AFDC 2008 Biennial Forum Successfully Concluded
On October 25-26, the AFDC 2008 Biennial Forum entitled Fiscal and Financial Policy Options for Clean Development jointly sponsored by the AFDC and the World Bank was held at Shanghai National Accounting Institute. The forum was attended by about 120 delegates from 20 economies with support from Shanghai Municipal Government, the Asian Development Bank and many other economies. Besides, 36 Vietnamese delegates from the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and Environmental Protection Fund joined the forum via videoconference through Global Development Learning Network in Hanoi.
Climate change and environmental degradation has become a serious challenge for the whole globe. Policymakers around the world are now facing the double challenge of tackling ecological and environmental issues while sustaining robust economic development and reducing poverty. The concept of clean development is thus raised to enhance energy efficiency, reduce conventional pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and to achieve sustainable, environmentally friendly economic development.
Vice Minister of Finance LI Yong pointed out in the opening speech that Chinese government will put more emphasis on clean development and will make resources conservation and environmental protection a national policy in the future. He put forward three points for discussion. First, clean development requires a balance between economic growth, social development and environmental protection with development at its core. Second, the international community should carry out practical cooperation under the existing international framework. Third, economic and financial policies for clean development should be developed and promoted. Yang Dinghua, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, Zhao Xiaoyu, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank, Rakesh Nangia, Director of Operations of the World Bank Institute all delivered opening speeches and congratulated on the opening of the forum.
The forum is composed of four sessions, which are The Roles of Government and Market Mechanism in Clean Development, Fiscal Policies for Clean Development, Financial Policies for Clean Development, and Regional Cooperation in Clean Development. 26 renowned speakers including Je-Yoon Shin, Deputy Minister for International Affairs of the Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Nobumitsu Hayashi, Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs of the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Edgardo J. Angara, Senator of the Senate of the Philippines, Hiroshi Watanabe, President & CEO of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Ken Waller, Chairman of the Australian APEC Study Centre Advisory Board, Duncan Sparkes, Counsellor for Economic and Trade Policy of British embassy in Beijing, Zmarak Shalizi, Former World Bank Senior Research Manager, Wang Yan, Senior Economist of the World Bank Institute, etc. delivered inspiring and insightful presentations and exchanged ideas and their country-specific experience with the participants.
Clean development has become a global consensus. At the closing ceremony of the forum, Dr. LI Kouqing, Deputy Director-General of the AFDC, concluded that, clean development is a long-time challenging task. Thus we should address the challenge and seek appropriate fiscal and financial policy measures towards a cleaner development, and make realistic and pragmatic cooperation, as the later the measure is taken, the bigger the cost.
