Conference & Forum

2023 East Asia Forum

20 Oct 2023 - 21 Oct 2023 Changsha, Hunan

Watch the recording here.

This year’s East Asia Forum will be held alongside the Asia-Pacific Forum on Green and Low Carbon Development (APFGLCD). The event is jointly organized by ADB, ADB-PRC Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI), ADB Institute and the Ecology and Environment Department of Hunan. It is a flagship platform for sharing knowledge and insights on green development and low-carbon initiatives in the region.

This year’s agenda includes plenary sessions and parallel sessions covering topics such as climate change, carbon pricing, greenhouse gas emissions reduction in agriculture, biodiversity conservation, financial innovation for climate action, and ADB projects promoting sustainability. The event aims to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange among participants from various sectors, including public, private, international organizations, academia, non-governmental organizations, and think tanks.

See Forum Handbook here. 

See video highlights here. 

Agenda:

TimeProgram
9:00 – 10:30Opening Ceremony
Jointly organized with APFGLCD
10:30 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 12:30 Plenary Session: The Road to COP 28: How’s Asia-Pacific’s Battle against Climate Change
Jointly organized with APFGLCD
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:30Parallel Session 2: Carbon Pricing Developments and Outlook for Green and Low Carbon Development in the PRC
Jointly organized with APFGLCD

This session explores the growing dynamics of carbon pricing in Asia and the Pacific, with a focus on the experiences and knowledge in the PRC.

Chair
Virender Kumar Duggal, Principal Climate Change Specialist, ADB.

Keynote Speakers

  • Hui DING, Director, Ministry of Ecology and Environment’s Department of Climate Change.

  • Rob STOWE, Co-Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements.

  • Weihua YANG, Gansu Carbon Crediting Scheme Expert, ADB Consultant.

  • Dr. Susan KERR, Senior Vice President and the Chief Economist, Environment Defense Fund


Discussions/Q&A
Parallel Session A: Greenhouse Gas (GHS) Emissions Reduction from Agriculture

This session identifies the importance of emission reduction efforts in agriculture, showcases agricultural technologies and smart farming practices to mitigate CO2-equivalent emissions in East Asia, and explores opportunities for related policy improvements.

Chair
Yixin YAO, Senior Research Fellow, ADBI.

Speaker
Shenggen FAN, Professor, College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University.

Panelists

  • Shenggen FAN, Professor, College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University.

  • Jikun HUANG, Professor, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University.

  • Chen JI, Associate Professor, Zhejiang University.

  • Wei XIONG, Senior Scientist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.


Q&A
15:30 – 16:00 Break
16:00 – 17:30 Parallel Session B: Biodiversity Conservation for Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience

Natural ecosystems can support climate mitigation and adaptation yet also suffer from climate change impacts. The climate-nature nexus approach could address challenges and create multiple benefits. This session will share best practices on natural capital accounting, spatial technology, digital platform, strict policy and Regional Flyway Initiative (RFI) to protect biodiversity for carbon neutrality and climate resilience; discuss potential investment projects and develop partnerships for climate and nature.

Chair
Stefan RAU, Principal Urban Development Specialist, Water and Urban Development Sector Office, ADB.

Speakers

  • Jixi GAO, Director General, Satellite Application Center for Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the PRC.

  • Duncan A. LANG, Senior Environment Specialist, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB,
    and Guangchun LEI, Advisor to Science Unite of the East Asia-Australasian Flyway Partnership.

  • Yaling WU, Senior Advisor, Ant Group Research Institute.


Panelists

  • Facilitator: GUO Dongmei, Environment Specialist, Agriculture, Food, Nature and Rural Development Sector Office, Sector Group, ADB

  • Daming BAO, DG-level Official, Department of Wetland Management, National Forest and Grassland Administration.

  • Yan ZHANG, Head, IUCN China.

  • Xiubo YU, Secretary General of China Ecosystem Research Network.


Q&A

Wrap-Up:
Guojun QIU, Deputy Director General, Department of Rural Economy, National Development and Reform Committee.
18:00 – 20:00 Networking and Reception

TimeProgram
9:00 – 10:30Parallel Session 8: Financial Innovation for Climate and Trade
Jointly organized with APFGLCD

The session will introduce innovative approaches to finance new technologies for transition pathways to reduce global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Chair
Kelly BIRD, Advisor, East Asia Department, ADB.

Speakers

  • Eugene WONG, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA), Malaysia.

  • Yao WANG, Director General, International Institute of Green Finance Central University of Finance and Economics, and Deputy Director General of Green Finance Committee of Chinese Society for Finance and Banking.

  • Shinichi TSUNODA, General Manager, Sustainable Business Promotion Department, Muzuho Financial Group, Inc, Japan.

  • Gang LIN, General Manager, Client and Credit Management Department, The Export-Import Bank of China, the PRC


Q&A
11:00 – 12:30 Parallel Session C: Greening the PRC, Four ADB Projects Driving the Country’s Sustainable Future

This session will share operational knowledge from four ADB projects in the PRC covering biodiversity protection, scaling and catalyzing green finance, and promoting sustainable urban development. Lessons and experiences from these projects will benefit the design and implementation of similar projects in other PRC provinces and developing member countries.

Chair
Bart EDES, Professor of Practice, McGill University.

Opening Remarks
Lijuan CHEN, Deputy Director, International Financial Institution II Division, The Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation, Ministry of Finance.

Speakers
Jiangsu Yancheng Wetlands Protection Project

  • Zhiming NIU, Senior Project Officer (Environment), East Asia Department, ADB.

  • Hao CHEN, Director, Science and Research Unit, Yancheng Rare Birds National Nature Reserve.


Wuhan Urban Environmental Improvement Project and Hubei Huangshi Urban Pollution Control and Environment Management Project

  • Baochang ZHENG, Senior Project Management Officer, East Asia Department, ADB.

  • Zhimin XIE, Technical Director, Project Management Office, Wuhan.

  • Hongquan RUAN, Director, Project Management Office, Huangshi.


Shandong Green Development Fund Project

  • Kang Hang LEUNG, Principal Infrastructure Finance Specialist, Sector Group, ADB. (Online)

  • Yuxi WANG, Executive Director, CICC Capital Management. (Online)


Shaanxi Accelerated Energy Efficiency and Environment Improvement Financing Project

  • Gloria GERILLA-TEKNOMO, Senior Transport Officer, Transport Sector Group, ADB.

  • Xi ZHANG, General Manager, Shaanxi Financial Development Investment Management Company.


Q&A
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:30Plenary Session: Transition to a Net Zero Asia-Pacific Region
Jointly organized with APFGLCD
15:30 – 16:00 Break
16:00 – 17:30 Closing Ceremony
Jointly organized with APFGLCD

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