The side event of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) (COP16) “Solar empowers land and People from scarcity to prosperity Integrated Solutions for water, food and ecosystems” was held at the UNCCD COP16 venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the afternoon of December 9th. The side event was hosted by by the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, and co-hosted by the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute and the International Energy Network.
The side event aims to highlight the importance of jointly managing shared water resources and solving the development dilemma currently facing arid regions around the world. The side event brought together scientists, policymakers, the private sector and practitioners to provide scientific evidence on the multiple benefits of scientifically designed sustainable land management and solar energy synergistic development models, including smart water management and irrigation systems, efficient agriculture, and ecological restoration, thereby effectively alleviating land degradation and drought. At the same time, by sharing the cases of collaborative development emerging in different regions, the conference demonstrated its technological innovation and contribution to “from poverty to prosperity”.
Rachel Asante-Owusu, senior project manager of International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN), and Pradeep Monga, former deputy executive secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, delivered speeches in the side event.
Zhang Jiali, deputy director of Department of New Energy，China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, Dr. He Jijiang, deputy director of the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development of the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University and head of the REPER project team, Yuan Hu,minister of Digital Energy Solutions Department of Saudi Arabia of Huawei Digital Energy, Zhang Liqiang, project manager of the IT Electronics Eleventh Design&Research Institute Scientific and Technological Engineering Corporation Limited, Liu Zhuo, sales Manager of TBEA, Wu Rui, product manager of Huansheng Photovoltaic (Jiangsu) CO LTD, and Wang Tao, researcher of Northwest Institute for Eco-Environment and Resources, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the side meeting and delivered speeches.
Rachel Asante-Owusu, senior project officer of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), mentioned that the development of renewable energy needs to consider biodiversity protection and ecological restoration, and introduced the main work of IUCN in her speech.
Rachel Asante-Owusu, Senior Project Officer of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Pradeep Monga, former deputy executive secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, delivered a speech online. He said that more companies are encouraged to join the REPER project department to promote sustainable development.
Pradeep Monga, former deputy executive secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
In the “Special Topic 1: China’s efforts for the co-development of solar energy and sustainable land management” session, Zhang Jiali, deputy director of Department of New Energy，China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, gave a speech on the current status and trends of new energy development, and Dr. He Jijiang, head of the REPER project team, gave a speech on ” Work summary of REPER and Riyadh Declaration”.
Zhang Jiali, deputy director of Department of New Energy，China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, focused on the “Current Status and Trends of New Energy Development” and introduced the current status, problems and future development trends of renewable energy such as wind power and photovoltaics in my country. She said that in order to achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, China’s new energy needs to maintain rapid development. Many institutions believe that by 2060, China’s wind power and photovoltaic power generation installed capacity must reach 50-80 billion kilowatts, with an average annual new wind power and photovoltaic installed capacity of about 200 million kilowatts.
Zhang Jiali, deputy director of Department of New Energy，China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute
Dr. He Jijiang, Deputy Director of the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University and Head of the REPER Project Team, gave a speech on “REPER Work Summary and Riyadh Declaration”. Dr. He Jijiang issued the Riyadh Declaration, “Photovoltaic Empowerment of Land and People Action Program”, and issued certificates. Invited co-signers of the “Photovoltaic Empowerment of Land and People” Riyadh Initiative or related action alliance co-signers participated.
He Jijiang, deputy director of the Center for Energy Transition and Social Development of the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University and head of the REPER project team
Award presentation for some companies
In the “Topic 2: Practices of “Land-Solar Plus” in different regions and the potential of scaling-up in the Middle East”, Yuan Hu, minister of digital energy solutions Department of Saudi Arabia, Huawei Digital Energy, Zhang Liqiang, project manager of the IT Electronics Eleventh Design&Research Institute Scientific and Technological Engineering Corporation Limited, Liu Zhuo, sales manager of TBEA, Wu Rui, product manager of Huansheng Photovoltaic (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., and Wang Tao, researcher of Northwest Institute for Eco-Environment and Resources, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered speeches respectively, exploring potential incentives to encourage the private sector to expand investment and conduct environmental impact assessments by showing the deficiencies and gaps in technology, financing, policies and cross-sector coordination.
Yuan Hu, minister of Digital Energy Solutions Department of Saudi Arabia of Huawei Digital Energy, spoke about Huawei’s projects in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria with the theme of “Huawei Micro Grid Enable Renewable Energy as Main Power for Every People”, focusing on Huawei’s networking technology. This technology optimizes the efficiency of new energy generation and reduces operating costs through intelligent management, making new energy gradually become the main energy source, providing strong support for the green transformation and sustainable development of the energy industry.
Yuan Hu, minister of Digital Energy Solutions Department of Saudi Arabia of Huawei Digital Energy
Zhang Liqiang, project manager of the IT Electronics Eleventh Design&Research Institute Scientific and Technological Engineering Corporation Limited, introduced the 500MW photovoltaic power station project of Eleven Technology and Namangan, Uzbekistan. This project is the largest photovoltaic power station project with single capacity on the DC side in Uzbekistan at present, and it is also the first time that local enterprises in Uzbekistan have independently developed and constructed photovoltaic power stations. The project will be connected to the grid and put into operation in 2024. After completion, the project will provide Uzbekistan with 1 billion kWh of stable green electricity per year, reducing 830,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which can promote the local energy low-carbon transformation and economic and social development, effectively alleviate the local power shortage, improve the local power supply structure, and make important contributions to Uzbekistan’s green development and energy independence.
Zhang Liqiang, project manager of the IT Electronics Eleventh Design&Research Institute Scientific and Technological Engineering Corporation Limited
Liu Zhuo, Sales Manager of TBEA, focused on the theme of “TBEA: Green Energy for Better Life”, and introduced that TBEA adheres to the development concept of “With the Wind and in the Light” in the field of new energy. The company is committed to promoting global green development.
Liu Zhuo, Sales Manager of TBEA
Wu Rui, product manager of Huansheng Photovoltaic (Jiangsu) CO Ltd, introduced in detail the advanced photovoltaic module products launched by Huansheng for desertification areas and their performance in practical applications in his speech. She mentioned that in order to cope with complex extreme climates, the module products launched by TCL Zhonghuan Huansheng have the characteristics of strong wind and sand resistance and corrosion resistance. The 5400Pa front load is not afraid of strong winds, the anti-ultraviolet packaging material reduces the risk of module attenuation, and the anti-dust design prevents sand and dust accumulation from affecting power generation. It is especially suitable for the harsh natural environment of desertification areas, which has injected new impetus into the energy transformation of desertification areas.
Wu Rui, Product Manager, Huansheng Photovoltaic (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Wang Tao, a researcher of Northwest Institute for Eco-Environment and Resources, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, took the theme of “Photovoltaic energy development and ecological protection in arid region of China” and pointed out the advantages and challenges of building photovoltaic power stations in desertification areas. He emphasized that China’s practice in photovoltaic + desert governance can become a model for developing new energy and promoting ecological protection and restoration. Especially in deserts and desertification areas, while solving energy challenges, it has significantly improved the ecological environment, promoted economic development, and improved people’s quality of life.
Wang Tao, of Northwest Institute for Eco-Environment and Resources, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
The 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) (COP16) opened grandly in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on December 2. The theme of this conference is “Our Land, Our Future”. COP16 specially set up a Chinese Pavilion, which is the first time that China will comprehensively showcase its desertification control efforts and the Three-North Shelterbelt Project abroad, and it can conduct a series of side events and exchange activities.
