From June 10 to 12, the 2nd Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the provincial governments of Sichuan and Chongqing. On the morning of June 12, at the Forum on Science and Technology Empowering Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality, the project Belt and Road Environmental and Sustainable Development Capacity Building Program—led by the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD)—received the Excellent Case Award from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. This award marks the project as a model initiative among Chinese universities in promoting global green transition and low-carbon development.

The project established a platform-based collaborative network and developed a multidimensional “point–chain–network” cooperation model. Leveraging the Belt and Road Alliance of University Presidents in Environmental Studies, it built a university-centered cooperation mechanism that links international organizations, governments, and enterprises. This enabled the sharing of green technologies and the integration of low-cost resources. The project also focused on addressing the specific needs of partner countries by designing localized curricula—such as water resource management in Africa and low-carbon transition in Asia-Pacific cities—cultivating local low-carbon technology teams through a combination of theory and practice.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Building a Road of Innovation Together, Promoting Cooperative Development—Jointly Shaping a Belt and Road Community for Science and Technology Innovation.” A public call was issued for exemplary cases, and ultimately, 42 typical cases and 6 excellent cases were selected from demonstration and capacity-building projects in the green and low-carbon sectors across China and Belt and Road partner countries.

Looking ahead, IESD will continue to expand its collaborative innovation network across universities, international organizations, local governments, and industries, contributing more of Tongji's wisdom and solutions to the global green and low-carbon transition and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).