On November 14, 2025, the Department of Earth System Science (DESS), Tsinghua University, held a side event themed "People First: Promoting Synergistic Governance of Climate and Health" at the China Pavilion of the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30). This was the first special event focusing on climate and health issues held at the China Pavilion.

The "2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change China Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") was released at the event. In his speech, Li Gao, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, pointed out that the Report, led by the Lancet Countdown Asia Center under the Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, provides important support for identifying risk characteristics and developing scientific response strategies. Xiong Shaoyuan, Deputy Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration, emphasized that the excellent projects in the youth innovation competition have demonstrated young people’s profound insight into practical issues and innovative exploration of technology application, and the China Meteorological Administration will continue to support the youth innovation competition. Alexander Padilha, Minister of Health of Brazil, reviewed the close cooperation with the Chinese government in recent years and called for placing public health at the center of climate governance.

Academician Chen Deliang from the Tsinghua DESS delivers a report at the high-level forum.

Zhang Shangchen, a doctoral student from the Tsinghua DESS and Luo Jia, a doctoral student from the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, hosted the session themed "Next Generation and Contemporary Leaders: Intersectoral Dialogue on Climate and Health Solutions". Experts from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Global Climate and Health Alliance, the Department of Health of the Government of South Australia, and the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development of Tsinghua University discussed issues such as how to integrate health into climate change actions.

The final of the "Asian Youth Innovation Competition on Climate Change and Health" was held at the side event. Five youth teams from Tsinghua University, National University of Singapore, The University of Hong Kong, The University of Tokyo and Nanjing University presented scalable and implementable innovative solutions, demonstrating the outstanding ability of the younger generation to combine technological innovation with human-centered concerns.

The Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, presented an interactive installation named "Next City · Next Second". This installation, which generates future climate scenarios through algorithms and visualizes abstract climate risks, is an attempt to make climate communication more precise and international.

This side event is a vivid practice of the Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, in transforming global climate governance towards a healthier, more inclusive and more pragmatic direction. In the future, DESS at Tsinghua University will continue to promote the in-depth integration of climate governance and health protection, striving to contribute wisdom and strength to building a healthy, fair and climate-resilient world.

Contributed by Lancet Countdown Asia Center

Edited by Jiayin Wang

Reviewed by Rui Geng