From November 7 to 20, the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. At the invitation of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) held a side event on Water Science and Technology Cooperation under Climate Change at the COP27 “China Pavilion” on November 15 both onsite and online, to share the development experience and promote the international cooperation on water science and technology under the climate change. The meeting was hosted onsite by Prof. Wei Yuansong from RCEES, CAS. Mr. Zhang Huasheng, Scientific Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, Prof. Cao Jinghua, Executive Director of the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO), Prof. Min Yang, Deputy Director of RCEES, CAS, and more than 80 experts and scholars from Egypt, Thailand, Sri Lanka as well as Tsinghua University of China, North China Electric Power University, etc., attended the side event online.

Zhang Huasheng introduced China's major achievements in environmental governance in his speech. He said China would continue to actively promote global climate governance and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind. 

Cao Jinghua introduced the achievements of ANSO in boosting international cooperation centered around the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Yang Min made a keynote presentation entitled "Chinese solution for Clean Water from Better to Best", summarizing the achievements of RCEES on water science and technology cooperation in the Belt and Road countries, and the prospects of the international cooperation surrounding the UN SDGs in the post-pandemic era.

Wei Yuansong introduced the cooperation experiences of China-Sri Lanka Joint Research and Demonstration Center for Water Technology. Prof. Islam Al Zayed from National Water Research of Egypt, Prof. Ahmed Tawfik from National Research Center of Egypt, Prof. Thammarat Koottatep from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, Prof. Rohan Weerasooriya from National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka, Prof. Zuo Jian'e from Tsinghua University, China, and Prof. Li Jiqing from North China Electric Power University presented a report respectively on aspects of the Rainwater Harvesting to Reduce Climate Change Vulnerability, Green Hydrogen Energy from Wastewater, Climate Adaptive Sanitation Systems, Water desalination, Applications of Al Technology in Urban Sewer Systems and Multi-objective Risk Analysis of Cascade Reservoirs in Yangze River.

This is the first time RCEES organized a side event at the UN Climate Change Conferences. COP27 focused on the adaptation to the impact of climate change. Leaders and representatives from 195 contracting parties, over 1300 media agencies and nearly 2000 observer organizations involved discussions around more than 300 related topics, and the total number of participants reached 45,000. Under the circumstances of tight preparation time and the impact of the epidemic on international communication channels, the delegation overcame kinds of difficulties, ensured the success of this side event at COP27 "China Pavilion", and accumulated valuable experiences for participating in multilateral cooperation in the future.

International Cooperation Office, RCEES, CAS

CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Water and Environment

China-Sri Lanka Joint Research and Demonstration Center for Water Technology

November 28, 2022