XIAN | June 27, 2025 - The International Finance Forum (IFF) in partnership with the Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe and the American Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development co-hosted a high-level conference titled “Overcoming New Hurdles in Firms’ Fight Against Global Warming.” The event brought together leading voices from international organizations, government and industry to discuss emerging challenges and solutions in the global climate agenda.
Against the backdrop of mounting geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, the conference emphasized the need for renewed commitment and bold policy actions to preserve momentum in combating climate change. While the climate agenda has experienced setbacks in recent years, participants agreed that businesses are continuing to press forward, translating climate ambition into action, investment and innovation.
Edmond Alphandéry, Chairman of the Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe, warned of growing inertia in climate policymaking. “We need to get the climate control race back on track. Political and financial forces are slowing us down, and this is deeply concerning. The temperature trends globally are alarming, and the consequences of inaction are irreversible,” he said.
Zhu Xian, IFF Executive Vice President and former Vice President of the World Bank, echoed these concerns: “After several years of steady progress in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a series of obstacles now threatens to halt, and even reverse, our gains. Yet, across the world, companies remain committed to their duty to protect our planet for future generations.”
Durwood Zaelke, Founder and President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, stressed the importance of both science and communication in addressing the climate emergency. “The climate crisis is defined by three factors: temperature, time, and tipping points,” he stated. “We are already at 1.5°C of warming, and the path we are on could exceed 2°C within a decade. Irreversible tipping points like the collapse of Atlantic ocean currents demand immediate, coordinated solutions.”
The high-level conference explored how firms are scaling up renewable energy projects amid infrastructure and policy challenges.
Marta Martinez Sanchez, Head of Analysis and Special Projects at Iberdrola, highlighted that renewables are gaining ground, but deployment is constrained. “To accelerate clean energy at scale, we need stronger policy support for infrastructure rollout and demand stimulation,” she said. “Supply alone isn't enough. We need demand-side incentives and industrial value chains to support solar, wind, and battery manufacturing.”
Dr. Xie Tian, General Manager of Strategic Management Center from LONGi, introduced at the meeting that LONGi provides global climate mitigation solutions through technological innovation and intelligent green manufacturing. In terms of technological innovation, verified by the Hamelin Institute for Solar Energy (ISFH) in Germany, LONGi’s independently developed Hybrid Interdigitated-Back-Contact (HIBC) crystalline silicon solar cell has achieved a conversion efficiency of 27.81% through calibration experiments, setting a new world record for the efficiency of single crystal silicon solar cells. In addition, the conversion efficiency of a two-terminal crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell developed by the company has been certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States to reach 34.85%, once again breaking the world record for efficiency of crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells.
Dr. Xie Tian also introduced that LONGi's Jiaxing base has achieved dual benchmark certification as both a "Lighthouse Factory" + "Zero-Carbon Factory." This accomplishment has resulted in approximately 28% reduction in manufacturing costs, 84% shorter production lead times, and 24.6% lower energy consumption per unit. Dr. Xie emphasized that as the world's first dual-certified factory in the photovoltaic industry, the Jiaxing base represents LONGi's leadership in driving digital and green transformation across the sector. By integrating smart technologies into advanced PV manufacturing, LONGi pursues green production to further achieve carbon neutrality. The company has also implemented a data platform for ESG disclosure management, enabling verification and analysis of sustainability metrics. Dr. Xie expressed anticipation that big data and AI will propel corporate green development more safely and efficiently in the future.
Paul Frankel, Head of the Renewable Energy Department at the International Energy Agency (IEA), revealed at the meeting that the global installed capacity of renewable energy will increase by 700 gigawatts in 2024, with China making a significant contribution and ranking first in the world in terms of photovoltaic installed capacity. The IEA predicts that the global installed capacity of renewable energy will increase by over 5500 gigawatts from 2024 to 2030, with solar photovoltaics becoming the main force due to cost reduction and accelerated approval.
Throughout the conference, a common theme emerged: progress is still possible, but only with shared responsibility across public and private sectors. The conference concluded with a unified call to scale up ambition, reduce policy fragmentation, and strengthen cross-border cooperation.
About the International Finance Forum (IFF)
The IFF is an independent, non-profit international organization that brings together financial leaders from around the world to address key global challenges. It serves as a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas among policymakers, industry leaders, and academics.
About the Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe
The Task Force advocates for the development of efficient carbon pricing mechanisms to accelerate Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy, supporting policies that promote innovation, competitiveness, and sustainable development.
About the Institute For Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD)
IGSD’s mission is to promote fast climate mitigation to slow near-term warming and self-propagating climate feedbacks, avoid or at least delay catastrophic climate and societal tipping points, and limit global temperatures to 1.5 °C—or at least keep this temperature guardrail in sight and limit overshoot.
About LONGi
Founded in 2000, LONGi is committed to being the world’s leading solar technology company, focusing on customer-driven value creation for full scenario energy transformation.
Under its mission of 'making the best of solar energy to build a green world', LONGi has dedicated itself to technology innovation and established five business sectors, covering mono silicon wafers cells and modules, commercial & industrial distributed solar solutions, green energy solutions and hydrogen equipment. The company has honed its capabilities to provide green energy and has more recently, also embraced green hydrogen products and solutions to support global zero carbon development.
More details here: www.longi.com/