Special Topic: 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Summit & the Second Green Industry and Sustainable Consumption Expo. The 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Summit was held from October 20 to 22 at the Huangpu Expo Park in Shanghai. Yao Chenchen, Deputy General Manager of ESG at Jinko Solar Co.,Ltd. (688223), speaking at the special forum themed "Technology Leading the Way, Protecting the Planet Together: Frontier Exploration and Global Action," put forward a very realistic assessment that has taken hold in the industry today: "The end of AI is computing power, and the end of computing power is electricity." Solar power is no longer just a clean energy source; it is also the most economical energy source.
Over the past decade or so, the cost of solar power generation has dropped by 90%. "Looking ahead to the next 10 to 15 years, solar costs will fall further — some say by 50%, and some say another 90% is even possible." This round of cost reduction no longer relies solely on improvements in photoelectric conversion efficiency, but comes from four major directions: higher photoelectric efficiency, high-resilience power grids paired with energy storage, society-wide electrification, and a trusted digital traceability system. "When we entered the industry, the photovoltaic cell conversion efficiency was 18%, and now it has reached 28%. Every 1% improvement means a 9% reduction in the cost of the overall solar system."
Turning to the core challenges of climate governance, Yao Chenchen explicitly stated: "Technology is certainly not the problem. The problem lies in global mechanisms and mutually recognized logic. The model of global governance will involve significant bargaining over climate issues in the future." He pointed out that there are clear contradictions at present: countries set ambitious emission reduction targets but lack sufficient action on implementation; rules such as the carbon border adjustment mechanism conflict with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities." Many countries treat the issue of new energy production capacity as the focal point of conflict, when in essence it is their own power grid infrastructure and absorption capacity that cannot keep pace with the speed of development.
China's solar industry chain holds an extremely high global share, and he also discussed the long-term trend of integrating globalization with localization: a single region cannot bear the responsibility of global production and supply over the long term; production capacity, jobs, and technology need to be brought to target markets so that local communities benefit together. JinkoSolar (JKS) has already established bases in Malaysia, Vietnam, the United States, and the Middle East.
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