Shanxi, Iceland share solutions for zero-carbon society

The Forum on Iceland as the Country of Honor, as part of the 2023 Taiyuan Energy Low carbon Development Forum, is held on Sept 6 in Taiyuan. [Photo/Shanxi Daily] 

The Forum on Iceland as the Country of Honor, as part of the 2023 Taiyuan Energy Low carbon Development Forum, was held on Sept 6 in Taiyuan, capital of North China's Shanxi province.

Hosted by the Shanxi Provincial Government and the Embassy of Iceland in China, the event was based on the theme "the Iceland story-solutions for transition toward zero-carbon society," aiming to enhance the exchanges and cooperation between Shanxi and Iceland in such areas as clean energy.

Over 150 participants, including representatives from the Embassy of Iceland, Icelandic companies, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, folk green financing institutions, and government departments and research institutions from Shanxi province, attended the event. 

They introduced their respective green and low-carbon development initiatives and discussed cooperation in clean energy, topics related to green infrastructure, green energy financing, environmentally friendly financing, geothermal projects, and carbon cycle projects. 

"One of the most successful areas of cooperation between China and Iceland is in the low-carbon industry," said Ambassador of Iceland to China Thórir Ibsen, who highlighted the longstanding friendly bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries. 

The cooperation between the two countries began over 40 years ago when Chinese experts went to Iceland to learn about using geothermal energy for regional heating and electricity production. The government-to-government cooperation paved the way for Icelandic technologies to enter the Chinese market. Additionally, the development of the tourism industry has promoted people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. 

As an important energy base in China, Shanxi has made progress in building a diversified and clean energy supply system, achieving achievements in green and low-carbon development. 

Geothermal cooperation has become one of the important projects for clean energy cooperation between Iceland and Shanxi. It is expected that the two sides will further strengthen the development of clean energy, the research and application of low carbon emission reduction technologies, and promote green development, cultural exchanges and expand tourism cooperation.