Topic: Global Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality - China leads the way towards the Balanced Inclusive Green Growth (BIGG) Path

Speaker: Prof. Mohan Munasinghe

Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Time: 2:00 pm-3:15 pm

Venue: Room W201, West Wing, Administration Building

Language: English

Sign up: https://www.wjx.top/vm/YasBidb.aspx

Abstract: 

In this presentation, Professor Mohan Munasinghe will provide a comprehensive exploration of the critical dimensions of global sustainable development and the imperative of carbon neutrality. A focal point of this discussion will be the pivotal role that China has assumed in driving these crucial agendas.

The challenges of global sustainable development touch every facet of human existence, necessitating a delicate equilibrium between economic, societal, and environmental dimensions for a promising future. Amidst this endeavor, carbon neutrality has emerged as a pivotal strategy in combatting climate change, capturing the attention of the global community. As the world's largest developing country, China's actions undoubtedly bear far-reaching consequences.

Steering the course of global sustainable development, China has steadfastly adhered to the path of green growth. Employing an array of instruments including policy guidance, market regulations, and fulfilling international responsibilities, China has propelled the world towards a more sustainable trajectory. It is noteworthy that China's efforts extend beyond its national borders, as it actively promotes international collaboration and spearheads a new era of global green development.

Professor Mohan Munasinghe will meticulously dissect China's commendable efforts in advancing global sustainable development and realizing carbon neutrality. Drawing from China's successes, he will offer compelling cases for other developing nations to emulate. Throughout this discourse, China's unwavering commitment to green development, steadfast pursuit of carbon peak and neutrality, and the consolidation of an inclusive green growth path will be prominently highlighted.

Speaker Profile:

Professor Mohan Munasinghe earned the BA (Hons.) and MA degrees in Engineering from Cambridge University, UK; the SM and Professional EE degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA; the PhD degree in Solid State Physics from McGill University, Canada; and the MA degree in Development Economics from Concordia University, Canada. He has also received several honorary doctorates (honoris causa) and is a fellow of several international scientific academies.

Professor Munasinghe previously served as Vice Chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-AR4). He shared the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace, and more recently received the 2021 Blue Planet Prize, also called the "environmental Nobel Prize".

Prof. Munasinghe is the author of over 120 scholarly books, and about four hundred technical papers in well known scientific journals -- on climate change, disasters, environment, sustainable development, energy, transport, urban infrastructure, water resources, telecommunications, and sustainable consumption and production.

Presently, he holds the position of Founder Chairman, Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND) and MIND Group, Colombo; KIVA Guest Professor of Sustainable Development at Darmstadt University, Germany; Institute Professor at the Vale Sustainable Development Inst., Federal Univ. of Para, Brazil; and Distinguished Guest Professor at Peking University, China. He is a Board member of Green Cross International, Honorary Senior Advisor to the Government of Sri Lanka, as well as Advisor to the US President's Council on Environmental Quality (PCEQ). Previously, he was Senior Advisor/Manager, World Bank, Wash. DC, covering sustainable development, environmental policy, water, energy and transport, and Director-General, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester.

With over 50 years of experience internationally, he is recognized as a leading global authority on sustainable development, economics, energy and the environment. His research and applications have contributed to two major international achievements in 2015 – the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UNFCCC COP21 Paris Agreement on climate change.

He is especially known for trans-disciplinary thinking, having developed the internationally recognized, widely taught and applied discipline of Sustainomics, launched at the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It provides a practical framework for making development more sustainable, using the Balanced Inclusive Green Growth (BIGG) pathway. In 2010, he proposed the widely acclaimed new idea of Millennium Consumption Goals (MCGs) at the United Nations, to complement the Millennium Development Goals. The MCG concept is now included under the SDG No.12 on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). He has worked on IPCC climate change assessment reports since the inception in 1988. He has had direct field experience in most developing countries, on projects involving climate change, disaster management, economics (macro and micro), environment, energy, telecommunications, transport, urban infrastructure, and water resources.

He has taught university courses for the past 40 years, on climate change, energy, sustainable development, transport, resource management, water resources, and environmental economics. He has made numerous keynote speeches at gatherings ranging from high level international conferences to simple community meetings, worldwide. He has organized and conducted international training seminars on climate change, sustainable development, environment, economics, energy, transport, water resources, and information technology.