Session
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: 1. Complexity and Depth of Topics: The themes addressed in the forum, encompass complex and multifaceted issues that require thorough discussion. A one-hour roundtable allows sufficient time for an in-depth exploration of these subjects, enabling participants to delve into the nuances of each topic and provide comprehensive insights. 2. Diversity of Perspectives: The forum aims to gather a diverse group of stakeholders, including government officials, experts, and scholars from various fields. The additional time ensures that all participants have ample opportunity to contribute their unique perspectives. This is crucial for addressing the wide-ranging implications of digital and green transformations on global scales. 3. Need for Collaborative Solutions: A one-hour session provides the necessary space for participants to not only present their viewpoints but also to engage in meaningful dialogue with one another, potentially leading to consensus-building or the identification of areas for international cooperation.
In recent years, confronted with the dual challenges of economic and social development and carbon reduction, major nations and regions are increasingly focusing on the coordinated transformation of digital and green development as the core drivers of sustainable economic and social development. This forum, grounded in an international perspective, delves into government-level international cooperation to explore the latest trends, major challenges, and future opportunities for accelerating the coordinated transformation of digital and green development. The forum aims to address the following issues: 1. With the acceleration of global digitalization, particularly the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies and the emergence of generative AI, how can or should countries promote the green and low-carbon development of the digital industry? 2. How can emerging technologies such as the internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and 5G enable the green transformation of traditional industries? 3. The real demands for pollution reduction, clean production, and recycling arising from the green transformation of traditional industries provide diverse scenarios and application spaces for digital technologies. How can the green transformation of traditional industries better drive the development of the digital industry? 4. Is there a need for an international cooperation mechanism to facilitate the coordinated transformation of digital and green development, and if so, what should it look like? Where are the gaps and opportunities for international cooperation in this area? The forum will invite government officials and scholars to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by the coordinated transformation of digital and green development, the green and low-carbon development of the digital industry, the empowerment of green transformation through digital technologies, and intergovernmental cooperation on these issues. By promoting transnational and interdisciplinary exchanges, the forum is committed to encouraging collective contemplation on pathways and models for driving the transformation and upgrading of energy resources, industrial structures, and consumption patterns through the coordinated transformation of digital and green development, ultimately fostering green economic and social development.
1. To facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees, we will: • Encourage online attendees to submit questions via chat ahead of time that can be posed to onsite speakers during the Q&A session. We will release the background guide two weeks before the forum. • Monitor the online chat during presentations and share relevant questions or comments with onsite speakers and attendees to enable real-time feedback and discussion. • Set aside time at the end of the session for an open Q&A where online participants can engage directly via audio or video. Onsite attendees can also ask follow up questions to online participants. 2. To ensure the best experience for all participants, we will: • Choose an interactive online platform that allows speakers and attendees to easily share video, audio, slides, and chat. Options like Zoom, Google Meet and Tencent meeting would work well. • Frame the overall structure and flow of the session to seamlessly integrate both onsite and online elements. Onsite presentations should be streamed for online viewers and time should be reserved for online Q&A and discussion. • Provide clear guidance on participation and technology usage to all attendees ahead of time. Troubleshoot any technical issues behind the scenes to avoid disruption. • Include interactive online elements like live polling, Q&A, breakout discussions to complement onsite activities. This keeps all attendees engaged. 3. We plan to use the following tools and platforms to increase participation: • An online video conferencing tool (as mentioned above) to connect onsite and online attendees. • Audience response tools like Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, or Slido to gauge attendee opinions in real-time. • Online collaboration platforms such as Google Docs or Padlet where attendees can share comments and ask questions. • Social media like Twitter and Weibo for attendees to continue the conversation online using an event hashtag. • Post-event online surveys to collect feedback and insights from all attendees to improve future events. In summary, facilitating seamless interaction between onsite and online participants requires choosing an effective technology platform, careful planning and management before and during the event, providing strong guidance to participants, and incorporating complementary online tools to increase engagement. Striking a good balance between the onsite and online experience will lead to a successful hybrid event.
