Dear Ai Yinfang, Deputy Director General, China International Centre for Economic & Technical Exchanges 

Mr. Xu Xiaochang, Deputy Secretary-General of Ningbo Municipal People's Government  

Mr. Zhou Hui, President of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products 

Leaders of CCPIT Ningbo and Cixi Municipal People's Government. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Good morning. 

On behalf of UNDP China, I am delighted to join you today, albeit virtually, for this year’s Sustainable Procurement & ESG Workshop held in the beautiful city of Ningbo. 

Last year, I spoke to many of you about the urgent need to align and harness China’s manufacturing capabilities towards addressing our shared planetary challenges and advancing China’s Dual Carbon Goals – to peak emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060. 

Today, I am pleased to see that this vision is already taking shape – from high-level UN sustainable procurement engagements in Ningbo to a pioneering China pavilion at AidEx in Geneva, and right here in Cixi, where local enterprises are directly engaging in industrial transformation. 

These are critical steps, but further action is still needed across the globe for all of us to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - to protect people and planet by the year 2030. 

Allow me to share two key dimensions that set the backdrop of our conversation.  

First – the world is currently navigating a number of interconnected crises including conflicts and, environmental, and energy challenges.  

The impact of these crises is a constant reminder that we live in a globally interdependent economy.   

Shocks that might originate in one place, don’t stop there.  

They transcend borders, disrupting livelihoods around the world, and putting tens of millions of people at risk of falling into poverty. 

In particular, higher fuel, freight, and input costs are already resulting in diminishing household purchasing power, raising food insecurity, and straining the public budgets of governments. 

All of this leads to a significant degree of uncertainty in an already dynamic and rapidly evolving global marketplace. 

Secondly, progress towards realising the global climate agenda to date has been insufficient.  

According to UN reports, at the current rate, the world is on pace to exceed the 1.5 degrees warming target set by the Paris Climate Agreement within the next decade[i][ii].  

Avoiding this eventuality, requires putting in place meaningful systemic change. 

This means embedding sustainability across the entire manufacturing ecosystem, beginning from production and extending through to procurement and consumption.  

Here in China, this aligns with national development priorities as articulated in the 15th Five-Year Plan, which has indicated that the high-quality development trajectory ahead will require integrating green production practices into industrial, agricultural, and energy sectors.  

For example, it emphasizes the importance of the circular economy, product carbon labelling, and strict energy efficiency standards for industries - transitioning to smart, sustainable, and low-carbon systems.