Conference intensifies global cooperation and promotes China's participation in creating new climate standards, Wang Xiaodong reports.

This year's Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang, which opens on Friday in the capital of Guizhou province and ends on Sunday, is expected to make major headway toward a greener China and promote global cooperation in sustainable development, said Zhang Xinsheng, president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and executive chairman of the Eco Forum conference.

Participants from around the globe attend the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2014. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

"The forum is thriving because it follows the great development trend of society and it suits the major needs of China as it enters a new era of development," Zhang said.

"There is not just the need for economic upgrades or a more inclusive society. There are great demands for a healthy life, for a better livelihood and to be the caregiver of our next generation."

Participants from around the world, including senior officials, entrepreneurs and experts, will gather in Guiyang to discuss a wide range of sustainable development issues during the forum, the only major international conference in China to discuss the development of an ecological civilization.

After six years, the forum has become a high-end platform for global experts to discuss and explore major topics concerning the global green economy and innovative consumption and business models, Zhang said.

The forum will also play an important role in intensifying international cooperation and promoting China's participation in the formulation of global climate change standards, he said. "Through the forum we can work together with government departments and other forces to make China's voice heard," Zhang said. This year's forum will likely see the announcement of a Guiyang Declaration.

"The declaration will be sent to the General Assembly of the United Nations, to be held in September, and the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December to reflect China's voice," Zhang said.

China has made great efforts to cope with climate change, he said, citing the use of methane pits in many rural parts of Guizhou to produce clean energy. He added that environmentally friendly LED lights have been installed in street lamps.

Mu Degui, deputy governor of Guizhou, said the province has taken a number of measures in the past few years to improve its ecology, including relocating those living in ecologically fragile areas to protect the environment and improve their lives, and expanding artificial forests and meadows.

It is expected that Guizhou will lead China in ecological conservation by 2020, Mu said.

Contact the writer at wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn