UNDP Resident Representative in China, Beate Trankmann, delivered a speech at the 2025 CMG Financial Forum, in Beijing, China.
尊敬的齐竹泉副台长、束为副局长、高培勇学部委员，
各位来宾，女士们，先生们，大家上午好。
非常高兴能代表联合国开发计划署驻华代表处参与今天的“央视财经论坛”。(On behalf of the UNDP, it is a pleasure to join you today at the China Media Group Financial Forum.)
We meet at a critical moment. As the world closes in on the last mile to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our global blueprint to protect people and planet, China prepares to enter the next phase of its development under the 15th Five-Year Plan.
The government has established a long-term vision of green, and high-quality development. China’s climate and environmental commitments – from the dual-carbon goals and its latest generation of targets under the Paris Climate Agreement, to the Beautiful China initiative and the broader vision of Ecological Civilization – all demonstrate a strong policy foundation aimed at aligning economic progress with the green transformation.
Building on this basis, the question now is – how can this transformation be carried out in practice, and become a truly comprehensive and sustainable engine of nature-based, inclusive growth?
To that end, today I would like to touch on four key points that I believe are critical to this endeavor:
First, ensuring that economic growth translates into low-carbon and nature-positive development means rethinking how we understand “growth” itself. If GDP dominates as a measure of progress, incentives at provincial and local levels may remain misaligned, affecting policy coherence. Continuing the momentum towards high-quality development will depend on fully incorporating environmental and sustainability metrics into economic decision-making to send the right policy signals that help translate national ambition into coordinated, practical action on the ground.
Second, China has made important strides in tackling climate change – from being a world leader in renewable energy and low-carbon mobility to reducing the carbon intensity of its economy. Non-fossil fuel sources now make up more than half of its total installed energy generation capacity. But this transition is not a magic bullet. Rapid scaling of green industries also brings new pressures.
For example, increased demand for critical minerals and battery storage can lead to intensified resource extraction, which, if not carefully managed, threatens biodiversity and ecosystems. Likewise, the shift to green industries can leave some communities and workers behind. Ensuring that growth is not only green, but also just and inclusive, through strong social protection mechanisms and training in new green industry skills is critical to support vulnerable populations and enable them to also benefit from the transformation.
Third, realizing sustainable high-quality development will require increased levels of investment. Sending the right market signals including through fiscal tools such as tax incentives and market-based tools like green mark ups, is therefore indispensable to direct financial flows towards green and sustainable industries. China is already making good progress in this regard, for instance through the People’s Bank of China’s catalogue of green finance projects and its national carbon trading system, but it will be important to further integrate and scale up these types of solutions.
And this in fact makes perfect business sense, with sustainable development creating the very conditions needed for growth, innovation, and ultimately profit. Investing in nature, for instance, could unlock $10 trillion in profitable opportunities and create 400 million jobs by 2030.
Lastly, technology – particularly digital innovation and artificial intelligence – can be a powerful enabler of the green transition. Cutting edge digital tools can optimize energy systems, improve environmental monitoring, and expand access to financial and public services. But they also carry risks. If not managed responsibly, they can widen divides between those with the ability to access and utilize these new technologies, and those without. Ensuring that the technological innovations are accessible to all is essential to avoid opening up new inequalities that will harm SDG aligned high-quality development progress in the long-run.
Taken together, these challenges make clear that moving forward, achieving a green and inclusive transition that is also nature-positive, will require coordinated action, practical innovation, and partnerships across sectors.
At UNDP, we are committed to working alongside China towards these goals. For example:
Through our growing network of innovation labs, we are partnering with local governments to explore and pilot integrated solutions for inclusive, low-carbon, and resilient development that can be taken to scale.
In Qinghai Province, home to one of China’s 11 SDG demo zones, we are supporting nature-based approaches that strengthen ecosystem resilience and biodiversity protection, while generating sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
And through our SDG Investor Maps, we are identifying key investment opportunities across critical areas that combine sustainability with financial returns. In the renewable energy and the circular economy sectors, we have identified 18 investment opportunity areas in China with a market value of 280bln USD by 2026.
Looking ahead, during its 15th Five-year plan period and beyond, China has the opportunity to demonstrate that economic growth and environmental stewardship can truly go hand-in-hand. If a large economy like China can be successful in pursuing this goal, it will have important implications not just here, but globally. The lessons learned, the models tested, and the solutions developed here can help inform global learning and inspire greater ambition worldwide, at a moment when collective action is urgently needed.
最后，我想感谢主办方中央广播电视总台组织这次重要的活动和邀请我与大家分享以上的发言。(With that, let me close by thanking CMG for its invitation to speak today and for organizing this important event).
Together, we can shape a green transformation that strengthens both people and planet, and secures a sustainable future for all.
Thank you.
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