The scientific and social challenges on energy-water-climate change nexus has become a crucial element in sustainability research, while neither the public nor the private sectors were ready to solve, or even understand such challenges in a systematic way. In late May, over 30 early-stage researchers from China and the UK gathered at Nanjing to share research highlights and ideas on Nexus issues.
The workshop started by an opening speech from Prof. Lijie Pu, the Associate President of Nanjing University, and the greetings from Prof. Cheng Gu, the Vice Dean of School of Environment at Nanjing University. Mr. Matthew Knowles, who is the Area Director of East China, British Council, was also present to introduce the research collaborations between China and the UK.
The DVC of Lancaster University, Prof. Andrew Atherton, sent his greetings and congratulations with a video speech.
You can watch the video on Youtube or Youku.
The three-day workshop provided an excellent platform for the multi-disciplinary academic community. Sparks were inspired from many intriguing discussions about Nexus challenges within the context of energy policy, environmental management, global supply chains, and urban infrastructure.
One of the mentors, Prof. Mark Stevenson says:
This workshop brought together UK and China researchers from across a range of disciplines. From Lancaster University alone, there were colleagues from the Management School, Environment Centre, and Engineering. It was a truly international and multidisciplinary event with attendees united by an interest in building sustainability and resilience, addressing the challenges presented by the energy-water-climate change nexus. This is an important area for both the UK and China that is strongly aligned with the priorities set out by many research councils and funding bodies. The workshop included a number of really interesting talks and stimulated a lot of debate around sustainability and resilience both in a China and UK context. There was a particular emphasis on future research that has an impact on big business, sustainable consumption, and government policy. An important feature of the workshop was the networking between UK and China institutions, and it is hoped that one outcome will be new collaborative projects between UK and China researchers.
Participant Dr. Victoria Janes says:
The workshop explored challenges and issues within the energy-water-climate change nexus with case study examples from both China and the UK. Through the discussions I gained an insight into these issues from a range of different perspectives thanks to the highly diverse range of disciplines represented by the workshop participants. The presentations introduced methodologies that may be useful within my current research and has highlighted potential future research collaborations.
The workshop was generously funded by British Council, Newton Fund and National Natural Science Foundation of China.