04/07/10 - The second day of the Expo theme forum on low-carbon city highlighted the important role that cities have, individually and collectively, in addressing urban environmental challenges.

"Cities are both the source of environmental problems and vulnerable victims of environmental risks" said Shanghai's Executive Vice Mayor Yang Xion. As he called for a common ground where cities can contribute to solve their problems with a collaborative understanding, Mr. Yang Xion stressed the need to pay careful attention to pursuing a path of sustainable development that is in line with each city's own characteristics.

If by 2050 there will be 9 billion people on the planet, at the core of sustainable work there are people and citizens according to Klaus Toepfer, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). He urged cities to start acting without waiting for the success of global negotiations because those that "start early will be the winners," adding that Expo 2010 is a strong signal that the world must take action to cope with global environmental challenges.

Participants and speakers shared a general understanding that the low-carbon city is a precondition for stable development, which must integrate economic and environmental considerations fueled by technology innovation on the one hand and a strong educational and communication program on the other. The engagement of citizens is vital to the ability to carry out and implement sustainable practices and the role of women should not be neglected in the process.

In the morning parallel sessions participants discussed clean energy, green building, sustainable production methods and living.

More than 700 Chinese and foreign guests attended the forum and later transferred to Shanghai to visit the Expo 2010 site.

Theme forums are an important and integral part of Expo 2010 along with exhibitions, events and cultural performances. Two more forums will be convened in Shaoxing in September and in Hangzhou in October.