The European Union’s main climate innovation initiative, Climate-KIC, and the fourth largest city of China, Tianjin, have agreed to collaborate on the JiefangNan Rd New Meijiang pilot, a low-carbon city project. The agreement was signed in Beijing in the presence of China’s Premier Li Keqiang and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.
Climate-KIC CEO Mary Ritter and District Mayor Peng San of Tianjin City’s Hexi District formalised the agreement by signing a statement of intent in the Chinese capital’s Great Hall of the People, where the EU-China Summit is taking place this week.
Mary Ritter, Climate-KIC CEO, said: “It is very exciting for Climate-KIC to establish a collaborative relationship with one of China’s most dynamic cities – to develop projects at the heart of the city’s sustainable development challenges. I am sure Climate-KIC’s community will learn a lot from collaborating with our colleagues in Tianjin.”
Climate-KIC and the city of Tianjin intend to establish a long-term collaborative relationship on projects that stimulate sustainable growth and are currently developing plans for pilot projects on green building retrofit and smart city systems.
"Chinese cities are on the frontline in facing the combined challenges of climate change, sustainable development and demographic change. How China urbanises in the coming decades is critical for China and the wider world,” Mary Ritter said.
The memorandum of understanding is underpinned by an agreement between China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy, within the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership.
The 16th EU-China Summit is taking place in Bejing this week and features representatives from the highest levels at both blocks. The EU is China’s biggest trading partner, while China is the EU’s largest source of imports and second largest two-way trading partner. The trade and investment relationship is a major source of wealth, jobs, development and innovation for both sides.
Europe’s largest public-private climate innovation partnership
Climate-KIC is the European Union’s largest public-private innovation partnership focused on mitigating and adapting to climate change. Climate-KIC consists of dynamic companies, renowned academic institutions and the public sector.
The pan-European organisation is headquartered in London and brings together partners on innovation projects, supports start-up companies and educates students to bring about a connected, creative transformation of knowledge and ideas into products or services that help mitigate and adapt to climate change.
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The European Union’s main climate innovation initiative, Climate-KIC, and the fourth largest city of China, Tianjin, have agreed to collaborate on the JiefangNan Rd New Meijiang pilot, a low-carbon city project. The agreement was signed in Beijing in the presence of China’s Premier Li Keqiang and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso. 
