The annual Eco Forum Global Conference will take place on Thursday. It aims to engage leaders in business, politics, academia and other areas to highlight concerns in ecology and the environment. One key highlight of the forum is investment into clean energy.
Solar power is one of the most widely used forms of clean energies. China Western Holdings has invested 4 billion RMB in this area, a bullish move on solar's future prospects for the market world-wide.
"The thermal conversion efficiency is more than 30 percent, more than double that of photovoltaic conversion efficiency." said Li Jiasheng, Executive Director, China Western Holdings.
Beyond solar, this year's Eco Forum Global Conference aims to do more.
This year's Eco Forum is asking an important question of enterprises, government sectors, and the public -- What type of system architecture and framework can support green development and bring forth a new era of eco- civilization for China? Taking place today on the first day of the forum are many high-level discussions on the topics of financing and clean energy development.
Since last year, China's authorities have rolled out increasing number of policies to encourage investment in eco-friendly and clean energy businesses. And many experts track endorsements from the government as cue for decision making.
"The investors need to look into market supply and demand factors, how these are standardized in the market, and international benchmarks." said Prof. Huang Haifeng, HSBC Business School, Peking University.
With China keen to diversify its energy mix from standard sources like coal, the focus on alternative energy will intensify. According to The Global Status Report, in 2013, China already led the rest of the world in renewable energy investment, spending a total of $56.3 billion on wind, solar and other similar projects.
But that does not automatically guarantee a rush of investment into the area. Investors will still undertake the required due diligence.
"In the energy sector particularly, you have to look very carefully on your investment, because like other commodity sectors it can rise or fall, energy policies can influence like energy sectors are favored, that happens in the UK and clearly happens in China as well." sid Dr. Andrew Minchener Obe, IEA Clean Coal Centre, UK.
The forum which opens on Thursday will also discuss China's circular economy and how it will finance its transition into green practices.