Right: Sun Jinlong
The 2025 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF) was officially inaugurated yesterday morning in a ceremony at the Sicily room of the Venetian Macao.
In one of the opening speeches, Sun Jinlong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, called on the local government to enforce a series of measures and policies for a “greener” Macau.
Among Sun’s suggestions was strengthening green innovation initiatives, expressing hopes that the region would focus on areas such as low-carbon transportation, green building, and reductions and reutilization of waste.
The official also noted the need to strive to enhance environmental protection through new scientific and technological findings, strengthen regional synergy, accelerate the construction of the “Beautiful City,” and reinforce cooperation with Guangdong and Hong Kong on environmental protection for the construction of a waste-free bay area.
According to its given roles, the local government should also actively pursue international cooperation on environmental protection.
Sun’s words echoed in the speech of the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raymond Tam, who said that the government would spare no effort in implementing the important directives and guidelines put forward by the State and that it would strive to promote the construction of an ecological community and facilitate the development of a high-quality and sustainable society.
Among the directives from the central government, Tam noted the particular effort to comply with China’s dual carbon targets, promote renewable energy sources, facilitate the development of green transportation, and strive to build an environmentally friendly, low-carbon, livable, and touristic city.
Sun denies claims China is building more coal-fired power plants
In his speech, Sun also addressed a report that surfaced last month, noting that China’s construction of new coal-fired power plants has grown and reached a 10-year high in 2024.
The Vice Minister refuted the claims published in a joint report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and Global Energy Monitor mid-last month, saying that the country had stopped all projects to construct such facilities.
“We have entirely stopped building new coal-fired power plants,” he said during his opening speech at the 2025 MIECF, emphasizing that China has signed agreements with over 40 countries to tackle the impacts of climate change, claiming the country to be the world’s largest electricity producer from renewable sources such as hydro, wind, and solar energy power.
He added that the results of China’s environmental policies can be seen and are supported by factual evidence, noting that forest coverage exceeds 25% of the country’s total area.
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