On the afternoon of August 24th, local time, the Business4Land pavilion at the Seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) hosted a side event focused on cross-sector collaboration. The event was jointly organized by the C Team, pta植物联盟, and the Shanghai Boke Public Welfare Foundation, bringing together corporate and social forces to explore new pathways for addressing desertification and climate change.

Presenters from Jinko, Tencent, Boke, and a herder representative from Inner Mongolia showcased innovative practices in five key dimensions: solar photovoltaic (PV) desert control, co-built carbon sink forests, gamified education, pastoral community perspectives, and land restoration technology. These presentations highlighted the diverse and practical contributions of Chinese social forces to land restoration efforts.

Photovoltaic Desert Control: Turning Deserts into Climate Resilience Frontiers

Yao Chenxia, Deputy General Manager of ESG at Jinko Energy, delivered a keynote speech titled "Lighting Up the Desert – Photovoltaic Desert Control × Green Finance: Turning Deserts into the Frontline Against Climate Change." He noted that PV-based desert control solutions have been validated and scaled across multiple arid regions globally, offering both ecological and economic benefits. Within desert environments, PV arrays serve as more than just power generation facilities; they form physical windbreak and sand-fixing barriers. By reducing wind speed, curbing soil evaporation, and creating microenvironments for vegetation recovery beneath the panels, these systems establish a closed-loop model of "array sand prevention – under-panel restoration – green energy revenue – industrial income growth."

During the conference, Jinko Energy presented three green finance practice cases, focusing on product innovation, project implementation, and full life-cycle management. Yao also proposed three recommendations to "bring capital to the desert": establishing a special financing window for PV desert restoration projects, incorporating land restoration outcomes into ESG financing standards, and adopting risk-adjusted return expectations.

From Buyers to Co-Builders: Tech Companies Deepen Ecological Restoration

Wang Weikang, Senior Project Director at Tencent's Carbon Neutrality Innovation Center, shared Tencent's transformation from a carbon credit "buyer" to a "co-builder" in ecological restoration. She highlighted that global annual investment needs for nature-based solutions (NbS) reach $571 billion, while actual investment stands at only $220 billion. Through its "co-built carbon sink forests" initiative, Tencent aggregates projects and buyers, leverages resources from multilateral financial institutions, and employs AI and remote sensing-based digital MRV technologies to enhance the credibility of carbon credits. The company also establishes revenue-sharing mechanisms with local communities. Tencent, in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Forestry, has developed the "Linhuisuan" smart forest carbon sink platform, which uses AI and LiDAR to significantly reduce monitoring costs. Additionally, its "Species Eye" AI model can identify 286 native animal species with 94% accuracy.

Gamified Education: Engaging Youth as Sustainability Agents

Lin Yuqin, Director of Global Partnerships at the Shanghai Boke Public Welfare Foundation, discussed the global practice of the SDG Hero project. This gamified sustainability education program targets youth, using games as a medium to translate complex topics such as climate change, land degradation, and desertification into understandable and actionable learning and participation. Lin illustrated the project's impact using an example of Mongolian students working on desertification-related projects, demonstrating how young people can shift from being passive knowledge recipients to proactive idea generators who influence others in their own ways. The SDG Hero project has reached over 60 countries, trained more than 2,000 educational facilitators, and engaged over 100,000 young participants, earning widespread recognition from UN system agencies and international cooperation networks.

Pastoral Voices: Moving from Assistance to Equal Partnership

Qiburi, a herder representative from Bayanwenduer Sumu, Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia, shared the real-world challenges faced by grassroots pastoral communities. In 2022, the region's grassland nomadic system was designated a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the Food and Agriculture Organization. However, in 2026, the area suffered its most severe drought in over a decade, delaying the traditional seasonal livestock migration by nearly twenty days. Qiburi offered three recommendations to businesses: establishing a dual-track system that integrates traditional knowledge with scientific expertise, encouraging companies to act as bridges between traditional knowledge and policy, and shifting from an "assistance" model to "equal partnership." She emphasized that herders are co-stewards of the grasslands and co-creators of ecological value, calling for partnerships built on joint design, shared risk, and mutual benefit.

Micro-ecological Restoration: Plant-Based Technology Aiding Vegetation Recovery

pta植物联盟 presented a case study on the green soil restoration technology developed by Shanxi-based Xinheng Environmental Protection Technology Company. The company's approach to restoring degraded land relies on plant micro-ecological technology, which improves soil microbial community structures to support vegetation establishment and soil health recovery. This method offers a low-cost, sustainable natural solution for desertified regions.

Yang Peidan, Director of the C Team and moderator of the side event, noted that no single entity—whether through PV desert control, carbon sink forests, gamified education, or pastoral wisdom—can solve desertification alone. However, collaboration that transcends industries, regions, and generations can generate far greater benefits. COP17, themed "Restoring Land, Rekindling Hope," is being held in Ulaanbaatar from August 17 to 28. In addition, observer organizations newly admitted to the UNCCD process, including the C Team, held closed-door consultations with the China National Sand Control and Desert Industry Society and the China-Mongolia Desertification Control Cooperation Center, aiming to further advance cross-sector cooperation. These efforts reflect a commitment to engaging in land restoration through innovative, collaborative, and practical approaches, contributing Chinese solutions to global desertification control.

ESG rating services provided by SINA Corp include 14 offerings such as information, reports, training, and consulting, designed to assist listed companies in disseminating ESG concepts and improving their sustainable development performance.