The 15th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions (WEF 15) takes place in Dalian, China. (Photo: XNA/ Li Gang)

Since 2007, when the WEF held its first conference in China, Tianjin and Dalian have alternately hosted the second most important conference after the annual WEF Davos, which usually takes place in Davos, Switzerland, at the beginning of the year.

Green topics

This year's 15th WEF in Dalian will draw more than 1,600 delegates, who are government leaders and representatives of businesses and media agencies from 80 countries and territories, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

More than 200 activities will take place during the three-day conference, focusing on six topics: the global economy; China's international relationships; entrepreneurship in the age of artificial intelligence; new frontiers for industries; investing in people; and connecting climate, nature, and energy. In addition to dividing discussions by topic, the conference will also divide sessions by whether their impact and scale is global, Asian, or just in China.

With the climate crisis increasingly affecting countries’ economic growth, WEF 15 will give priority to discussions on saving energy, reducing carbon emissions, and building a new growth model that is more balanced, sustainable, and harmonious with nature.

In the “Connecting climate, nature and energy” discussion on Tuesday, most of the speakers said protecting nature and biodiversity is not only a mandatory obligation for countries and communities but also a field to explore to build green growth platforms for the future.

Andre Hoffmann, co-chair of discussions at WEF 15, said: "If our economic growth is not contained within climate limits, that’s not going to be efficient in the long time. The message is nature which is the opportunity, it’s not a cost. If we want to have new growth, we need to take into account climate limits.” 

Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF Klaus Schwab speaks at the opening session in Dalian city, China, June 25th, 2024. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

At the opening session, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF Klaus Schwab said WEF discussions will motivate countries to advance faster toward green technology and a green economy.

"The discussions highlight the opportunities which we have in the future based on the new technology and the transformation to a much more green technology, green economy. Global long-term collaboration to move to a new horizon is the central," said Schwab.

Green organizations

In addition to the topics of energy, the environment, and using AI to build greener growth models, WEF 15 will discuss applying green technologies.

Dalian Mayor Chen Shaowang said: “Energy consumed at key venues and support facilities is 100% green electricity. 520 new-energy vehicles are being used to transport the delegates. The materials used for the conference will be recycled and the budget for the conference will be reduced by applying simple, green, low-carbon standards throughout the event.”

The main hall of the Dalian International Convention Center uses a natural ventilation system to create convection through electric curtains and cool  energy-efficient skylights. The air conditioning system in the Convention Hall uses "seawater source heat pump" technology to economically utilize renewable energy. 80% of the conference vehicles use new energy, including electric cars and hydrogen cars.