The first “2009 Bayer-Tongji-UNEP Sustainable Development Forum - Facing the Changing Climate” was held at Sino-French Centre in Tongji University on November 16, 2009. The forum is another form of cooperation in the three-way partnership of Bayer, Tongji and UNEP, who jointly established the “Bayer-Tongji Chair for Sustainable Development” at the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IESD) of Tongji University. Over two hundred experts, scholars, government officials, entrepreneurs and professionals in the field of sustainable development attended the forum. Ahead of the opening of the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, experts and scholars leverage the floor in this forum to voice their opinions and offer advice to China and the world community in general in tackling the topic of climate change.

The forum consisted of four panel discussions in which experts held fruitful discussions and actively interacted with the audience on four topics, including “Strategies of APAC Cities in Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change”, “Government Strategies and Policies in Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change in the Construction of an Ecological City in Shanghai and the greater Yangtze River Delta Region”, “Energy Efficiency of Green Construction” and “The Public’s Role in Combating Climate Change.”

The forum started with the welcome remarks of Mr. Zhou Jialun, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tongji University, followed by addresses by Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, Member of the Board of Bayer AG responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment, and for the Asia-Pacific Region, and Ms. Dechen Tsering, Deputy Chief Representative of UNEP Asia-Pacific.

Prof. Xu Jianmin, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered the keynote speech on the topic of “The Challenges China Faces in Combating the Climate Change”.

Zhao Jianfu, Chair Professor of Bayer-Tongji Chair for Sustainable Development, published the preliminary research results of comparative research reports on 2009 Shanghai-Tokyo-Bangkok-Sydney Carbon Emission and Climate and Energy Policies. The report pointed out that although the Asia-Pacific Region enjoys the fastest economic growth rate, it also has the lowest natural resources per capita. In recent years, rapid social and economic development has been posing greater pressure on the natural environment in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in the region’s remarkably greater sensitivity and vulnerability to climate change.

 “As the host city of the upcoming Expo 2010, Shanghai has integrated the concept of low carbon emissions into every stage of the Expo, including preparation, construction, implementation and the post-Expo stage. Innovative green ideas and energy-saving technologies will be extensively demonstrated at the Expo. With the theme “Better City, Better Life,“ Expo 2010 will serve as a model for green urban development both in China and other parts of the world,” said Mr. Zhang Quan, Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Shanghai Municipal Government, in his keynote speech “Create a Low-carbon Expo and Promote the Sustainable Development of Shanghai”.

Against the backdrop of global warming and climate change, the forum provided an excellent platform for direct dialogs among different sectors of society as well as an international exchange on climate issues, while also continuing the seek for corresponding solutions to the looming issue of climate change. 

Bayer-Tongji Chair for Sustainable Development

In October 2007, Bayer and Tongji University announced the endowment of a chair for environmental pollicy and sustainable development. This chair is dedicated not only to the higher education of and reserach into emerging environmental issues, but also to actively support projects that enhance China’s solutions to environmental, economic and social sustainability chanllenges. Academic work of this chair is expected to contribute to the sustainable development and the formulation of such public policies in China. In addition, a scholarship for outstanding scholars is also a prat of the program to support their advanced studies in prestigious overseas universities and colleges.