The importance of international research to inform any government’s policy making cannot be overstated, and is an issue taken seriously by the Chinese government. This is especially true about policies in the field of development and the natural environment. To ensure proper engagement with the experts and research outputs from all over the world, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) was established in the early 1990s. Its main objectives are studying critical environmental and development issues facing China, and providing policy recommendations to the Chinese government. Since its inception, the Council has carried out hundreds of research projects involving more than one thousand Chinese and international experts. It has put forward policy recommendations on a wide range of issues, including pollution control, cleaner production, biodiversity conservation, energy and environment, circular economy, low-carbon economy, ecological compensation, the social dimensions of environmental protection, sustainable consumption, media and public participation policies, corporate social responsibility, green supply chain, and green finance.

Each year during its Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Council convenes to formulate recommendations to the Chinese government, based on the year’s research outcomes. During its 2024 meeting, apart from considering the 2024/2025 research themes, the main focus was on extracting policy considerations from 17 research themes and reports from the current year. The theme of this year’s meeting was ‘Open, Inclusive and Innovative Cooperation to Build a Clean and Beautiful World.’

The research reports that were covered during seven Open Forum sessions and the Plenary Research Policy Dialogue included policy studies, scoping studies, and discussion papers on a variety of topics, including:

• finding ways to promote harmony with nature through implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;
• ensuring green development and climate adaptation for urban and rural areas;
• identifying China’s pathways for contributing to the global climate agenda;
• achieving a digital-green dual transformation and sustainable development of cities;
• accelerating the blue transition and carbon neutrality;
• establishing a green belt and road initiative to advance global South-South cooperation;
• scoping topics such as valuing economies beyond gross domestic product (GDP), carbon pricing and circular economies;
• establishing nature markets, and sustainable consumption in the fashion and textile industry; and
• determining what carbon capture and storage-based carbon dioxide removal could potentially comprise.

The Council’s 2024 AGM took place in Beijing, China, from 10-12 October, 2024. Research reports were made available ahead of the meeting through the online web portal. A series of infographics on the majority of the research outcomes were available on the Guidance Note to International Participants. Previous reporting by the Earth Negotiations Bulletin can be found here.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting were Suzi Malan, Ph.D.; María Gutiérrez, Ph.D.; Delia Paul, Ph.D.; and Gabriella Boger Prado. The Digital Editor was Diego Noguera. The Editor was Leila Mead.