RCE Hangzhou jointly hosted the '2023 Sino-Foreign Scientific Dialogue' on 13 March 2023 in Linping, Hangzhou. Held under the theme 'Achieving the zero-carbon era through technology', it not only served as a discussion forum, but also as the kick-off ceremony for the second University-Level Zero Carbon and Cyclic Economy Technology Innovation Competition. The event was hosted by Hao Xin, Associate Director of RCE Hangzhou, as well as Dominik Sprenger and Katherine Olson, who represented Germany and the United States, respectively. It was held by the Zhejiang Province Science Association, Zhejiang Province Ecological Environment Bureau, Hangzhou Science Association, Hangzhou Ecological Environment Bureau, Zhejiang Province Science Association Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Association Alliance, Zhejiang Green Technology Promotion Association (Green Zhejiang), and other collaborative partners.

Former head of the Political Consultative Conference of Zhejiang Province, Hui Guo gave a presentation, highlighting that in order to achieve a zero-carbon future, collaborative forces all around the world must unite in the science/technology and education/outreach sectors. He encouraged educators from all levels of society to put more efforts into promoting a harmonious co-existence of humans and nature. His speech emphasised the importance of putting green development at the forefront of 'high-quality development' strategies, cultivating the inter-dependency of technological and scientific innovations and low-carbon development, and collaborating to achieve a zero-carbon future. The dialogue’s keynote speech was given by Xiang Gao, an engineering academician and the head of the Zhejiang University Carbon Neutrality Research Institute. Nine low-carbon experts from China, Germany, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Tanzania also gave presentations focusing on the theme of 'low carbon cities', sharing with the audience the low-carbon transformations happening in rural and urban areas throughout the world and the opportunities and challenges that come along with this development.

Five students from Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Technology University, Zhejiang College of Science and Technology, and the United Arab Emirates College of Hospitality Management shared their innovative ideas for how to apply low-carbon technology to cyclic economics, biofuels, COVID-19 tests, and other sectors. Now that the second University-Level Zero Carbon and Cyclic Economy Technology Innovation Competition has officially begun, university students from around the country will be able to share their innovative ideas related to low-carbon technology and the cyclic economy.

The dialogue also served as a platform to share a low-carbon video series produced by RCE Hangzhou, filmed and edited by event co-host Katherine Olson. The videos were separated into three categories: low-carbon lifestyle; production; and education. Among the topics were Dingyuan Textile Company (Linping, Hangzhou), eco-farming of mushrooms in Qingyuan, nuclear-powered heating systems in Haiyan, low-carbon transportation, the low-carbon stadiums of the Asian Games Chun’An facilities, the pilot-stage low-carbon town of Baizhang, Yuanhua solar industries in Haining, Longguan Solar Village, Hangzhou’s Chunhui Elementary School, and 'forestry education passports'. The video series served both to share exciting low-carbon projects all over Zhejiang Province and educate the audience about how to lead a low-carbon lifestyle. The chief editor of the 'World Environment' journal produced by the Education Center of the Ecological Environment Bureau, Caixia Luan, also made a commentary about the video series. She spoke about how short videos are currently a very popular method of sharing information, and these ten videos did an excellent job of sharing Zhejiang’s low-carbon stories and offer a great example for future low-carbon education and outreach projects to learn from.

At the end of the event, representatives from all ten project sites shared in the video series held up a green lifestyle signboard with advice such as 'plant trees', 'protect coral reefs', and 'bike to reduce carbon emissions', and called upon everyone to work together to achieve a green and low-carbon society.

(Photo credit: RCE Hangzhou. Report submitted by RCE Hangzhou, edits by Global RCE Service Centre)