On April 20, 2021, at the “Road to Carbon Neutrality” sub-forum of the Boao Forum for Asia 2021 Annual Conference, Jin Liqun, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, stated that carbon emissions and economic development are not a trade-off relationship, but a recent and The long-term interest relationship encourages everyone to analyze the problem from a long-term perspective.

Who allocates resources to achieve low-carbon goals? What impact will the implementation of low carbon have on the economic development of a country, especially low-income countries? If a large amount of resources are used in low-income countries to deal with climate change, what impact will this have on them?

Low carbon emissions and economic development

Many developing countries have achieved great success in poverty reduction, and population growth has also brought about increased carbon emissions. There is a view that carbon emissions and economic development are a trade-off relationship. This way of thinking has negatively affected international investment in promoting the transition from high-carbon to low-carbon. "We need to change this kind of trade-off thinking into a mutually reinforcing thinking. That is, investment and the transition from high-carbon to zero-carbon can promote economic growth, not reduce the rate of economic growth." Jin Liqun said.

Jin Liqun believes that this is actually a short-term and long-term interest relationship. Investment in the green economy may be hesitant in the short term, but if the investment in green energy is regarded as an investment in the future, then future benefits will be seen more clearly. Jin Liqun encourages everyone to look at problems from a long-term perspective. At the same time, people often think of emissions and economic development as a choice of alternative thinking. This is deeply ingrained in many people's thinking. This way of thinking negatively affects international promotion Investment in the transition from carbon to low carbon. We need to change this thinking of trade-offs into a thinking of mutual promotion and mutual execution.

Regarding the carbon emission reduction targets set by China, Jin Liqun believes that through the previous cases, it can be seen that the Chinese government’s statement is "saying the truth." One is that China's system is very effective. Second, in the past 30-40 years, China has experienced rapid technological development and progress, and has also invested heavily in technological research and development. Third, China's savings rate is still high, and these funds can be partly used for research and development. Fourth, China actively maintains technical cooperation with other countries.

In addition, Jin Liqun believes that the international community needs to rethink the patent system, such as shortening the patent interval, such as from ten years to eight years, so that they still have the opportunity to benefit from patents. "Patents are very important for developers, they can get long-term benefits from them. But patents also have a negative impact, because if you want to enjoy patent fees, it will actually slow down the development of new technologies." Editor/Tian Zengpeng