尊敬的佛山市委书记郑轲，
尊敬的国家发改委原副主任张晓强，
女士们，先生们，大家上午好！(Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, and friends, Good morning!)

很高兴与大家相聚在佛山，虽然我在线上。也就是在佛山这个城市，自2016年以来，联合国开发计划署与南海区政府共同引领了世界领先的氢能经济，构建低碳未来。(It’s a great pleasure to join you, albeit virtually, as you meet in Foshan, the city that has pioneered the development of China’s world-leading hydrogen economy with UNDP since 2016, for a low-carbon future.)
 
This is more critical than ever, as the climate emergency threatens life on earth. Natural disasters now occur three times more often than 50 years ago. Global CO2 levels are at record highs, along with global temperatures. 2024 was the hottest year yet. And every half a degree Celsius rise globally makes heatwaves, floods and droughts more frequent, and more dangerous.

As such, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — the global roadmap to protecting our planet, and its most vulnerable people, by 2030 —hang by a thread. Based on current progress, the Asia-Pacific region will take until 2062 to achieve the SDGs – three decades too late. This underscores the urgency of our efforts and the need to accelerate action on all fronts.

Ahead of the UN climate summit in November, we must ensure our discussions translate into concrete actions. Today's conference is critical, as it focuses on hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cell technology, powered by renewable energy. These hold immense promise as clean energy solutions can transform high-emitting sectors including transportation.

More broadly, a strong hydrogen economy could revolutionize energy systems, significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerate the green transition, especially for China, the largest emitter. The national hydrogen strategy launched in 2021 has been key in adopting hydrogen and fuel cell technology, demonstrating the government's commitment to low-carbon development and clean energy.