China's Sustainable Future

 

"China 2049: Planning for a Sustainable Future" was launched in March, 2009. A collaborative effort between China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Earth Institute, Columbia University and The Brookings Institution, this program co-sponsored by Winnington Group (the parent company of Winnington Capital) conducts the cutting-edge research needed to guide China's long-term growth. The partnership is focused on formulating broad administrative and economic plans for China with a vision of sustainability by 2049.

 

The project is directed by Winnington Group Advisory Board member Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, who is also the Director of The Earth Institute and Professor of Sustainable Development at Columbia University, as well as a Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals.

 

As part of its initiative to stay ahead of the curve on issues that may affect its projects in the long term, Winnington Group held a strategic dialogue in New York on September 2, 2009. "Building China's Sustainable Future with High Quality Urban Life" featured some of the key thinkers in this field: Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University and the Earth Institute and Nicholas Sallnow-Smith, Chairman of one of the world's largest retail REITs (both members of the Winnington Group Advisory Board), members of the faculty of Columbia University and the Earth Institute, and distinguished members of the New York City administration.

 

China 2049 is a four-year, $2.5 million project that will operate both in China and in the United States. The project will address the following policy goals:

 

1. Strengthening China's market economy
2. Reducing sharp regional disparities in wealth
3. Facilitating demographic transitions
4. Fostering urbanization through "livable cities"
5. Embedding a system of technological innovation within a knowledge-based economy
6. Improving China's environment
7. Formulating a sustainable energy strategy
8. Improving China's health systems