Joint conference of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Date: Tuesday, 29 to Wednesday, 30 October 2024

Location: Berlin Adlershof Science City, 12489 Berlin

The world's major industrialized countries must significantly reduce their carbon emissions to meet the terms of the Paris climate agreement. China and Germany have set themselves the goal of achieving carbon neutrality in the coming decades. This requires further basic research, technical innovation and adequate global political framework.

The conference will discuss innovative approaches from basic research and application thus opening a discourse on the strategies in Germany and China to achieve carbon neutrality in both countries. The conference will also serve as a platform for the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences among internationally renowned scientists from various disciplines.

The National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly launched the "Science for Future" initiative in 2018, with the aim of highlighting the importance of basic research for society. The conference entitled "On the Path to Carbon Neutrality" is the second in the series.

Keynote speakers of the conference:

Prof. Dr. Benjamin List ML, Max‐Planck‐Institute for Coal Research, Nobel Prize Laureate for Chemistry 2021

Prof. Dr. BAI Chunli, Past President of CAS, CAS Institute of Chemistry

Prof. Dr. Klaus von Klitzing ML, Max‐Planck‐Institute for Solid State Research, Nobel Prize Laureate for Physics 1985

Further confirmed speakers include:

Impulse Session: The promise of carbon neutrality: Where do we stand with new and old technologies? What does it take to achieve carbon neutrality in China and Germany? 

Prof. Dr. FU Bojie, Member of CAS, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, CAS

Prof. Dr. Veronika Grimm, University of Technology Nuremberg

Prof. Dr. GUO Zhengtang, Member of CAS, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS

Prof. Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer ML, Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Impact (PIK)

Moderation:

Prof. Dr. Harald Fuchs ML, University of Münster

Prof. Dr. YU Shuhong, Member of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China

Session 1: Basic research – the core of innovation 

Prof. Dr. Susan Trumbore ML, Max‐Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry

Prof. Dr. WANG Zhonglin, Foreign Member of CAS, Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems

Moderation:

Prof. Dr. Katharina Kohse‐Höinghaus ML, Bielefeld University

Prof. Dr. HAN Buxing, Member of CAS, Institute of Chemistry CAS

Session 2: Innovation, translation, application – promising new technologies 

Prof. CHEN Haisheng, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics

Prof. Dr. Hans‐Martin Henning, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg

Prof. Dr. WEI Wei, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, CAS

Prof. Dr. Martin Winter, University of Muenster

Moderation:

Prof. Dr. Rolf‐Dieter Heuer ML, CERN

Prof. Dr. CHENG Huiming, Member of CAS, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS

Session 3: Market conditions and policies – the necessity for global cooperation 

Prof. Dr. Andreas Löschel, Ruhr University Bochum

Prof. Dr. CHEN Weiqiang, Institute of Urban Environment, CAS

Prof. Dr. Karen Pittel, ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

Prof. Dr. WANG Pu, Institutes of Science and Development, CAS

Moderation:

Prof. Dr. Christoph M. Schmidt ML, Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

Prof. Dr. SU Hang, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS

ML = Member of the Leopoldina