When we discuss global interconnection, especially energy interconnection, there are two key words that reflect the common global concerns, namely sustainability and inclusiveness. Through effective global interconnection, energy production methods can be more friendly to the environment and climate, and energy development can be more inclusive and beneficial to the world. Building a global energy Internet is the core of achieving sustainable human development and addressing global climate change. It is not only related to the future of global sustainable development, but also the key to achieving global inclusive growth.
Energy is the golden link that connects all the Sustainable Development Goals. Modern energy services are essential for reducing poverty, ensuring food security, public health and quality education; energy is the key to sustainable industrial development, healthy and efficient cities and successful climate change responses. But in reality, there are still 1 billion people in the world who do not have access to electricity, 0.5 billion of whom are in Africa and more than 0.4 billion in the Asia-Pacific region; there are still 3 billion people who lack clean fuels and more efficient technologies for cooking and heating, most of whom live in Africa and Asia. In October 2017, a report in The Lancet showed that indoor and outdoor air pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and death, which is largely related to the way we produce and use energy. In 2015, air pollution killed 9 million people, 92% of them in developing countries. At the same time, the global temperature continues to rise, carbon dioxide emissions have reached the global warning line, and the carbon dioxide concentration has reached 400ppm. Compared with the goal of global temperature rise not exceeding 2°C at the end of this century and striving to control it at 1.5°C, there is still a big gap in global actions. If this development continues, the global temperature rise at the end of this century will exceed 3°C, which will be huge Disaster.
The trend is already clear: the past year and decade have been the hottest on record, and this year's Atlantic hurricane season is the most intense on record. The frequency of extreme weather indicates that climate change is becoming more severe and that the most vulnerable are at great risk and will be trapped in a vicious cycle of loss, destruction and repair. I saw this for myself when I visited Antigua and Barbuda and the Dominican Republic in 2017. One sight.
The disasters in these regions and the major risks facing the world can be mitigated by urgent climate change action, which requires a complete transformation of the energy system, the development of modern energy technologies, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the reduction of environmental pollution. Among these actions, increasing investment in energy efficiency, clean energy and renewable energy, and achieving global energy interconnection are the top priorities.
