On March 27, 2010, a joint conference on Sino-European climate change policy was successfully held in Tsinghua SEM.

This senior-level event was organized by the Center for China in the World Economy (CCWE) of Tsinghua University, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) with CCWE as the host. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety also acted as the German governmental partner and contributed to the funding.

The one-day conference was led by keynote speeches, followed immediately by three interrelated sessions (respectively, Managing the Transition towards a Low-Carbon Economy, Climate Policy and Economic Development, and Post-Copenhagen: the Road ahead and the Prospects for Sino-European Cooperation) on a number of important and critical topics and issues.

The keynote addresses took stock of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process and summarized critical concerns and controversies of the Copenhagen Conference. The speakers include: YANG Zejun, Director of the Office of the CPC Finance Leading Group, Michael Schaefer, German Embassador in China, Lord Nicholas Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics, PAN Jiahua, Director of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Climate Research Institute and Member of the Expert Committee of the China National Climate Policy, and Serge Abou, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to China and Mongolia.

Chinese and European experts, scholars and policy makers shared their analysis, views and policy recommendations. Attendees include Ottmar Edenhofer, Deputy Director of PIK, Co-Chair of Working Group III, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), LI Junfeng, Deputy Director of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Energy Program, Massimo Tavoni, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) senior fellow, HU Angang, Director of Tsinghua-CAS China Studies Center, ZHANG Shiqiu, Associate Dean of School of Environment of Peking University, Dirk Messner, Director of Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Vice-Chair of the German Advisory Council on Global Change, Mattia Romani from London School of Economics, Senior Fellow of Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change, and JIA Feng, Vice Director General of the Ministry of Environment Protection.

They addressed the most critical issues and debated on the outcomes of Copenhagen as well as their implications for China and the European Union. Topics covered include: climate change impacts, mitigation efforts, as well as international policy options. Next steps for China and the European Union in the context of desirable research projects and key issues in the policy making process ahead were discussed.

The conference ended with a banquet where ZHENG Xinli, former Deputy Director of CPC Central Committee Research Office and Executive Vice Chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchange, gave a speech on how Global climate change may impact on China’s economic development. The speaker addressed significant issues in the Chinese economy and challenges China faces in terms of the global climate change.