The "2024 (20th) International Conference on Green Building and Building Energy Efficiency and New Technologies and Products Expo," themed "Boosting the High-Quality Development of Green Buildings and Leading the Green and Low-Carbon Transformation of Urban and Rural Construction," and jointly hosted by the Chinese Society for Urban Studies and other institutions, was held in Zhengzhou recently. Wang Hui, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, attended the conference and delivered a speech.

Wang Hui pointed out that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important expositions and instructions on green development, providing a fundamental guideline for the green and low-carbon transformation of urban and rural construction. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping stated that "we must firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and plan development from the perspective of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature." The Central Economic Work Conference emphasized "deepening the advancement of ecological civilization construction and green and low-carbon development" and "actively and prudently advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality." The 2024 Government Work Report proposed "advancing the green transformation of urban and rural construction and development." The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has thoroughly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, solidly advanced energy conservation and carbon reduction in the housing and urban-rural development sector, and achieved positive results. It has formed a regulatory system for building energy conservation and carbon reduction led by the Energy Conservation Law and supported by regulations such as the Regulations on Energy Conservation of Civil Buildings, the Regulations on Energy Conservation of Public Buildings, and the Provisions on the Administration of Energy Conservation of Civil Buildings; steadily raised the standards for building energy conservation and carbon reduction; and substantially improved the energy efficiency of residential and public buildings. A green building standards system has been preliminarily established, incorporating the basic requirements of green buildings into the full-text mandatory national standards; the green building labeling and certification system has gradually taken shape, with a three-tier certification system at the national, provincial, and municipal levels established; the utilization of renewable energy has been continuously advanced, with the renewable energy substitution rate and electrification ratio of urban buildings continuing to rise; and the energy-saving renovation of existing buildings has been deepened, with the quality of the residential environment in buildings continuously improving.

Wang Hui stated that, overall, although China's green building work started about 30 years later than that of developed countries, at the current stage China's green building technology level is comparable to that of developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Australia, and its development speed is faster and its built scale is the largest. By the end of 2023, the cumulative green building area completed in urban areas nationwide was approximately 11.85 billion square meters, and the cumulative number of projects obtaining green building labels reached more than 27,000. In 2023, the newly built green building area in urban areas was approximately 2.07 billion square meters, accounting for 94% of the newly built building area in urban areas. Although some achievements have been made in the current work, with the rapid advancement of urbanization and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the task of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in the field of urban and rural construction remains arduous, and challenges remain, such as the urgent need for innovation in building energy conservation and carbon reduction technologies and the weak sense of gain among green building residents.

Wang Hui emphasized the need to continue to deeply study the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions and instructions, resolutely implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on green development and carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and accelerate the realization of green and low-carbon building development.

Adhere to the fundamental requirement of high-quality development and correctly understand the significance of energy conservation and carbon reduction in the building sector. It is necessary to fully recognize that green is the underlying color of high-quality development, and that achieving the "dual carbon" goals in the building sector is of great significance to transforming the development mode of urban and rural construction and promoting the high-quality development of the housing and urban-rural development cause. Further improve the energy efficiency level of new buildings, vigorously advance the energy-saving renovation of existing buildings, continuously optimize the building energy consumption structure, and increase the proportion of renewable energy applications.

Adhere to the people-centered development philosophy and promote the high-quality development of green buildings. It is necessary to anchor the goal of building "good houses" and promote green building development on the premise of the people's needs for comfort, health, and functionality of housing. Strictly implement the full-text mandatory specifications to ensure that by 2025 the bottom-line requirements for green buildings are fully met—by 2025 all completed projects shall reach the basic level of green buildings—and take residents' perceptibility and experience as an important criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of green building work, continuously enhancing the people's sense of gain and happiness.

Adhere to the guidance of scientific and technological innovation and accelerate the research, development, and promotion of advanced green and low-carbon technologies. It is necessary to fully leverage the supporting and leading role of scientific and technological innovation, focus on building energy conservation and carbon reduction and green building development, strengthen scientific and technological research, actively carry out the research, development, and application of green and low-carbon building technologies and efficient energy-saving and carbon reduction technologies, promote the transformation of green and low-carbon technological innovation achievements, and consolidate the foundation for green and low-carbon building development.

Finally, Wang Hui fully affirmed the important role the International Conference on Green Building and Building Energy Efficiency has played over the years in boosting industry exchanges, carrying out technical cooperation, and promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction.

The opening ceremony of this conference was presided over by Yu Gang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Urban Studies. Liu Yujiang, Vice Governor of the People's Government of Henan Province, and others delivered speeches. Qiu Baoxing, Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, delivered an academic report. Jiang Yi, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and others, as well as relevant personnel from the German Energy Agency, the World Green Building Council, and UN-Habitat, attended the conference and delivered academic reports. Heads of relevant units at home and abroad and more than 2,000 industry guest representatives participated in the conference.