Cyberspace Administration of China
Bureau of Information Technology Development, CAC
LONG Kai,Deputy Director, Cyber Information Development Bureau, Cyberspace Administration of China,
PENG Gang,Vice President, Tsinghua University
GONG Ke (TBD),Former President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations; Executive Director, Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies; Former President of Nankai University
Torbjorn Fredriksson,Director, Office of Information and Communication Technology Policy, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
SU Jun,Dean, Institute for Intelligent Social Governance, Tsinghua University; Director, Center for Science, Technology & Education Policy, Tsinghua University; Director of Think Tank Center and Professor, Tsinghua University
Kevin C. Desouza,Professor of Business, Technology, and Strategy, School of Business, Queensland University of Technology
Eduardo Araral,Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
ZHOU Chaonan,Range IDC
XUE Lan (TBD),Senior Professor, Tsinghua University; Dean, Schwarzman College; Member of the Leadership Group, UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
DU Guimei,
Li Xiaoli
Lu Changbin
Xu Jin
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
7.a
Targets: Promotion of Sustainable Energy Solutions: The forum's focus on the coordinated transformation of digital and green development supports the transition towards more sustainable energy systems. Digital technologies can optimize energy use in various sectors, contributing to the efficiency and sustainability goals of SDG 7. Enabling Green Transformation: Discussions on enabling green transformation through digital technologies such as AI, big data, and 5G directly contribute to innovations in energy production and consumption. These technologies can facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, improve demand-side energy management, and enhance the overall resilience of energy systems. International Collaboration: The forum's emphasis on international cooperation aligns with the global nature of SDG 7. Collaborative efforts are essential for sharing knowledge, technologies, and strategies to overcome challenges associated with sustainable energy and to ensure that advancements are accessible and beneficial to all countries.
Report
Digital technology is both a driver and enabler of sustainable, low-carbon development, but coordinated capacity building is essential for synergy.
Collaborative research and industry partnerships are critical for developing sustainable digital infrastructure.
Education plays a vital role in nurturing digital literacy and environmental consciousness among future generations.
We called for a stronger focus on coherent domestic policies and international cooperation, while also recognizing the pivotal role of developing countries.
We hope strengthened collaboration across sectors to harness digital technologies responsibly, ensuring a sustainable, human-centered future.
On December 19, the Open Forum on Digital Technology Empowering Green and Low-Carbon Development , a part of the 19th UN Internet Governance Forum(IGF), was successfully held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This forum was jointly organized by the Institute for Intelligent Social Governance , the Center for Science and Education Policy at Tsinghua University, and the Tsinghua Range Institute for Intelligent Society.
Peng Gang, Vice President of Tsinghua University, delivered the opening remarks. The forum featured keynote speeches from distinguished global experts, including Gong Ke, former President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and Executive Dean of the Chinese Academy of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies; Su Jun, Dean of the Institute for Intelligent Social Governance, Director of the Center for Science and Education Policy, and Director of the Think Tank Center at Tsinghua University; Zhou Chaonan, Director of the Management Committee of the Tsinghua-Range Institute for Intelligent Society and Chairman of Range Group; Dou Guimei, Co-Director of the National Experimental Base for Intelligent Society Governance (Education) and Principal of Tsinghua University Primary School; Kevin C. Desouza, Professor at the Queensland University of Technology Business School; Torbjörn Fredriksson, Head of the ICT Policy Section at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTSAD) ; and Eduardo Araral, Professor at the National University of Singapore.
More than 50 distinguished participants from various sectors across the globe attended the event. The forum was moderated by Zhang Fang, Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University.
