Former UN Under-Secretary-General Mr. Erik Solheim Visits CDUT and Holds a Lecture
On April 21st, Mr. Erik Solheim, former under-secretary-general of the United Nations, former executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, former minister of the Environment and International Development of Norway, vice chairman of the Sixth China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), current senior advisor of the World Resources Institute, president of BRI Green Development Institute in Beijing, and former executive chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, visited Chengdu University of Technology (CDUT) on invitation.
CDUT Vice President Zeng Ying held a symposium with Mr. Erik Solheim, which was attended by Lin Xiong, secretary of the College of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Liu Yongzhi, dean of the College of Foreign Languages & Cultures, Li Shan, deputy director of the Department of International Exchanges & Cooperation, Li Haimei, associate dean of the Humanities and Law School, Lu Haixia, associate dean of the College of Tourism and Urban-Rural Planning, and Pu Shengyan, associate dean of the College of Ecology and Environment.
Vice President Zeng Ying Talking with Mr. Solheim
At the symposium, Zeng Ying extended a warm welcome to Mr. Solheim and presented him with a gift. She presented CDUT's history, profile, advantageous disciplines, international cooperative education and talent cultivation in detail. She expressed the hope to appoint Mr. Erik Solheim as a visiting professor at CDUT and expected him to regularly give lectures at CDUT, so as to help CDUT open up channels for cooperating with international organizations and contribute positively to global sustainable and green development.
Vice President Zeng Ying Making Welcoming Remarks and Presenting Mr. Solheim with a Gift
Group Photo of Both Sides
After the symposium, Mr. Erik Solheim held a lecture titled "Environment and Geopolitics: How China Can Lead the World toward Ecological Civilization", which was actively attended by more than 300 CDUT students. Mr. Solheim noted during the lecture that the competition and cooperation relationship between China and the U.S. is an important feature of the international system today, and he reviewed China's close ties and differences with Western countries in world history. According to him, China's profound cultural deposits and strong historical ties are its unique advantages.
Lecture Site
Using the example of how to jointly promote green development and climate cooperation, Mr. Solheim analyzed the future of China-U.S. international relations. He spoke highly of China's development goals of peaking greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, believing that this will hugely promote global action to address climate change.
Mr. Solheim Giving the Lecture
After the lecture, students enthusiastically asked questions around such topics as climate change, environmental protection and sustainable development, including "how to better protect Earth in daily life", "effective ways to achieve sustainable development" and "how to solve energy poverty". Mr. Erik Solheim shared his unique insights into these questions amid a warm atmosphere on site. After the Q&A session, Liu Yongzhi made concluding remarks, in which he wished that students would seize the day and live it to the full, study assiduously and contribute to the sustainable and green development of China and the world.
Dean Liu Yongzhi Making Concluding Remarks
At last, a group led by Li Shan accompanied Mr. Erik Solheim to visit the Chengdu Natural History Museum (Museum of Chengdu University of Technology) co-built by CDUT and Chengdu and took a group photo together.
Group Photo after Visiting the Museum
The lecture is of great significance to broadening the international horizons of CDUT students, promoting international talent cultivation and contributing to people-to-people exchanges and development between China and foreign countries. In the future, CDUT will continue to invite more high-level international talents to give academic lectures and promote CDUT's cultural exchanges and mutual learning with the world.
It is learned that from 2005 to 2012, Mr. Solheim initiated the global program for conservation of tropical rainforests and promoted game-changing national legislation, including the Nature Diversity Act and legislation to protect Oslo city forests. He also brought Norwegian development assistance to 1%, the highest in the world. As the main negotiator of the peace process from 1999 to 2009, he played a vital role in peace efforts in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Sudan.
