Calling for public participation in climate action discussed at Tsinghua forum

Under the increasingly severe global climate challenges, how to call for the public to participate more deeply in the actions aimed at curbing climate change?

That's the main topic discussed at the 2024 Tsinghua Global Climate Communication Forum, held in Tsinghua University on Saturday. Focusing on the theme "Climate Action and Communication Strategies in a Global Perspective", the forum brings together experts and scholars from various fields such as government, academia, business, social organizations, and media to explore new situations, new methods, and new opportunities and challenges in climate change communication.

During the opening ceremony of the forum, Wang Hongwei, vice-president of Tsinghua University, delivered a speech titled "Climate Communication Connects Consensus into a Long Roll, Joint Actions Sketch a Green Future". In his speech, Wang emphasized the key role of climate communication in promoting global climate governance and called for joint efforts to address the challenges brought by climate change.

Professor Zeng Fanxu, director of the Center for Climate Communication and Risk Governance in School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, showcased the latest research findings of the center to attendees. Zeng emphasized that the center is committed to strengthening discipline development and continuously conducting climate communication research to provide knowledge products and tools for practical applications in the field. The center not only promotes industry capacity building and talent development to empower the climate energy communication sector but also actively engages in international exchanges and cooperation, contributing Chinese insights to global environmental climate communication.

He Kebin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Tsinghua University's School of Environmental Sciences, delivered a keynote speech titled "Innovation and Cooperation: The Core Guarantee for Achieving Global Carbon Neutrality". In his speech, He deeply analyzed the importance of achieving global carbon neutrality goals and emphasized the critical roles of innovation and international cooperation. He highlighted the widespread commitment to carbon neutrality and the urgency of achieving this goal, pointing out the necessity of shifting from a resource-dependent to a technology-dependent energy system. He also discussed the challenge of key material supply chains within the new energy industry and the need for establishing a dual-carbon action support system. His speech provided profound insights and strategic directions for achieving carbon neutrality goals.

In the afternoon session, experts engaged in in-depth discussions on two topics: "How Low-Carbon Transformation and Climate Communication Emphasize People-Centered Approaches" and "Mainstream Promotion of Climate Issues: Making It Everyday, Fashionable, and Breakthrough in Social Strata". They shared their research findings and practical experiences, exploring how innovative communication strategies and methods can enhance public awareness and participation in climate change.

In the sub-forum on "How Low-Carbon Transformation and Climate Communication Emphasize People-Centered Approaches", Li Xiaojiang, a national engineering survey design master and former director of China Urban Planning Design Research Institute, conducted an in-depth analysis of the multiple challenges posed by climate change to human society and proposed innovative strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts.

Cai Wenjia, director of the Lancet Countdown Asia Center and a professor at Tsinghua University's Department of Earth System Science, emphasized the importance of health issues in climate communication, especially how to raise public awareness about the health impacts of climate change through scientific communication.

Doctor Lu Hui, a senior physician at a public hospital in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, discussed specific impacts of extreme weather events on public health from a medical perspective and called for actions from all sectors to enhance the health system's adaptation to climate change.