Hello, welcome to visit Shanghai Forum
Good morning to all, and greetings from Seoul!
May I begin by welcoming you all to the 16th edition of the Shanghai Forum. As with last year I have no choice but to address you virtually. But let’s not get used to this. Hopefully next year we’ll surrender screens and cameras and meet instead in person.
And yes, there is good reason to be optimistic, as we are slowly negotiating our exit from the pandemic. The picture is highly unequal globally, and the developing world remains a key concern. However some 6.6 billion doses have already been dispensed worldwide. Many nations are close to achieving mass immunization, and travel restrictions are starting to ease.
But now is no time for complacency. The corona pandemic was of course existential threat, but it also distracted us from other major crises requiring urgent action. Under the lid of the pandemic, these crises have been seething to boiling point. I am thinking of geopolitical and social tensions, economic turmoil, and of course the ongoing environmental crisis.
And this year’s theme for the Shanghai Forum is thankfully putting us on the right track. For recovering from the pandemic is clearly not enough. Instead, we now have an opportunity to think ahead. To re-build a future that does not breed ugly socio-environmental externalities. A future that is both resilient and sustainable.
Achieving this twin objective requires a fundamental rethink of our assumptions and economic growth models. And this is something we have been working on at SK. Over the course of this year, we have embraced ‘deep change’ and outlined a new financial story for our group. One that is not focused exclusively on financial returns, but that enshrines our ESG value proposition and encompasses a host of non-financial assets. Our new financial story is designed to enhance corporate value by gaining trust from the market and support from our wider stakeholders.
Indeed, we believe that running eco-friendly businesses and generating value to society is the best way to grow with our stakeholders. By which I mean our customers, employees, shareholders, and those wider communities affected by our operations. This is in fact the only way to guarantee the resilience and long term sustainability of our operations.
But achieving the twin objective of resilience and sustainability will also require leadership and concerted public action. And as highlighted by this year’s theme, Asia has an important role to play. Asia demonstrated a remarkable resilience during the pandemic, and Asia is now also taking a lead in the global effort to tackle climate change.
China is a great example and is demonstrating decisive leadership in the run-up to COP-26. I am thinking of Beijing’s pledge to reach peak-emissions by 2030 and to be carbon neutral before 2060. I am also thinking of China’s newly-minted domestic carbon trading scheme and its recent pledge to stop financing global coal plant projects.
These are remarkable efforts. But if we are to truly turn around our growth model and protect our environment we will need to step up public-private collaboration. We must work together as one and transcend national boundaries. At SK we for example have ambitious plans to decarbonize our energy portfolio and have announced sizeable investments to build a new hydrogen economy. This project raises fantastic opportunities for public-private collaboration across China, Asia and beyond.
But to conclude, now is no longer a time for introspection but for coordinated action. Recent events have highlighted the tragic price to pay for division, short-termism and shaky foundations. Let us instead work together to build a future that is prosperous, resilient and sustainable for all.
Fudan University and the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies have elaborated a compelling program to get us started. May I thank them both for their excellent and tireless contribution.
Thank you for your time, and goodbye for now.
