(EnergyAsia, May 18 2011, Wednesday) — More than 8,800 visitors attended the three-day Macau International Environmental Co-operation Exhibition and Forum (2011 MIECF) last month, said its organisers, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and Macao Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA).
 
They added that 31 pacts or agreements were signed on-site from March 31 to April 2, strengthening its claim as a business platform for the ‘green’ industry.

The organisers said they collected 625 projects related to environmental investment and agency for environmental products and arranged 574 business matching sessions for companies, a 38% increase over last year’s edition of MIECF. Among the 574 matching sessions, 167 were related to procurement of hotels.

Among the 63 signing parties of these protocols, about 60% were from Macau. The rest came from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Portugal and Canada. Six protocols were related to eco-friendly vehicles

This edition of MIECF attracted 324 exhibitors from 24 countries and regions, with some of them globally famously companies and institutions, said Echo Chan, IPIM’s executive director. They included makers of electric vehicles and related products including BMW, BYD and Zhuhai Jetco.

This year’s edition showcased charging stations for electric vehicles and smart grid products, while the number of prime exhibitors increased from eight to 11.

The event attracted a number of globally prominent speakers including Joschka Fischer, former Vice Chancellor and former Foreign Minister of Germany, who delivered a keynote speech, “Decoupling Growth and Emissions – a Roadmap to a Prosperous Decarbonised Future” at the opening ceremony, while Mr Klaus Toepfer , former UN Undersecretary-General and executive director of the UN Environment Programme, spoke on “The Low Carbon Economy” on the second day.

The DSPA’s deputy director, Vong Man Hung, said the number of forums had increased from five sessions to seven this year, with the participation of 70 speakers from 11 countries and regions. These top officials, experts and academics shared advanced ideas in green industries, technologies in cutting emissions and conserving energy, the tackling of climate change, which attained applause from different sectors of the community.

She said that their sharing in building low carbon cities and the relation between urban planning and environment were beneficial to the realisation of the vision of ‘Building a low carbon Macau, creating green living together’ and Macao’s regional positioning as a “World tourism and leisure centre”.

First held in 2007, the MIECF has become an important platform for green industries in South China and the Pan-Pearl River Delta region. Its next edition will be staged on 29 to 31 March 2012.