Taiyuan Low-Carbon Development Forum: International Cooperation Promoted for Energy Revolution

Coal production may be on the back burner in favor of clean, renewable energy sources. But there are still many needs and uses for coal. An international low-carbon development forum kicked off Tuesday in north China's Shanxi Province. CGTN Reporter Hu Chao has more.

An Augmented Reality system that helps people above ground monitor coal mining underground.

BAO JING Shanxi Coal Group "It helps to reduce cost and enhance efficiency. With this intelligent system, a job that used to require ten people now can be completed just by two."

This AR tool is on display in an energy revolution exhibition held at the Taiyuan Energy Low-Carbon Development Forum.

Many of the event's foreign guests have been cooperating with China in energy transformation.

Both the U.S. state of Wyoming and Shanxi Province in China have large coal production. Since 2003, a US-based think tank has been bringing leaders from Wyoming and Shanxi together to examine solutions that can lead to reduced carbon emissions and new business opportunities.

NATHAN WENDT Vice President, Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs "Shanxi has its comparative advantages and Wyoming has its comparative advantages. Shanxi's comparative advantage in capture side, the gasification of coal, so what can be done to capture the carbon, and Wyoming, there's been an advantage historically in the storage of carbon captured through geological formation. So just right there is a great opportunity for the two comparative advantages to be combined."

Wendt says China's action on climate change is worth learning.

NATHAN WENDT Vice President, Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs "China has been leading the clean energy revolution internationally. That's extremely important to have that global leadership. Particularly, when its economy is as large as important as China's, so to see that leadership and not just the action on climate change but the example of how climate change can be combined with job creation opportunities. It's not just about acting on climate but creating jobs in the future. The example China has set is one that can be studied and learned from and applied in other parts of the world."

The three-day event will discuss new energy development bottlenecks, hydrogen energy development, unconventional gas applications and energy internet development.

HU CHAO Taiyuan, Shanxi Province "Experts at the forum say, saving energy, raising efficiency and expanding non-fossil energy use are the main tasks for China in reaching its low-carbon development goals in the next 30 years. These efforts will bring new tax sources, jobs and business opportunities. Hu Chao, CGTN, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province."

（This news was first posted on October 23, 2019)