On May 10, 2025, the 10th Forum on Carbon Neutrality and Climate Finance was successfully held at the School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT). Themed “Climate Risk and Low-Carbon Transition”, the forum brought together leading scholars and experts from institutions including the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong University, Northwest A&F University, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), and Central University of Finance and Economics.
The forum was jointly organized by the Energy Finance Committee of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS) and the Climate Finance Division of the Chinese Society for Optimization, Overall Planning, and Economic Mathematics. It was hosted by CUMT’s School of Economics and Management and co-organized by the university’s Green Finance Research Center.
Group Photo
The forum commenced at 9:00 a.m. with welcoming remarks by Professor Li Xinchun, Party Secretary of the School of Economics and Management. He introduced CUMT’s academic strengths, particularly in energy and resource management, industrial safety, sustainable consumption, carbon market governance, and environmental finance.
Professor Zhang Dayong, representing the organizers, expressed his appreciation to the host institution. He reviewed the development of ISETS and the Climate Finance Division, and highlighted the forum’s alignment with global trends in green development.
Professor Wang Delu, Associate Dean of the School, presided over the opening ceremony.
Remarks by Professor Li Xinchun
Remarks by Professor Zhang Dayong
The keynote session featured insightful presentations on climate finance and green transition:
Prof. Shao Shuai (Tongji University) presented on "Can the Digital Economy Drive Low-Carbon Transition and Promote Equality?" His research demonstrated that digital transformation enhances firms’carbon efficiency and has significant spatial spillover effects.
Prof. Yang Mian (Wuhan University) delivered a speech titled "Driving Greening through Intelligent Transformation", showing that firms holding AI subsidiaries experience improved environmental performance via enhanced innovation, energy efficiency, and environmental management.
Prof. Ma Feng (Southwest Jiaotong University) presented "Views to Value? The Green Innovation Effect of Natural Scenic Agglomeration", revealing that proximity to scenic areas positively affects corporate green innovation, mediated by regulatory quality and regional factor optimization.
Dr. Mo Jianlei (Chinese Academy of Sciences) shared findings on "Renewable Energy Expansion and Avian Biodiversity in China", based on full-sample data from 2016–2021. His study found no direct impact of renewable energy projects on bird species diversity, though regional governance and green innovation exert significant moderating effects.
Professors Wang Delu and Jiang Hongyan from CUMT chaired the keynote session.
In the afternoon, two parallel sessions were held:
Session I was chaired by Dr. Guo Kun (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Dr. Wu Kai (Central University of Finance and Economics).
Session II was chaired by Prof. Zhang Maojun (Suzhou University of Science and Technology) and Prof. Geng Jiangbo (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law).
Experts from Shandong University, Northwest A&F University, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), China University of Petroleum, Beijing University of Technology, and others presented their latest research and engaged in in-depth discussions on climate risks and low-carbon transition strategies.
Parallel Session I
Parallel Session II
Closing Remarks
At the closing ceremony, Associate Professor Wang Xu, Deputy Director of the Finance Department at CUMT, delivered closing remarks on behalf of the organizers. He expressed gratitude to all participants and emphasized the forum’s contribution to academic collaboration and knowledge exchange in climate finance. The event advanced research in areas such as climate policy design, low-carbon innovation, and transition risk management.
Moving forward, the School of Economics and Management will continue to promote interdisciplinary research in climate risk and energy-resource governance, contributing to the realization of China’s “dual carbon” goals with both intellectual and practical support.
Authors: Guo Shu, Wang Xu, Liu Zhenhua
Reviewed by: Li Kaifeng
