Hainan, an island province in southern China, is aiming to lead the country's green development to the next level with the establishment and operation of its near-zero carbon demonstration zone, the first of its kind nationwide. according to the provincial governor.

The demonstration zone, located on Dongyu Island in the coastal town of Boao, began operations in March 2024. It is also the permanent site for the annual Boao Forum for Asia meeting.

By incorporating emission reduction technologies with various innovative practices and measures, the demonstration zone is able to achieve balance between new energy power generation and consumption.

"In 2023, we partnered with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to create the Boao near-zero carbon demonstration zone. This project involves renovating existing buildings to improve energy efficiency, replacing energy sources with renewables, and incorporating agro-photovoltaics systems, along with green electricity input. As a result, the demonstration zone on Dongyu Island reduced carbon emissions by 96.2 percent," said Hainan Governor Liu Xiaoming.

The Boao zero-carbon zone is a national pioneer that showcases China's green and low-carbon development concepts, technologies, and practices to the world.

"The German Energy Agency certified the Boao near-zero carbon demonstration zone. It's the first zone in China to receive this certification. This year's government report also mentioned the concepts of zero-carbon industrial parks and zero-carbon factories, and in this regard, Hainan has been pioneering the initiative. Although we won’t reach full zero carbon, we call it near-zero carbon operation. According to Germany's standards, 80 percent reduction qualifies as zero carbon, so we're already exceeding international standards," said Liu.