The 2022 Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum is held in Taiyuan from Sept 1-3. [Photo by Liu Tong for China Daily]

Diplomats, experts and officials among those delivering speeches in Taiyuan

Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi province, has again attracted the attention of the global energy industry by hosting a high-profile forum.

The 2022 Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum ran on Sept 1-3, with meetings and exhibitions featuring energy revolution, low-carbon development and environmental protection.

The forum was an important international event in China's energy industry. And China's goal for peak carbon by 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060 again took center stage at this year's event.

Taiyuan has hosted six sessions of the forum, which has evolved into a high-profile and authoritative global platform for dialogue, communication and collaboration in the energy industry and other fields related to sustainable development, according to the event's organizers.

They said the host province of Shanxi has used the forum as a showcase to display the achievements in its energy revolution campaign. It focuses on upgrading its coal-mining industry for efficient and clean production and fostering clean-energy industries for a greener and low-carbon path of development.

A summit forum held on the opening day was the highlight of the event. It gathered 16 honored guests, including foreign diplomats, international experts and Chinese officials, to give keynote speeches.

At the summit forum, Israeli Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Abba introduced the contributions her home country has made to dealing with global climate change issues.

The ambassador said Israel is willing to cooperate further with China and Shanxi province in many areas relating to sustainable development and collaborate in related fields.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Israel. It is also the fifth year of a comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change, called on nations to maintain a strategic focus on promoting the green transition. He reiterated China's climate commitment and noted the significant progress in honoring it.

He said China is making great efforts to realize the carbon-neutrality goals in three fields.

"The first is promoting a low-carbon transformation through the use of green energy resource; the second is accelerating the application of low-carbon technologies; and the third is fostering and strengthening low-carbon industries for high-quality development," Xie said.

Shanxi's entrepreneurs and officials used the event as a platform to showcase the latest achievements made in the province's industrial transformation, energy revolution and low-carbon development.

At the new energy technology sub-forum, Tao Jiajin, general manager of Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group, said his company is devoting a great deal of effort to developing and producing equipment that meets the increasing demands for new energy production in Shanxi.

"As one of the leading producers of wind-power equipment in Shanxi, we hope to cooperate with partners from home and abroad," Tao said.

There was a special sub-forum dedicated to the emerging and promising coal bed methane industry.

Shanxi is one of the provinces in China with rich coal bed methane resources and is a pioneer for the safe use of the gas.

Coal bed methane is a form of natural gas. Its thermal value is one to four times higher than coal of the same weight. Almost no exhaust gases are produced after coal bed methane combustion, according to attendees to the sub-forum.

They said safe extraction of the gas can help to avoid coal-mine accidents by reducing its concentration. The extracted coal bed methane can then be used as a clean energy resource.

After successful trials in the exploration of coal bed methane, the Shanxi city of Jincheng plans to develop itself into a national demonstration base for the industry, Xue Mingyao, mayor of Jincheng, said at the forum.

"We are developing a coal bed methane industrial chain ranging from exploration, processing, storage, transportation and utilization to equipment production and technical services," Xue said. "The entire chain is expected to usher in an industrial cluster with annual output worth of 100 billion yuan ($14.49 billion)."

As in previous sessions, an industrial show was a highlight of this year's event. More than 160 leading companies, including those listed among the Fortune Global 500 and China's top 500 businesses, displayed their products, technologies and services.

At the show, one of the most eye-catching exhibits was carbide, or artificial diamond, made from coal bed methane. The product was developed by Huayang Group based in the eastern Shanxi city of Yangquan.

"We are the first in Shanxi that synthesized carbide from coal bed methane," said Chen Yuanyuan, a sales manager of the company.

Huayang's exhibits also included a sodium-ion battery, high-performance carbon fiber and other new materials and new technologies.

The exhibition was accessible online with livestreaming platforms, allowing more audiences to view the products and identify partners.

Zhang Yi contributed to this story.