UNITAR Co-hosts COP30 Side Event at China Pavilion

Participating virtually, Mr. Zhang Zhi, Member of Shenzhen Longhua District Standing Committee, together with Mr. Dong Haitao, Director of Prosperity Alliance Shenzhen (Greater Bay Area) —a UNITAR-affiliated initiative—shared insights from Shenzhen’s Longhua District as a leading example of smart-city and green urban development.

Mr. Zhang highlighted Longhua’s advancements in digital governance, smart mobility, clean-energy deployment, low-carbon industrial transformation, and the development of innovation-driven green communities. Mr. Dong emphasized cities’ need to develop capacity so they can design, implement, and scale climate and smart-city policies. He affirmed Prosperity Alliance Shenzhen’s commitment to working with UNITAR to enhance knowledge-sharing, deepen multilateral cooperation, and support cities in building more inclusive, resilient, and low-carbon urban futures.

The discussion extended to low-carbon urban practices from China, Brazil, and beyond—spanning renewable energy, smart mobility, and green infrastructure—and reaffirmed the importance of systematic, replicable, and collaborative approaches. 

The side event reaffirmed that advancing low-carbon and sustainable cities requires not only green technologies but also strong local institutional capacity, policy innovation, mutual learning, and skills development.

UNITAR aims to translate these insights into action by scaling targeted capacity-building programmes, enhancing platforms for cross-regional knowledge exchange, and promoting replicable models for green and inclusive urban transformation.