The 2025 International Forum on Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation (CNEST) was successfully held in Beijing from June 27-29.
Li Luming, President of Tsinghua University; Dai Gang, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation at China’s Ministry of Science and Technology; Zou Hui, Deputy Director General of the Department of Science, Technology and Informatization at the Ministry of Education; Gan Jingzhong, Party Secretary of CPC Changping District Committee; Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director General of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis; Tsinghua University Vice Presidents Zeng Rong and Jiang Peixue; Jiang Yi, Director of the Building Energy Conservation Research Center; and He Kebin, Dean of the Institute for Carbon Neutrality, attended the forum, together with domestic and international experts and representatives from government, industry, and academia. The forum was hosted by Tsinghua University and organized by the Tsinghua Institute for Carbon Neutrality. Zeng Rong chaired the opening ceremony.
The venue of the 2025 International Forum on Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation.
Li Luming stated that Tsinghua University established the Institute for Carbon Neutrality and took the lead in initiating the multilateral collaboration program "Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation" to support the achievement of carbon neutrality goals both in China and globally. Going forward, Tsinghua will leverage its strengths as a comprehensive university to promote the development of carbon neutrality-related disciplines and cultivate high-level talent. It will build high-end platforms, pool quality resources, and contribute to the realization of the "dual carbon" goals. He expressed hope that this forum would serve as a starting point for sparking new ideas, turning vision into action, and working together to contribute to global climate governance and energy transition.
Dai Gang stated that continued support would be given to Tsinghua University, as well as to domestic and international universities, research institutions, and scientists, to deepen research exchange and collaboration around the key issues of carbon neutrality and energy system transformation. Zou Hui expressed the hope that Tsinghua University would promote the high-quality implementation of the CNEST program, setting an exemplary model for joint efforts to address major global challenges. Gan Jingzhong noted that as the host of the forum, Changping District would provide comprehensive and high-level services for scientific and technological exchange, achievement transformation, and industrial development. Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber expressed the hope that the CNEST program would strengthen research cooperation with IIASA and serve as a valuable platform for deepening international collaboration. Mary Burce Warlick, Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), stated in a video message that the IEA is committed to working with governments, industries, and multilateral partners around the world to advance the transition to clean energy.
Jiang Peixue, also Leader of the CNEST program, delivered a keynote presentation titled "Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation: The Next Generation System under Carbon Neutrality." He emphasized that building a new energy system for carbon neutrality is a complex global scientific challenge. In response, Tsinghua University launched the CNEST program in partnership with multiple institutions, proposing a vision for an integrated, optimized energy system that achieves carbon neutrality at the lowest cost while supporting sustainable development. CNEST also aims to build an open, international innovation ecosystem for energy systems, fostering a global research platform that mobilizes universities, research institutions, enterprises, and international organizations to contribute to the global carbon neutrality agenda.
During the opening ceremony, youth representatives from China, Germany, India, and Spain — Alice Ho, Maximilian Arras, Pallavi Sareen, and Diego Rodriguez — jointly read the CNEST Beijing Initiative. The initiative calls for building a global collaborative network to promote energy system transformation; advancing scientific and technological innovation to lead energy transformation; cultivating an innovation ecosystem to accelerate implementation; and synthesizing global knowledge to empower equitable development.
Beijing Initiative on Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation launches during the forum.
The ceremony also featured the launch of Technology Review for Carbon Neutrality, an international journal that will serves as an open, neutral, and thoughtful global platform of communication on CNEST.
As the inaugural international forum on the multilateral collaboration program CNEST, the event brought together over 400 participants from 19 countries. Attendees included representatives from universities, research institutes, enterprises, and international organizations. Following the opening ceremony, six parallel thematic forums were held, along with keynote speeches by renowned domestic and international experts and scholars, as well as a series of events including leadership roundtable discussions.
Editors：Li Han, JP
