Green recovery" and "low-carbon opportunity" were repeated catchphrases at this year's Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held on April 9-11 in Boao, a scenic town of south China's Hainan Province.

Focusing on Asia's recovery from the economic downturn, more than 2,000 business leaders, politicians and academics from Asia and around the world came to the annual event for a clear picture of Asia's future. In a world reshaped by the financial crisis, Asia was the first to achieve an economic turnaround and has acted as a major engine behind global economic recovery. And many countries have embraced the green trend to find low-carbon solutions to ensure sustainable growth and create jobs while coping with climate change and energy security.

While diverse in political and cultural backgrounds, countries across Asia have been able to reach a consensus on green growth. So far, the major economies of Asia have all announced their long-term targets for carbon emission cuts. China committed to a target of carbon dioxide reduction per unit of GDP of 40-45 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while India would rein in its carbon intensity by 20-25 percent.

And if Asia has learned one thing from the financial crisis, it is that "we must further improve the development model, and seek a path of green and sustainable development with Asian characteristics and that is consistent with the trend of our times," said Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping during a keynote speech at the opening plenary on April 10.

As to concerns about the necessity of nations, especially developing ones, to sacrifice growth for green efforts, panelists argued priority should be given to improving energy efficiency either in production or consumption, then to research on new energies that demand large investment.

The Boao Forum was established in 2001 to promote unity and economic cooperation in the region, and has since gathered prominence for its global perspective. Sessions this year revolved around the theme "Green Recovery: Asia's Realistic Choice for Sustainable Growth."

Green means business

"In pursuit of green growth, China will be able to cope with the challenge of shifting from a manufacturing base for consumer goods to a provider of knowledge-, technology-intensive products and services through industrial updating." —Zhang Yaqin, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft and Chairman of Beijing-based Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group

"The small town of Boao offers us a good example of how jobs are provided and local economy is developed in an environmentally friendly way. Foresight and wisdom are required in choosing the right industry for a local economy to court wealth while avoiding pollution." —Luo Xiaohong, CEO of Shanghai DirectWay Bio-technology Co. Ltd.

"Better than producing new energy is the energy you don't use at all, and our solution is simple: just apply technologies already available at reasonable costs to reduce the demand for energy dramatically." —Kim Fausing, COO of Danfoss A/S of Denmark

"Green is real business, and it's not just CSR activities. It's about making sure you are using technologies to save money." —Amit Midha, Dell Great China President

Green recovery will benefit not only the globe but also business circles, said Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen at the opening plenary.

Rasmussen said Denmark's exports of energy and environment-related technologies have tripled in the past decade, increasing much faster than exports of ordinary goods.