The 2024 Cambridge Sustainability Forum, co-organized by the Department of Land Economy and the School of the Weihai Advanced Interdisciplinary Science at Shandong University, took place at Churchill College, Cambridge from June 24th to 25th. The Forum brought together over 100 experts and scholars from prestigious universities and research institutions worldwide, including the University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Birmingham, University of Sussex, Cranfield University, Stanford University (USA), Nagoya University (Japan), Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Shandong University, Sun Yat-sen University, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Professor Zhang Ning, Deputy Dean of the School of the Weihai Advanced Interdisciplinary Science at Shandong University, chaired the opening ceremony. The ceremony was attended by Professor Andreas Kontoleon, Director of Research at the Department of Land Economy, and Professor David Newbery, Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, who delivered speeches. Professor Kontoleon highlighted the collaborative efforts between the Department of Land Economy and the School of the Weihai Advanced Interdisciplinary Science at Shandong University, marking the beginning of a long-term scientific partnership aimed at interdisciplinary research cooperation. Professor Newbery welcomed the attendees and provided insights into the history and interdisciplinary focus of Churchill College, emphasizing its achievements in academic research and its commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
Moderator: Ning Zhang
Welcome speech (1): Andreas Kontoleon
Welcome speech (2): David Newbery
The Forum featured keynote speeches from distinguished speakers including Professor David Newbery on "Navigating the Future: The UK’s Electricity Market Reform for a Decarbonised Sector," Professor Peter Tyler on "Building an Innovation Orientated Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: The Cambridge Experience," Professor D’Maris Coffman on "A Re-appraisal of Albert Aftalion’s Theory of Structural Transformation in an Era of Decarbonization," and Professor Guojun He on "Market vs. Planning: Emission Abatement under Incomplete Information and with Local Externalities." Other notable presentations included Professor Robert Elliott’s discussion on environmental policy evaluation in China using machine learning, and Professor Richard S.J. Tol’s exploration of China's unique carbon social cost estimates.
Keynote speeches
The keynote sessions were followed by hugely insightful Editors' Round Table and Q&A sessions, that included editors from several prestigious environmental economics and policy journals (Nature, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Environmental and Resource Economics, Energy Economics, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, the Journal of Cleaner Production, Energy, Ecology and Environment, and Next Energy).
The Forum also included parallel sessions covering a wide range of topics such as climate change, green development, sustainable development, innovation industries, policy assessment, air pollution, energy and ecology, and agricultural development. A total of 200 papers were submitted for review, with 50 papers accepted, and 45 papers presented orally across the parallel forums. The event concluded with an awards ceremony for outstanding papers and recognition of volunteers.
In addition to the academic programme, participants engaged in tours of Cambridge's historic city centre, and attended an informal pre-conference barbeque event, as well as a formal dinner at Christ’s College.
