Wu Hongbo, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations: Global Energy Internet is in the common interests of all mankind

China Energy Storage Network News : On the morning of the 30th, the 2016 Global Energy Internet Conference opened in Beijing. The conference was jointly hosted by China State Grid Corporation, United Nations Climate Change Action, International Energy Agency, and Edison Electric Institute, and co-organized by China Electricity Council, China Society for Electrical Engineering, China Machinery Industry Federation, International Electrotechnical Commission, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. More than 600 representatives from more than 300 units including international organizations such as the United Nations, government departments, industry organizations, and related enterprises and institutions in 26 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, America, and Oceania attended the conference.

In his speech at the conference, Wu Hongbo, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, said that building a global energy Internet is in the common interests of all mankind. The United Nations will actively organize relevant parties to jointly promote the innovative development of the global energy Internet.

Wu Hongbo pointed out that this conference will play an important leading role in spreading the concept of global energy Internet, promoting the development of clean energy and addressing climate change worldwide.

At present, the global temperature has risen by more than 1°C compared with the pre-industrial revolution. If effective measures are not taken, the global temperature rise may exceed 4°C by the end of this century, which will seriously threaten human survival and development. Climate change has become one of the most pressing challenges facing all mankind. The root cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels. Nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gases emitted globally each year are produced by fossil fuels. In the past 50 years, the annual global consumption of fossil fuels has more than doubled and has now reached 16 billion tons of standard coal. Despite the growing consumption of fossil fuels, hundreds of millions of people still cannot enjoy basic modern energy services.

Wu Hongbo said that in order to achieve the UN's development goal of "ensuring affordable, reliable and sustainable modern energy for all", the global energy supply will continue to grow rapidly. However, the current world energy system dominated by fossil fuels is unsustainable, so it is imperative to find a path for energy transformation and sustainable development based on other alternative energy sources. In this regard, the Global Energy Internet will play a unique role.

"In response to global climate challenges, the international community has taken corresponding measures. Since the first World Climate Conference in 1979, under the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, countries have made unremitting efforts to respond to the challenges of climate change and reached the 2015 Paris Agreement. The agreement sets the goal of "controlling global temperature rise within 2°C, and striving to control it within 1.5°C." To achieve this goal, it is necessary to accelerate the development of the world's advanced clean energy technologies to create a new pattern of sustainable energy use and fundamentally solve the problems of energy security and climate change. This is also another goal of the Global Energy Internet." Wu Hongbo said.

The Global Energy Internet can be seen as an important measure to improve energy efficiency, accelerate energy transformation, promote the development of clean energy and address climate change. We actively seek cooperation with all parties. Through the Global Energy Internet, we can meet the world's energy needs, provide sufficient sustainable energy, make full use of renewable energy, enable everyone to enjoy modern energy services equally, and ultimately achieve the goal of "sustainable energy for all".

Many developing countries and regions, including many countries in Africa, Asia, and South America, are rich in clean energy such as wind power, solar power, and hydropower. Through the global energy Internet, the resource advantages of these regions can be transformed into economic advantages that benefit the entire population, narrow regional disparities, and make important contributions to world peace and harmonious development.