- ABB Chairman Peter Voser joins the virtual dialogue between Premier Li Keqiang and Business Leaders of the Global CEO Council
- Chairman: “Technology will be a key driver of China’s transition to a low-carbon society”
- Continuing to invest in technology innovation to better support China’s "dual carbon" goals
ABB Chairman Peter Voser attended the virtual dialogue between Premier Li Keqiang and Business Leaders of the Global CEO Council on December 15. Representatives of about 30 Fortune Global 500 companies joined the dialogue. The premier praised international companies for their contributions to China's reform and opening-up and its cause of modernization, and he had in-depth discussions with the business leaders. Voser shared his thoughts during the meeting on how innovative technologies can become a driving force for sustainable development.
As the world's second-largest economy and largest energy producer and consumer, China has a key role to play in the global effort to tackle climate change. ABB supports China’s ambitious climate goals. “Technology will be a key driver of China’s transition to a low-carbon society. Electrification, automation and digital technologies are already playing a critical role in reducing energy consumption and emissions across society and industry and are likely to continue to do so in the years and decades ahead. ” said Peter Voser.
“The challenge for China and the world is to achieve sustainable growth. We need to keep the economy on track and at the same time reduce our environmental impact. For this, we need to work together – governments, business and academia – to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies to decarbonize both energy production and consumption.”
Many of the technologies to enable a low-carbon society have already existed. For example, high-efficiency electric motors equipped with variable-speed drives can dramatically reduce energy consumption in buildings and industry; accelerating the shift to electric vehicles would significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector; applying advanced software and AI to motors, robots and other equipment can further optimize their performance, reducing downtime, maintenance needs and energy consumption, leading to even lower emissions.
To support China’s rapid development of a unified and standardized carbon emissions statistical accounting system, Voser also recommend deploying greenhouse gas detection and measurement technologies. Today, these technologies can monitor emissions of gases such as methane from land, the air or even from space. This will not only provide solid data for China’s carbon neutrality efforts, but also support cooperation between China and the international community in tackling climate change.
As a leading global technology company, ABB sees sustainability as part of the value created for its customers and society. By 2030, ABB aims to be carbon-neutral in its own operations and to support customers to reduce their annual CO2 emissions by at least 100 megatons, equivalent to the yearly emissions of 30 million combustion cars.
Founded in 2013, the Global CEO Council was initiated by the Chinese People’s Association for friendship with foreign Countries (CPAFFC). The aims of the council are “making friends, negotiating cooperation, promoting peace and exploring development. It brings together the top business leaders of the world to have the highest level of direct communications with Chinese leaders on the topics such as innovation, urbanization and sustainability.
Initiated by Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries in 2013, “Global CEO Council” aims to bring together the CEOs and presidents of the world-famous multinational corporations covering the fields of information technology, aerospace, automotive, electrical and electronic, materials science, energy and mineral resources, medicine, health, agriculture, finance, steel, and consumption with broad international influence. The roundtable summit between Chinese government leaders and representatives of the council members is held every year, forming an important mechanism and platform to promote communication, mutual trust and further cooperation.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com
