During its 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM), the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) released six Special Policy Studies, four Scoping Studies, and a Special Study on gender mainstreaming. Along with AGM discussions and inputs from the CCICED’s Task Forces, these reports inform the Council’s 24 policy recommendations to the Chinese government to support building an inclusive, green, and low-carbon economy and to realize an environmentally-sound, beautiful China by 2050.

CCICED was established in 1992. According to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary report of the meeting, CCICED is a “high-level international advisory body whose membership includes experts from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, and social organizations from China and abroad.”

The Council’s main tasks are to study environment and development issues facing China and to provide policy recommendations to the Chinese government. CCICED provides a platform for international exchange on sustainable development to “enable the international community to understand China and support China’s engagement in the world.” In support of this goal, CCICED conducts “comprehensive, cross-sectoral, and multidisciplinary research that integrates environmental, economic, and social concerns and draws on advanced international concepts, policies, technologies, and best practices” to advance ecological civilization and sustainable development.

CCICED’s research is centered around four Task Forces. The Task Forces address: 1) global environmental governance and ecological civilization; 2) green urbanization and environmental improvement; 3) innovation, sustainable production, and consumption; and 4) green energy, investment, and trade. The ENB notes that the latter Task Force includes consideration of China’s Green Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The ENB highlights that the 2022 AGM convened in parallel to the Bonn Climate Change Conference, the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and a meeting of the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions on chemicals and waste. It also notes that participants frequently referenced three high-profile events that took place in the month prior to the AGM: the 50th anniversary of the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden (Stockholm+50); the first meeting in the process of negotiating an international legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution in Dakar, Senegal; and the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

CCICED’s 2022 AGM released Special Policy Studies on:

• Sustainable food supply chains;
• Key pathways of a green and low-carbon BRI;
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions peaking and carbon neutrality policy measures and implementation pathways;
• Ecosystem-based integrated ocean management under the vision of carbon neutrality;
• Low-carbon and resilient urban development and adaptation to climate change – river basin governance under climate change; and
• Value assessment of nature-based solutions.

The Scoping Studies released at the AGM address: innovative sustainability finance; sustainable trade and investment; risk prevention for green transition towards carbon neutrality; and digitalization to advance sustainability.

The AGM also included an opening and closing sessions and a series of open forums that tackled:

• Twin digital and green transformation for sustainability;
• Green supply chains;
• Ocean governance;
• Linking river basins management with nature resilience;
• Building a green BRI together to boost global green and low-carbon transition;
• Nature-based solutions and eco-benefits assessment; and
• Synergizing economic growth, energy security, and climate action for a steady growth.

A policy research dialogue supported in-depth discussion of these issues.

The ENB reports that the outcome of the meeting – CCICED’s 24 recommendations for the Chinese government – are organized under five areas:

• Staying committed to a green and low-carbon transition and ensuring security and stability in key areas, including economy, energy, food, and climate;
• Promoting green technological innovations to foster new driving forces for economic development;
• Improving the green and low-carbon system to bolster long-term endeavors in high-quality development;
• Enhancing integrated ecosystem-based management and optimizing low-carbon and resilient spatial patterns; and
• Deepening dialogues, exchanges, and practical cooperation to maintain an open, inclusive, and mutually-beneficial international environmental governance process.

The AGM also featured CCICED’s 30th Anniversary Forum held on the theme, ‘Towards a Green and Prosperous Future.’

CCICED’s 2022 AGM convened in Beijing, China, and online, from 13-16 June 2022. Read the ENB summary here. Read the SDG Knowledge Hub story about the discussions here. [Earth Negotiations Bulletin Coverage of CCICED’s 2022 AGM]