiful Chinese city.
Text and pictures/Guangzhou Daily Xinhua City Reporter: Du Juan Correspondent: Sui Huan Xuan
Guangzhou Daily Xinhua City Editor: Liao Liming
