FREMANTLE mayor Brad Pettitt has been invited by the Chinese government to speak at a conference on the greening of coastal cities.

Dr Pettitt says it is a “real honour” to be asked to the Conference on Sustainable Development of the Coastal Cities at Jinzhou City, which started June 8.

He says Fremantle won a guernsey because the Chinese had noticed its contribution to sustainable development.

“The key message I will be presenting will be that climate change and sustainable development are a key challenge for the globe and that China’s development path will be a major determinant of whether we have a sustainable planet or not in the 21st century,” he says.

“They have the opportunity to leap-frog outdated western technologies and invest in the technologies of the 21st century.”

Dr Pettitt says the Chinese, who are paying for his trip, are already leaders in sustainable development.

“But it would be great to see this translate into more liveable cities too,” he says.

“They are already investing more in renewable energy than any other country on the planet and Chinese cities are currently building 82 metros and Shanghai’s metro has eight million people using it daily.”

by BRENDAN FOSTER