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The 2018 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (2018MIECF), staged by the Macao SAR Government, took place from 12 to 14 April. The three-day event has demonstrated its effectiveness as an international green platform, increasing exchanges and co-operation among green enterprises in countries covered by the “Belt and Road” initiative, the Pan-Pearl River Delta region (PPRD), the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in the Portuguese-speaking Countries and in European countries.
The number of green business-matching sessions was 28 percent greater this year than in 2017 and most exhibitors believe MIECF plays an increasingly significant role as a launch pad for green endeavours.
This year is the 11th year of MIECF. This year’s theme was “Shaping of Eco-Cities for Inclusive Green Economy”. A wide range of activities was put on to allow participants to communicate and discuss opportunities for co-operation, including green business-matching sessions, presentations, the “Greater Bay Area Environmental Co-operation Networking Session” and the “Green Building Industry Networking Session”. A total of 35 agreements were signed during the three days and 349 business-matching sessions were held in the green business-matching area, 28 percent more than in 2017.
The exhibition was a green showroom that spanned an area of approximately 16,900 square metres, wherein more than 490 exhibitors from 19 countries or regions showcasing environmentally friendly solutions with focus on the ones that cope with the problems of air, water and soil pollution, and of constructing eco-cities.
This year, in pursuit of the ecological priorities and green development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the “Green Showcase” was added to increase environmental co-operation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Other highlights were the “Innovative and Environmentally Friendly Technology Showcase Area”, the “Green Building Showcase Area” and the “Green Transportation Showcase Area”.
As in previous years, to help government departments learn more about products and technologies for protecting the environment, so spurring development of the environmental protection industry, MIECF organisers conducted guided tours for officials and held the “Government Procurement Matching Session”. More than 30 government departments sent representatives, and more than 80 business-matching sessions answered the need for eco-products from 16 government departments. The organisers say the on-premises business-matching sessions enhanced the effectiveness of the guided tours.
The procurement representatives of government departments that attended said the activities taught them more about the latest developments in green technology and solutions to environmental problems. They counted friendliness to the environment as an important factor in government procurement. Many considered the guided tours and business-matching sessions able to widen their range of options, promising to make their work easier in future.
Fruitful exchanges
One of the key aspects of the 2018MIECF was the “Green Forum”. This year, the “Green Forum” comprised six green sessions and one special session that brought together more than 50 experts on the environment, executives of multinational companies and policymakers from Mainland China, Australia, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, Macao and other regions or countries. The guest speakers gave insights into topics such as sustainable tourism, green exhibitions, eco-cities, green finance and green chemicals, engendering exchanges of information on developing environmental co-operation among regions and so facilitating greater collaboration in a more diverse range of ways.
The MIECF organisers invited one of the most noted authorities in the world on global climate change to be the keynote speaker this year: Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy Vice-chair Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010-2016, who shared her insights with the audience in a speech entitled “Industry Shaping Tomorrow’s Eco-cities”.
The forum organisers also invited other highly respected authorities on the green industry to give keynote speeches, including China Financial Institute Green Finance Professional Committee Director Ma Jun, an internationally renowned expert on green finance, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment Deputy Researcher Li Jun and Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences Director Ouyang Zhiyun. The organisers arranged a special session for the PPRD region, an occasion for European and PPRD enterprises to communicate. The Green Forum attracted more than 3,900 participants this year.
The organisers presented professional certification of attendance at each session of the forum and those who attended, so enhancing the performance of the MIECF as an occasion for more effective dissemination of environmental expertise.
The “Green Business Co-operation Day”, held on the first day of the 2018MIECF, featured a series of forum sessions and a contract signing ceremony. Two sessions of the Green Forum took place that day, with the respective topics “Green Economy – The Sustainable Tourism” and “New Pattern in MICE Industry under Eco-Cities Model”. The forum sessions focused on how green technology could be used to enhance the cost effectiveness and expand trade opportunities for the tourism industry, MICE industry and other related businesses including hotels, catering business, and transport sector.
The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the Monetary Authority of Macao invited participants in MIECF this year to visit the Guangdong and Macao (Jiangmen) Industrial Co-operation Demonstration Zone in the city of Jiangmen. The delegation with about 50 members included European guests and representatives of the environmental protection and financial sectors in Macao. The group toured wastewater treatment facilities, learned about advanced electroplating and discussed with local government officials the pursuit of the policies of going global. Each participant learned about environmental protection technology and information from each other, further expanding green co-operation.
IPIM also arranged for businesspeople to visit communities in central and southern peninsular Macao and the island district of the city, so they could experience the culture of Macao and spur the economies of the communities they visited.
The final day of the event was the “Green Public Day”, which drew in citizens to take part in environmentally friendly family activities, and to enjoy shows held during MIECF. The atmosphere was lively and engaging. Once again, the “Eco-Market Macao” presented various types of environmentally friendly products to consumers and offered opportunities to experience a green lifestyle.
Christiana Figueres, one of the most noted authorities in the world on global climate change, was the keynote speaker at 2018MIECF
