Editor's note: Chen Ying, a special commentator for CGTN, is senior research fellow of the Research Institute for Eco-civilization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The 2025 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is held in Gyeongju, South Korea, from October 31 to November 1, 2025. The theme of the meeting is "Building a Sustainable Future: Connect, Innovate, Prosper."

The Asia-Pacific region faces the daunting challenge of a climate crisis. According to the 2025 edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific released by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on April 8, 2025, the Asia-Pacific region has a high incidence of climate extremes such as floods, droughts, cyclones, and heatwaves. The macro-economy is vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. The climate crisis costs the global economy an estimated $2 trillion every year, including indirect costs. At the same time, the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing faster economic growth, contributing about 60 percent of global economic growth in 2024 and accounting for more than 50 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Many of its economies tend to lack climate finance, resilient infrastructure, and public finance capacity, are ill-equipped to deal with climate change, and are not yet prepared for a green, low-carbon transition.

Crisis is fueling consensus on green development cooperation. Amid the challenges of climate change and the transition to green, low-carbon development, the Asia-Pacific region has demonstrated a firm willingness to cooperate, setting the tone for pragmatic cooperation at the Gyeongju meeting. For example, the APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting held this August discussed three major issues: further securing the stability of electricity supply, strengthening the security and reliability of power grids, and utilizing artificial intelligence to achieve energy innovation. The APEC Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) Ministers' Meeting held in Jeju, South Korea, this September, explicitly included green transformation as one of the core issues. The meeting adopted the Joint Statement on the 31st APEC SME Ministers' Meeting and the Jeju Initiative on the APEC Startup Alliance to promote the integration of SMEs into regional and global innovation networks and green industry supply chains, and to underscore their role as engines of sustainable and inclusive growth.

Cooperation in the energy sector needs to be driven by both technological breakthroughs and institutional innovation. For example, the APEC Sustainable Energy Centre (APSEC), which was established in 2014 under the leadership of China, has been carrying out sustainable energy technology exchanges and cooperation for APEC economies through the three pillar programs – APEC Cooperative Network of Sustainable Cities (CNSC), Clean Coal Technology Transfer in the Asia-Pacific Region (CCT) and Asia-Pacific Energy Transition Solutions (ETS). APSEC continuously builds and maintains intellectual networks and information platforms that actively promote the coordinated and sustainable development of energy and the environment in the APEC region. In the policy dialogue session of the 70th APEC Energy Working Group Meeting (EWG70) held this August, China put forward four priority areas, including promoting Asia-Pacific inclusive green and low-carbon energy development, strengthening energy security to build an Asia-Pacific energy security community jointly, promoting energy technology revolution to help Asia-Pacific green innovation ecology, and deepening Asia-Pacific energy connectivity. The positive evaluation and support from Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and other economies have demonstrated their willingness to deepen cooperation.

The green supply chain is a central tool for breaking the paradox of security and sustainable development. Although the current large-scale tariffs and protectionist policies of the United States have caused serious disruptions to the global economy and trade development, the global trend of green and low-carbon development and transformation is irreversible. The APEC Green Supply Chain Cooperation Network Tianjin Demonstration Center, established in 2014, is one of the important platforms for APEC to promote the development of green supply chain and interconnection, and to facilitate related public and private cooperation, aiming at exploring the introduction of innovative mechanisms for green supply chain management and developing green supply chain cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to explore the introduction of green supply chain management innovation mechanisms and develop green supply chain cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. A green supply chain covers the entire life cycle of products, including green standards, design, procurement, trade, manufacturing, consumption, recycling, and remanufacturing. It has become a mandatory part of corporate ESG practice to promote the green management of suppliers.

The Asia-Pacific region has established a comprehensive green industrial system. China's photovoltaic whole industry chain takes the initiative, with photovoltaic modules accounting for more than 80 percent of global production capacity. Through regional technical cooperation, it will accelerate the substitution of fossil energy in the Asia-Pacific region. South Korea has a strong foundation in power battery technology, but China has overtaken it in recent years. From January to May of 2025, the global power battery installed capacity was 401.3GWh, an increase of 38.5 percent year-on-year. Chinese companies accounted for 68.4 percent of the global share, South Korean companies 17.5 percent, and Japanese companies 2.9 percent. Japan has incorporated hydrogen into its national energy strategy and actively promotes the research, development and application of hydrogen energy technology through policies such as scientific and technological innovation and industrial development. ASEAN countries are endowed with biomass energy resources. This gradient complementary industrial pattern provides natural conditions for value chain integration.

From consensus to action, there is still a need for multiple measures to be taken and implemented on the ground. At present, global climate risks are intensifying, and regional cooperation still faces challenges such as the data and technology divides, which can only be bridged through concerted action. Firstly, it is necessary to improve the Asia-Pacific climate risk monitoring and early warning system, develop more effective risk assessment tools, and strengthen disaster prevention and mitigation systems and adaptation measures to reduce economic losses from climate change. Second, it is essential to implement proactive fiscal interventions, with governments guiding social capital away from traditional industries with high pollution and emissions towards green sectors, and endeavoring to develop new, quality productive forces. Thirdly, economies should encourage green technological innovation, create synergy between digitalization and green transformation for industrial upgrading, and develop green industrial and value chains. Finally, APEC should make every effort to build political consensus, strengthen regional cooperation, and promote the sharing of the fruits of green transformation among economies through an inclusive policy framework.

The APEC meeting 2025 in Gyeongju is not only a platform for exchange and communication but also an opportunity to turn insights into concrete actions. On October 13, 2025, a public opinion survey of 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific region released at the 2025 China-Korea Media Cooperation Forum in Seoul, South Korea, showed that about 90 percent of the respondents believe that deepening the Asia-Pacific partnership of mutual trust, inclusiveness, cooperation, and win-win situation is important for the development of their countries. It is a popular aspiration in the Asia-Pacific region to actively address climate change and accelerate the green and low-carbon transition. Building green industrial and value chains is just an essential link in the sustainable vision of "connectivity, innovation, and prosperity."

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