In his opening remarks, Peng Gang highlighted that leveraging digital technology for green and low-carbon development has emerged as one of the most pressing issues of our time. The convergence of these two transformative trends offers powerful momentum for high-quality development in China and across the globe. He emphasized Tsinghua University’s strong commitment to interdisciplinary exploration in this field. In recent years, the university has established a series of cross-disciplinary research institutions, achieving notable progress. Looking ahead, Tsinghua will adopt multiple strategies to advance research in this area, cultivate talent with robust interdisciplinary foundations, foster collaboration among academia, industry, and research, and contribute to the well-being of humanity.
Gong Ke noted that digitization and green development are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing, both serving the broader goal of sustainable global development. He pointed out that while digitization possesses transformative potential for reshaping societal progress, green development must be a fundamental objective of digital advancement. At the same time, digitization provides innovative tools for green transitions, but their organic integration requires systematic capacity building to translate digital technology into real societal transformation.
Torbjörn Fredriksson introduced the Digital Economy Report 2024 recently published by the UNCTAD. He stressed the need to shape a sustainable, inclusive, and environmentally friendly digital future for humanity. Through a lifecycle approach to digital activities, Fredriksson outlined the critical green development challenges faced at the production, usage, and disposal stages of the global digital economy. He called for a stronger focus on coherent domestic policies and international cooperation, while also recognizing the pivotal role of developing countries.
Su Jun elaborated on Tsinghua University’s efforts in conducting AI-driven social experiments to explore pathways for intelligent social governance with Chinese characteristics. He underscored that social experimentation is a vital approach to achieving the goal of utilizing digital technology for green and low-carbon development in the era of smart societies. Based on prior work, Su systematically summarized five foundational characteristics of intelligent societies and six core challenges, including energy consumption. He analyzed the root causes of energy consumption issues in smart societies and shared preliminary insights from a case study in Ordos on the role of digital technology in green, low-carbon development. Su emphasized that concern for humanity’s destiny must be central to technological progress, and human action is essential in building a human-centered intelligent society.
From an educational perspective, Dou Guimei shared practical experiences in fostering digital literacy and environmental awareness among students through thematic and innovative teaching methods. She used the Chinese language lesson Only One Earth as a foundation to guide students in launching community-wide environmental initiatives, deepening their understanding of sustainability in the process. Dou also highlighted AI-driven initiatives at Tsinghua Primary School, such as a low-carbon digital intelligence platform, green education applications, interactive low-carbon spaces, and smart sports programs, expressing her hope to collaborate globally in building child-centered, low-carbon campuses.
Eduardo Araral emphasized the transformative potential of AI technology in advancing climate change and sustainable development research. He noted that AI can enhance the precision of climate models, reduce computational costs, and expand analytical capacity. Additionally, integrating AI with traditional econometric models can optimize energy transition modeling.
Kevin C. Desouza argued that green and low-carbon development relies on multi-dimensional capital investments, making it imperative to prioritize sustainable capital formation mechanisms. By seamlessly integrating digital technology into existing social ecosystems, humanity can enhance the efficiency of capital generation. Digital technology also offers policymakers better tools for mapping capital flows within ecosystems and understanding the input-output efficiency of various forms of capital.
Zhou Chaonan shared insights into Range Group’s technological practices aimed at green, low-carbon digital industry development. Range has long been dedicated to providing sustainable computing infrastructure for the global digital and intelligent societal transformation, with significant exploration in green data and intelligent computing centers. Through years of innovation, the group achieved power usage efficiency in data centers well below national standards, creating positive social impact and demonstrative effects. Looking forward, Range will deepen its collaboration with Tsinghua University to explore the underlying mechanisms behind digital technology’s contribution to green and low-carbon development, while continuing to drive foundational technological research.
In her closing remarks, Zhang Fang noted that the distinguished speakers had explored the opportunities and risks associated with digital technology’s role in green and low-carbon development from diverse perspectives, providing valuable guidance for future advancements. She expressed hope that the forum would serve as a catalyst for deeper collaboration among stakeholders to collectively advance this vital endeavor.