On June 2nd, 2019, Mr. ZHAO Yingmin, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment of China (MEE) met a delegation of the Energy Foundation led by Mr. ZHANG Hongjun, Chair of the Board. After the meeting, on behalf of MEE and the Energy Foundation respectively, Ms. SONG Xiaozhi, Deputy Director-General of International Cooperation of MEE and Prof. ZOU Ji, President of Energy Foundation China officially signed a Cooperation Framework Agreement (2019-2023). According to the agreement, the two parties will deepen their on-going close collaboration to further promote governance and capacity for environment and climate co-management through activities in policy research, capacity building, pilots and demonstrations, international cooperation and exchange, as well as communication in the coming five years.

Vice Minister ZHAO welcomed the delegation to attend the 2019 Annual General Meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. He noted that the Energy Foundation has been “an old friend of China’s environmental causes,” with dedicated support to China’s efforts on ecological environment protection, climate change, green economy, and low-carbon transformation for the past two decades. He acknowledged the outstanding contribution of the Energy Foundation and other partners to China’s environmental achievements.

Vice Minister ZHAO also said that China has attached great importance to ecological civilization and green development, out of what the country needs for its future growth, as well as what the world needs to address the common existential challenges facing the humankind. The current international situation is becoming more complex, according to him. Under such circumstances, we should play a more active role in promoting multilateralism and bilateral cooperation based on our consensus on environmental issues. Signing this Cooperation Framework Agreement signaled that MEE and the Energy Foundation have expanded their strategic cooperation at all levels in the field of environment and development, especially for a green “Belt and Road Initiative,” commented Vice Minister ZHAO. He expected this cooperation would help accelerate the great cause of environmental protection in China.

Chair ZHANG Hongjun noted that the foundation has been working in China for 20 years, funding almost 2800 research projects operated by 750 grantees in China, of a total amount of more than $300 million. The Cooperation Framework Agreement provides a new, strengthened foundation for environmental work in China that is both visionary and pragmatic. The Energy Foundation will continue to support more forward-looking and effective policy research and education in key areas of air pollution control and low-carbon development, he said.

Representatives from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Oak Foundation, and other funders of the Energy Foundation expressed their appreciation of the “green, open, shared, and responsible” development strategies China is striving to achieve. They also expected the Energy Foundation to strengthen its role of being a bridge for Sino-U.S. exchanges, and also in sharing China’s successful experiences of environmental governance to the rest of the world.