China News Service, Xi'an, November 3 (Reporters Yang Yingqi and Li Yifan) On the 3rd, the 15th United Nations International Forum on Sustainable Energy Development opened in Xi'an. This is the first time the forum has been held in China since its inception. More than 300 representatives from the five major regional committees of the United Nations, multinational energy authorities, industry organizations and leading companies gathered together to conduct pragmatic discussions around "Energy Transformation in an Uncertain World: Promoting Security, Growth and Resilience".
This forum is jointly sponsored by the five regional committees of the United Nations ESCAP, ECA, ECE, ECLAC, and ESCWA, and is hosted by the Xi'an Municipal People's Government and the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission. The event gathered representatives from multinational energy authorities, experts from international institutions, as well as representatives from Chinese energy companies and university research institutions such as LONGi Green Energy and Shaanxi Drum Group, covering the entire industry chain of policy, technology research and development, equipment manufacturing, and project application.
At the opening ceremony, Chinese and foreign guests shared their views on site and via video, focusing on the real challenges of global energy transformation. The current geopolitical environment and supply and demand fluctuations have brought multiple uncertainties to the energy development of various countries. How to balance energy security, economic development and low-carbon transformation has become a common proposition faced by the global energy industry. Representatives from many countries pointed out that energy transformation is not simply about replacing energy types, but also requires technological innovation, industrial collaboration, and regional cooperation to take into account development rights and interests, so that clean energy results can benefit more regions.
This forum puts "industrial practice" in a prominent position. During the keynote speech session of the opening ceremony, two heads of local enterprises in Xi'an took the stage one after another and spoke on the topics of "Paths and Practical Thoughts on Low-Carbon Transformation of the Process Industry" and "Technology for Good, Brightening Every Family - Building a Sustainable Energy Future Accessible to Everyone." At the opening ceremony, the Xi'an Municipal Government and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific completed the exchange of memoranda of cooperation, marking the beginning of in-depth cooperation between Xi'an and United Nations agencies in green energy technology exchanges, industrial experience sharing, and talent capacity building, opening up new channels for inland cities to connect to global green innovation resources.
As the host of this forum, Xi'an has embarked on a path of differentiated energy transformation under the constraints of resource endowments. Restricted by objective conditions such as land shortage and ecological protection in the Qinling Mountains, Xi'an is not suitable for large-scale development of ground photovoltaics and onshore wind power. Therefore, it has jumped out of the centralized new energy development path and fully tapped rooftop resources such as rural areas, industrial plants, and rail transit stations to vigorously develop distributed photovoltaics. At present, Xi'an has deployed "photovoltaic +" rural revitalization projects in 162 villages, built two rural boarding schools photovoltaic + clean heating pilots, and built a number of innovative demonstration projects such as the zero-carbon demonstration project of the Xiliu depot of Metro Line 15 and the rooftop photovoltaic project of Xi'an East Station. As of August 2026, Xi'an's distributed photovoltaic installed capacity has surpassed thermal power, accounting for 51.6% of the city's total installed power capacity, becoming the core engine of the city's green energy transformation.
It is understood that during the four-day conference, the forum will hold high-level plenary meetings and 26 sub-forums and special events, covering multiple industrial tracks such as hydrogen energy and new energy storage, sustainable energy buildings, and distributed thermal power technology. The forum also sets up three on-site inspection routes. Foreign guests attending the forum will visit zero-carbon smart communities, photovoltaic rural projects, and new energy manufacturing companies to have a close-up view of the results of the Mosian energy transformation industry.
