On July 9-18, 2018, High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) which was initiated by the Economic and Special Council was successfully held at the UN headquarters in New York. With the focus on “Transforming towards sustainable and resilient cities”, the forum facilitated the sharing of sustainable cases and experience worldwide and promoted the progression of UN 2030 Agenda. More than 1,000 governments, international organizations and NGO leaders took an active part in this serene conference and devoted their efforts and advanced ideas to it. HLPF, therefore, has an undeniable role in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global level. 

Ms. Jin Lan, Executive Chairman of the International Mayors Communication Centre (IMCC), was honorably invited to attend this international forum.

As a special consultative NGO granted by ECOSOC, International Mayor Communication Centre dedicates to promote the sustainable development in accordance the United States. Global Mayor Forum, a sub-brand of IMCC, is also the founder of the Global Mayors’ Compact. In order to fully utilizes the resources of the “Global Mayor Compact” and better serve the sustainable development, the Global Mayor Forum Secretariat authorizes the world’s first “Open Green City Laboratory” (OGCLab) in Shenzhen. The purpose of the “laboratory” is to implement the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, aiming to produce various kinds of green demonstration cases and leading the construction of China’s National Sustainable Development Innovative Demonstration Zone.

       The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development this year emphasizes six of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy; SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production; SDG 15, Life on Land; SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals.

"We need to put the substance of the 2030 Agenda into action," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at the meeting. The forum assesses 17 objectives and proposes future implementation plans. The discussion in this forum is closely related to the sustainable development of urban areas, such as improving urban water and sanitation, reducing the carbon footprint of urban travel, building cohesive, inclusive and harmonious sustainable urban communities, rationally planning urban land, and seeking a global partnership for urban construction. These efforts put forward by this forum is exactly the goals of Open Green City Laboratory in Shenzhen. We are striving for a better city, with the mission to build up a poetic human habitat.

Ms. Jin Lan, Executive Chairman of IMCC, spent a lot of time touring around the “Tiny House” and other exhibitions in the United Nations square as follows:

(Ms. Jin Lan, took the pictures during her itinerary to HLPF in the United Nations)

The photo shows an eco-economical building unit, which occupies only 22 square meters and firstly comes into the public sights this week at the United Nations square in New York in accordance with HLPF. The design follows the type of tiny house with only one room with a loft or a tow-bed, a hidden storage space and compressed household facilities such as a kitchen to maximize the use of living space.

Designed by the United Nations Environment Programme, Yale University and UN-Habitat, the house was built with Gray Organschi Architecture to arrouse public attention about how to construct decent, affordable housing without overusing natural resources. The house also takes the climate into consideration, catering for cold winter and hot summer in New York. At present, the United Nations is also developing a new housing design programme in Quito, Ecuador, and Nairobi, Kenya, to adapt housing to local climate change.

Well positioned in Shenzhen, OGClab follows the principle of inclusive, adaptative and innovative development. On November 28, 2017, IMCC authorized the Green City Public Service (Shenzhen) to build the world's first "open Green City Laboratory" (abbreviated as OGCLab). OGCLab is based on the needs of government, enterprises and other partners to provide objective and diversified solutions about complex social and scientific challenges and green development challenges. It also integrates with green finance, green technology, and green products to advocate people with low-carbon life philosophy and a better life.

In the office of OGCLab, concepts of sustainable development are practicallt transformed into truth. The office supplies are all environmentally-friendly. OGCLab uses green technology—a global wired conference system to reduce the carbon footprint of conferences and to serve local governments, businesses, financial institutions, communities and NGOs.

      "Open green city laboratory" has entered the CFC Building in Shenzhen Futian Free Trade Zone. In the process of integrating blue sky, green land, overviewing sea and mountains and waters, we are creating "a harmonious human habitat”.