First Forest Carbon Sink Monitoring and Certification Forum Held in Wuhan

According to Global Network, the first Forest Carbon Sink Monitoring and Certification Forum was held at Wuhan University on April 9th. Focusing on the implementation of Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement and the cross-border flow of carbon credits, the forum gathered representatives from international organizations, research institutions, central enterprises and global financial institutions. Centering on the theme of “Building Trust Together, Shaping the Future”, participants conducted in-depth discussions on promoting the transformation of ecological value into cross-border digital assets through technology-driven innovation and standard leadership.

Technology-driven innovation is reshaping the data foundation of carbon credits. A set of dynamic images based on BlueSky AI multi-modal satellite remote sensing technology, which intuitively demonstrated the forest carbon sink monitoring process, attracted widespread attention at the forum. This technological breakthrough marks the transformation of carbon sink monitoring from traditional “empirical estimation” to “precision measurement”.

Li Deren, winner of the National Highest Science and Technology Award, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, stated in his speech: “The integration of aerospace remote sensing and artificial intelligence has made global-scale carbon sink monitoring possible.” Relying on Wuhan University’s technological accumulation in the field of remote sensing, this technology aims to provide a more credible data foundation for the global carbon market and solve the core bottleneck of carbon credit authenticity and comparability.

Standard leadership is crucial to building a cross-border flow rule system. The essence of the carbon market is a credit market, and the standard system is the core fulcrum of credit. During the forum, SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services Co., Ltd. issued the world’s first evaluation statement for the “BlueSky AI Multi-modal Satellite Remote Sensing Forest Carbon Sink Standard”, marking an important breakthrough in China’s forest carbon sink standards at the international certification level.

Li Lei, general manager of SGS China’s Sustainable Development Department, said the evaluation not only verified the reliability of the technical methodology but also provided important support for carbon credits to enter the international market. Chai Qimin, director of the Strategic Planning Research Department of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation, pointed out that Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides an institutional framework for the global carbon market, but cross-border flow still requires the support of a unified, transparent and verifiable standard system.

Open collaboration is improving global trust infrastructure. During the forum, a new-generation global forest carbon sink registration platform was demonstrated on site. With “right confirmation + traceability” as its core, this platform is regarded as a key infrastructure supporting the cross-border flow of carbon assets. On this basis, the forum simultaneously launched the global subscription of the first batch of high-credit forest carbon sink assets, covering regions such as Africa, Southeast Asia and South America.

Wang Zhen, general manager of OGCI Kunlun Climate Investment Fund—a fund co-initiated by China National Petroleum Corporation, OGCI Climate Investment and Hainan Free Trade Zone Open Development Equity Investment Fund—said from the perspective of climate capital, high-quality carbon credits will become a key carrier connecting ecological resources and international capital.

Cheng Zhigang, secretary-general of the China-Africa Industrial Cooperation Forum, noted that under the background of building the “Belt and Road”, ecological assets such as forest carbon sinks are expected to become new carriers for Chinese enterprises to participate in international cooperation. Deng Jiangying, chairman of Blue Sky Carbon Sink Assets, said, “We are promoting the transformation of ecological value into cross-border digital assets through Chinese technology, international certification and global assets.”

With the continuous deepening of ESG investment, international capital’s requirements for carbon assets are shifting from “existence” to “quality”. Through technology release, standard establishment and international cooperation, this forum is accelerating the construction of a global carbon market ecology centered on trust, demonstrating China’s positive role in global climate governance.