Science for Future: On the Path to Carbon Neutrality

The world's major industrialized countries must significantly reduce their carbon emissions to meet the terms of the Paris climate agreement. China and Germany have set themselves the goal of achieving carbon neutrality in the coming decades. This requires further basic research, technical innovation and adequate global political framework.

The conference will discuss innovative approaches from basic research and application thus opening a discourse on the strategies in Germany and China to achieve carbon neutrality in both countries. The conference will also serve as a platform for the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences among internationally renowned scientists from various disciplines.

The National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly launched the "Science for Future" initiative in 2018, with the aim of highlighting the importance of basic research for society. The conference entitled "On the Path to Carbon Neutrality" is the second in the series.

Keynote speakers of the conference:

• Prof. Dr. Benjamin List ML, Max‐Planck‐Institute for Coal Research, Nobel Prize Laureate for Chemistry 2021
• Prof. Dr. Chunli Bai, Past President of CAS, CAS Institute of Chemistry
• Prof. Dr. Klaus von Klitzing ML, Max‐Planck‐Institute for Solid State Research, Nobel Prize Laureate for Physics 1985

Further confirmed speakers include:

Impulse Session: The promise of carbon neutrality: Where do we stand with new and old technologies? What does it take to achieve carbon neutrality in China and Germany?

• Prof. Dr. Bojie Fu, Member of CAS, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, CAS
• Prof. Dr. Veronika Grimm, University of Technology Nuremberg
• Prof. Dr. Xinhe BAO, Member of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China
• Prof. Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer ML, Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Impact (PIK)

Moderation:

• Prof. Dr. Harald Fuchs ML, University of Münster
• Prof. Dr. Shuhong Yu, Member of CAS, University of Science and Technology of China

Session 1: Basic research – the core of innovation

• Prof. Dr. Susan Trumbore ML, Max‐Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry
• Prof. Dr. Zhiyong Tang, Member of CAS, Director of National Center for Nanoscience and Technology CAS

Moderation:

• Prof. Dr. Katharina Kohse‐Höinghaus ML, Bielefeld University
• Prof. Dr. Buxing Han, Member of CAS, Institute of Chemistry CAS

Session 2: Innovation, translation, application – promising new technologies

• Prof. Haisheng Chen, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics
• Prof. Dr. Hans‐Martin Henning, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg
• Prof. Dr. Wei Wei, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, CAS
• Prof. Dr. Martin Winter, University of Muenster

Moderation:

• Prof. Dr. Rolf‐Dieter Heuer ML, CERN
• Prof. Dr. Huiming Cheng, Member of CAS, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS

Session 3: Market conditions and policies – the necessity for global cooperation

• Prof. Dr. Andreas Löschel, Ruhr University Bochum
• Prof. Dr. Weiqiang Chen, Institute of Urban Environment, CAS
• Prof. Dr. Karen Pittel, ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
• Prof. Dr. Pu Wang, Institutes of Science and Development, CAS

Moderation:

• Prof. Dr. Christoph M. Schmidt ML, RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
• Prof. Dr. Hang Su, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS

ML = Member of the Leopoldina