Events

Time: 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM (Beijing) | 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM (New York)

Columbia Global Centers | Beijing and the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia SIPA invite you to attend a webinar that will feature key findings of CGEP scholars' recent reports followed by a moderated discussion with Chinese sector experts.

In September 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would strive to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. The neutrality goal, in particular, was a breakthrough for global climate ambitions: a net-zero target from a country responsible for roughly one-quarter of global GHG emissions, more than any other country.

Meeting these aims, however, will demand a dramatic transformation of China’s economy, and especially of emissions-intensive sectors in energy and heavy industry that have fueled decades of rapid growth. China’s leading firms in these sectors are global giants, responsible for significant shares of GHG emissions in sectors from oil and gas to cement. How are they reacting to the climate challenge?

The Center on Global Energy Policy is preparing to release a pair of reports on this issue. One report, by Dr. Erica Downs, analyzes how Chinese oil and gas firms are preparing for a lower-carbon future. The other report, by Edmund Downie, examines early responses to the peaking and neutrality pledges from Chinese firms in coal power, steel, and cement.

In partnership with China Low Carbon Association, Carbon 100 Network.

Speakers

Dr. Erica Downs is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, focusing on Chinese energy markets and geopolitics.

Dr. Downs has a distinguished career in Eurasian energy policy with a focus on China.  She has over 15 years of experience working in the public and non-profit sectors. She previously worked as a senior research scientist in the China Studies program of the CNA Corporation, a senior analyst in the Asia practice at Eurasia Group, a fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, an energy analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, and a lecturer at the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing, China. Dr. Downs has managed more than 50 publications in the areas of Chinese energy production and development and its geopolitical positioning. She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Princeton University and a B.S. from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Edmund (Ned) Downie is a Ph.D. Candidate at Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs. He is also a non-resident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA working on the political economy of decarbonization, with a focus on Asia. He previously served as an analyst at Analysis Group in the energy and finance practice areas, with major casework including New York energy-market modeling and long-term power purchase agreement valuation. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Yunnan University in southwest China in 2017-18, studying Chinese energy trade with Southeast Asia, and a Yale University Gordon Grand Fellow in 2014-15 in India at the Center for Policy Research (Delhi) and the Center for Studies in International Relations at Development (Kolkata). He holds an MPhil in International Relations from Nuffield College, Oxford (Marshall Scholar) and a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale (Phi Beta Kappa).

David Sandalow is the Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and co-Director of the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He founded and directs the Center’s U.S.-China Program and is author of the Guide to Chinese Climate Policy. He teaches a one-month short course each year as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University. Currently, he serves on the Faculty Advisory Committee of Columbia Global Centers | Beijing.

Mr. Sandalow has chaired the ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project since 2015. In that capacity, he has led development of roadmaps on biomass carbon removal and storage, industrial decarbonization, direct air capture and carbon dioxide utilization, among other topics.

In 2020, Mr. Sandalow and colleagues co-founded the Food-Climate Partnership. He is lead author of the Food and Climate Change InfoGuide (CGEP, May 2021).

Dr. Jufeng Li is a professor-level senior engineer currently working at the Research Institute of Safety & Environment Technology of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Dr. Li graduated from the CNPC Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, majoring in oil-gas storage and transportation engineering. He has been committed to pollutant emission reduction and green low-carbon action in the petroleum and petrochemical industry for 23 years. His researches mainly focus on the causes and source control technology of pollutants and environmental monitoring.

Dr. Jingmin Wang is a professor, master supervisor, and associate dean of the International School of Low-Carbon Studies at Shandong University of Finance and Economics. Her research interests include low-carbon economy and sustainable development, corporate strategy, and social responsibility. She participated in the compilation of a five-year energy conservation plan at both provincial and municipal levels and the research report on central enterprises' pathway to achieving China's 'dual carbon' goals. She is currently the host of the Monthly Review of China's Carbon Trading Market program.

Ye (Agnes) Li is a manager at RMI's Beijing office working on green hydrogen development and heavy industry zero-carbon transition under the China Energy Transition team, in partnership with the Energy Transitions Commission. She is one of the core authors of China 2050: A Fully Developed Rich Zero-Carbon Economy. Agnes has participated in global projects on green steel, hydrogen roadmap, zero-carbon investment, and more. Prior to working in Energy Transition team, Agnes also worked on helping cities develop carbon peaking strategies and actions. She joined RMI in June 2017.

Reminders

• Event language: English
• If you have any questions, please email [email protected]