On April 25, the Nankai-Birmingham-Glasgow Joint Conference on “Green Economy and Sustainable Development” was held at the Shiing-Shen Building on Balitai Campus. Well-known experts and young scholars from China, the United Kingdom and Japan gathered to discuss global sustainable development issues and deepen academic exchanges and cooperation.

Chen Yulu, President of Nankai University, attended and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, and Jonathan Frampton, Deputy-Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, delivered video messages. Yoshinori Shimizu, former Vice President of Hitotsubashi University in Japan; Tong Jiadong, Chair Professor at Nankai University and Director of the NKU Center for European Studies; and Mao Hongjun, Chair Professor at Nankai University, attended the meeting.

In his speech, Chen Yulu reviewed Nankai University’s cooperation with the University of Glasgow and the University of Birmingham in the fields of education, scientific research and talent cultivation. He pointed out that global ecological and environmental challenges are still grim, and green economy and sustainable development have become the common concerns and goals pursued by all countries. The conference focusing on current issues such as green economy, green finance innovation, and fintech empowerment was held at the right time and was of far-reaching significance. It was expected that the three universities would deepen cooperation and strive to improve the level of research in related fields, in order to give an impetus to the healthy and sustainable development of mankind and the Earth.

Anton Muscatelli said in his speech that in 17-year coorperation, the University of Glasgow and Nankai University has achieved productive academic outcomes in the fields of green economy and sustainable development. It was expected that through this conference, the University of Glasgow would continue to work with Nankai University and other partners to deepen win-win cooperation, and jointly contribute to the global green future.

In his speech, Jonathan Frampton said that the conference provided a valuable opportunity for the three universities to deepen exchanges and cooperation. It was expected that the three parties would deepen cooperation based on their respective strengths, and contribute to green economy and global sustainable development.

At the conference, the participants demonstrated the latest research achievements in the fields of green economy and sustainable development. Yoshinori Shimizu, a professor at the Faculty of Commerce and Management of Hitotsubashi University; David Maddison, a professor at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences of the University of Birmingham; David Dickinson, a professor at Birmingham Business School; Li Junqing, a professor at the School of Economics of Nankai University; Zhu Lingyan, a professor at the College of Environmental Science and Engineering of Nankai University; Ding Sai, a professor at the Adam Smith Business School of University of Glasgow; Lyu Xueying, an associate professor at the School of Economics of Nankai University and other scholars delivered keynote reports on topics such as international economy and trade, environmental regulation, new energy vehicles, carbon emissions, and extreme weather. It is committed to providing innovative ideas and cooperation paths for global ecological transformation and realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Tong Jiadong presided over the keynote report session.

After the conference, the three parties also held the “Nankai-Birmingham-Glasgow Cooperation Discussion Meeting” to broaden the scope of the themes of cooperative research and academic discussions. The participants conducted in-depth exchanges on the extension from green economy to digital economy, and the transition from basic research to policy-oriented research. At the same time, topics such as the expansion of areas for joint training of graduate students and the extension of joint research to interdisciplinary fields were discussed.

It is learned that the “Conference on Green Economy and Sustainable Development” is jointly organized by Nankai University, the University of Birmingham and the University of Glasgow. The conference, hosted by one of the three universities every year, fosters close interdisciplinary cooperation in the fields of environment and economics to meet the urgent needs of related fields around the world and produce high-level research results.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)