EU and China to collaborate on low-carbon city projects

The European Union’s main climate innovation initiative, Climate-KIC, and the fourth largest city of China, Tianjin, have agreed to collaborate on the JiefangNan Rd New Meijiang pilot, a low-carbon city project. The agreement was signed in Bejing today (21 November 2013) in the presence of China’s Premier Li Keqiang and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.

Climate-KIC CEO Mary Ritter and District Mayor Peng San of Tianjin City's Hexi District formalised the agreement by signing a statement of intent in the Chinese capital’s Great Hall of the People, where the EU-China Summit is taking place this week.

Mary Ritter, Climate-KIC CEO, said: “It is very exciting for Climate-KIC to establish a collaborative relationship with one of China’s most dynamic cities – to develop projects at the heart of the city’s sustainable development challenges. I am sure Climate-KIC’s community will learn a lot from collaborating with our colleagues in Tianjin.”

Climate-KIC and the city of Tianjin intend to establish a long-term collaborative relationship on projects that stimulate sustainable growth and are currently developing plans for pilot projects on green building retrofit and smart city systems.

“Chinese cities are on the frontline in facing the combined challenges of climate change, sustainable development and demographic change. How China urbanises in the coming decades is critical for China and the wider world,” Mary Ritter said. 

The memorandum of understanding is underpinned by an agreement between China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy, within the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership.

The 16th EU-China Summit is taking place in Bejing this week and features representatives from the highest levels at both blocks. The EU is China’s biggest trading partner, while China is the EU’s largest source of imports and second largest two-way trading partner. The trade and investment relationship is a major source of wealth, jobs, development and innovation for both sides.

Climate-KIC is the European Union’s largest public-private innovation partnership focused on mitigating and adapting to climate change. Climate-KIC consists of dynamic companies, renowned academic institutions and the public sector.

The pan-European organisation is headquartered in London and brings together partners on innovation projects, supports start-up companies and educates students to bring about a connected, creative transformation of knowledge and ideas into products or services that help mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Climate-KIC is one of three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) created in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the EU body tasked with creating sustainable growth.

Climate-KIC currently has centres in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK and is represented in the regions of Valencia, Central Hungary, Emilia Romagna, Lower Silesia, Hessen and the West Midlands.

As part of this week’s EU-China Summit, a Climate–KIC delegation has participated in the EU-China Urbanization Partnership Forum in Beijing today (21 November 2013). 

The Forum was organised by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy, under the high patronage of Premier Li Keqiang and President José Manuel Barroso. 

The forum has been organised within the framework of the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership, launched in May 2012 in Brussels, and is intended to be a milestone in the strategic relations between China and the EU. 

It addresses a crucial Chinese challenge, urbanisation, through an innovative networking approach between Chinese and EU cities and regions. It is the first time that local and regional authorities will play a leading role in such international relations.

Several Commissioners, a number of EU mayors and top experts and business representatives formed the EU delegation, and met their counterparts in China. The EU-China Urbanisation Forum included a Plenary Session and five sub-fora: Green Cities, Smart Cities, Innovative Cities, Urban Mobility and Cultural Heritage.