On December 17th and 18th, 2016 the China Center for Climate Change Communication (China4C) co-hosted a conference, Climate Communication and the Green Future. Approximately 100 attendees, representing government, academia, media, NGOs, and the business sector attended the opening ceremony in Beijing. Mr. Du Xiangwan, Advisor to China’s National Commission of Experts on Climate Change, gave the opening address. He observed that climate change is one of the world’s largest, shared challenges. The Paris Agreement, he said, is the rational choice to address this challenge, and China will continue to fight climate change with its global partners. Dr. Zheng Baowei, Director of China4C, and a professor at Renmin University in Beijing, further emphasized that the four key words to the conference are: climate, communication, interaction, and win-win.
In a pre-recorded video address, Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of YPCCC, also addressed seminar attendees. He shared new findings from the YPCCC’s most recent national survey of Americans, conducted in November 2016. One highlight: 69% of Americans support U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement. His speech was recorded and posted on a popular Chinese video website; it has since been shared broadly across Chinese social media and traditional news outlets in China. Dr. Leiserowitz’s speech received more than 50 media mentions, including the Xinhua News Agency, China News Agency, and Chinese Central Television.
Below are Dr. Leiserowitz’s remarks:
Anthony Leiserowitz – Climate Communication and the Green Future from Yale F&ES on Vimeo.