City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and the French Academy of Sciences (FAS) co-organised the International Conference on Clean Energy for Carbon Neutrality from 7 to 10 March, bringing together top experts, scholars and industry leaders from all over the world to jointly discuss this globally important topic.

Professor Way Kuo, CityU President, reached an agreement with Professor Jules A. Hoffmann, President of the FAS, to hold this international conference at CityU this year when he visited France in March 2022. Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, Lee Shau Kee Chair Professor of Materials Science of CityU, and Professor Marc Pierre Fontecave, member of the FAS and president of the Energy Committee of the French Academy, were appointed chairmen of the organising committee. Mrs Christile Drulhe, Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, and Professor Fontecave visited CityU on 7 March to attend the opening ceremony.

In his welcoming speech, President Kuo pointed out that there are only 27 years left to reach the global net-zero emissions goal set by the Paris Agreement of 2015 (COP21) to avoid catastrophic climate change. “CityU is actively involved in conducting innovative research to facilitate this transformation to a carbon-neutral economy and in promoting research and development in technologies that will drive net-zero carbon innovations. The University is committed to the education of leaders and professionals who will help shape our world’s future,” he said.

Professor Fontecave said in his speech that he agreed with the importance of the conference. “This offers a great perspective for all of us and also for the young generation that we must continue to invest in scientific education and to get into research and industry jobs to contribute to the success of this global project.”

This energy and technology-related international conference is another major forum organised by CityU, along with an online forum on clean energy and nuclear safety, held in March 2021, and six forums in the HK Tech Forum series, held since May 2022.

Under the leadership of President Kuo, CityU is widely recognised as one of the world’s most rapidly rising universities. It has further established five key interdisciplinary research areas – One Health, Digital Society, Smart City, Matter, and Brain, which are identified as strategic goals in The Strategic Plan 2020–2025: World-class Research and Education of the University.

For details about the international conference, please visit its website at http://www.ncm2.xyz/hkice/iccecn2023/index.html.