The issue of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” is a matter of high concern by the leaders of the Central Government and the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Government. With the vigorous support and guidance of the Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21 of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing Office of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, and through the communication and coordination of the Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology, the Hangzhou Association for Science and Technology and the Xiaoshan District Association for Science and Technology, the China Carbon Emission Accounts & Datasets Team (CEADs) of Tsinghua University finally held the 5th China Carbon Emission Accounts & Datasets Symposium and Forum Series at Xianghu Academician Island, Hangzhou.

The 5th China Carbon Emission Accounts & Datasets Symposium and Forum Series were organized by the Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21 of Ministry of Science and Technology, the Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology and the Institute for Carbon Neutrality, Tsinghua University, co-organized by the China Carbon Emission Accounts & Datasets Team (CEADs) of the Department of Earth System Science (DESS), Tsinghua University and the Xianghu High-tech Application Research Institute, and co-organized by the Beijing Office of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, the Institute of Global Change Research of Tsinghua University, University College London, Birmingham University, Hangzhou Association for Science and Technology and Alibaba Cloud Computing Company. Themed “development and application of carbon accounting in developing countries around the world”, the symposium and forum series were held from July 27 to August 5, 2023. During this period, academicians and experts were organized to set up a training course system to offer guidance on the theory of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and related theories and practices of carbon accounting. Campers, with a focus on developing countries around the world, developed and applied carbon accounting, had a full daily schedule, including wonderful master lectures, innovative group games and rich practice and team building contents.

This morning, the event was successfully held in the venue of Xianghu Academician Island, Hangzhou. Professor Guan Dabo, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), UK and Professor of Basic Science, Tsinghua University, presided over the opening ceremony. Huang Jing, Director of the Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21 (ACCA21), Shao Qianlong, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of Zhejiang Provincial People's Government Beijing Office, Dai Minhan, Academician of the CAS and Chief Scientist of Fujian Institute for Sustainable Oceans (Xiamen University), Su Jilan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Professor of the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Geng Rui, Secretary of the Party Committee of the DESS, Tsinghua University, Chen Zhiwei, former Director of Zhejiang Energy Bureau, and Zhang Xian, Director of the Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Yu Peng, Researcher of the Comprehensive Division of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Zhejiang Province, Zhou Ying, Deputy Director of Beijing Office of the Cooperation Promotion Department of Zhejiang, Sun Yongrong, Party Group Secretary and Chairman of the Hanghzou Association for Science and Technology, Wang Juhong, Member of the Party Group and Vice Chair of the Hangzhou Association for Science and Technology, Ji Li, Director of the Hangzhou Academician Expert Center, Ni Lihong, Deputy Director of the Hangzhou Academician Expert Service Center, Xu Yifei, Chairman of the Xiaoshan Association for Science and Technology, Liang Xi, Vice President of the School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, Liu Zhu, Professor of the Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Liu Long, Professor of the Harbin Institute of Technology, Meng Jing, Professor of University College London, Shan Yuli, Associate Professor of Birmingham University, Zhou Wenwen, General Manager of Alibaba Cloud Energy Consumption Cloud, Chen Xiaolu of the Ecological Cooperation Department of Zhejiang Zhengyuan Smart Technology Co., Ltd., Xia Chang, Senior Academic Editor of Nature Journal, Yuan Can, Technical Director of Alibaba Cloud Energy Consumption Cloud, Xiao Lei, Science and Technology Director of Alibaba Cloud Energy Consumption Cloud, and Deng Zhu, Algorithm Engineer of Alibaba Cloud Energy Consumption Cloud attended the opening ceremony.

The members participating in this event come from all over the world, including more than 120 master’s and doctoral students from more than 100 universities at home and abroad, including Cambridge University, University of Pennsylvania, Tsinghua University, Peking University and Zhejiang University. They would spend the next 10 days together at the beautiful Xianghu Academician Island in Hangzhou. With a focus on the theme of “development and application of carbon accounting in developing countries around the world”, academic exchanges would be carried out and course training would be offered, aiming at cultivating compound talents with high professional accomplishments and strong practical ability, oriented to 30-60 “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”.

Zhejiang is the cradle of the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, where the Hangzhou Asian Games is about to be held. The concept of green and low-carbon development is deeply rooted in Zhejiang people’s minds. This event based in Hangzhou is not only to solidly promote carbon peaking actions, but also to empower young people with insight and leadership in emission reduction. It also offers an excellent opportunity to gather top experts and scholars from all over the world in Hangzhou, who would learn more about Hangzhou and promote Hangzhou. It is believed that after ten days of activities, young talents would have a deeper understanding and appreciation of Hangzhou, and contribute to the ecological and environmental development of Hangzhou, China and the whole world.