The 2024 Global Green Development Summit (GGDS), marking the 5th Anniversary of the Global Green Development Alliance (GLOGDA), was successfully held at the Stanford University Faculty Club on Saturday, July 20th. The summit’s theme, “Energy Transition and Innovation for Carbon Neutrality,” brought together leaders from various sectors to discuss the future of sustainable energy and the path to achieving carbon neutrality.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Peng Fang, Chair of GLOGDA, highlighted the significant strides made by the United States in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with a 15% reduction since the peak in 2007. He emphasized the country’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, supported by historic investments through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Dr. Fang also noted the increasing energy demands driven by artificial intelligence, with ARM CEO Rene Haas projecting that by 2030, 20-25% of the U.S. electricity supply will be dedicated to AI technologies, potentially impacting the roadmap to carbon neutrality.

The summit featured a lineup of distinguished keynote speakers, introduced by Xiaofeng Zhang, including:

  • Daniel Kammen, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Yi Cui, Member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Professor at Stanford University, and Director of the Sustainability Accelerator.
  • Jiahua Pan, Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development Research at CASS (via video).
  • Richard Dasher, Director of the US-Asia Technology Management Center at Stanford University.
  • Nan Zhou, Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Co-Chair of the Academic Advisory Committee at the California-China Climate Institute.
  • Charlie Zha, Principal Program Manager at the Digital Innovation Lab of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

These experts, along with numerous government officials and scientists, engaged in discussions on the critical challenges and opportunities in the transition to a carbon-neutral future.

Panelists for Roundtable Panel

Robostreet CEO Wei Wang attended the summit and delivered a speech. He spoke about the advancements in battery and charging technologies, which are now capable of meeting the demands of commercial operators on fixed routes. He highlighted the potential of smart charging technologies, such as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), to reduce energy costs for commercial electric fleets while easing the burden on the power grid. Wang also shared insights into Robostreet’s development of a compact integrated solar storage and charging station, which utilizes the truck’s large battery pack as an energy storage solution to smooth out peak loads and add value through V2G technology.

The summit underscored the importance of innovation and collaboration in achieving global carbon neutrality, setting the stage for continued progress in the years to come.

*Source: IEEE Power and Energy Society (IEEE PES) IEEE Smart Village (ISVC) and GLOGDA