The first edition of the International Conference on “Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability” was held in collaboration with the Chongqing University, China, and took place virtually from the 9th to the 11th of October, due to the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

This Conference is a step towards empowering decision-makers and energy stakeholders to join forces and proactively address the challenges of climate change so that actual progress can be achieved. By bringing together researchers who work on topics relevant to climate change and environmental sustainability to share their latest accomplishments and research findings, voices can be amplified and actions towards a more resilient, liveable, sustainable future taken. This conference serves as an important resource to inform people and provide them with a comprehensive understanding of the possible opportunities for environmental sustainability to address climate change.

Among the main topics discussed in the Conference:

1-     Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

2-     Sustainable Urban-Rural Planning and Design

3-     Decarbonization of Built Environment

4-     Climate-related Governance and Challenges

Day 1:

Welcoming Session:

The “Opening Ceremony” started with the online registration and welcoming speeches from the Conference Chair.

A Presentation about IEREK introducing the company and its activities to the audience followed.

Following IEREK’s introduction, short welcoming speeches were given by the conference chair Research. Prof. Baojie He, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, China & Green Talents Alumni of Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, the conference co-chair Prof. Ayyoob Sharifi, Professor at Hiroshima University Graduate School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Japan; Lead Author of IPCC 6^th & Associate Editor of Urban Climate Journal, Elsevier, the conference co-chair, Research. Prof. Chi Feng, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, China, and the conference co-chair Prof. Jun Yang, Jangho Architecture Collage, Northeastern University, China.

Plenary session:

A “Plenary Session” followed introducing the first keynote speaker, Professor Mattheos Santamouris, Anita Lawrence Professor of High-Performance Architecture in the University of South Wales, Australia & Co-Editor-in-Chief of Energy and Buildings Journal of Elsevier, whose speech was entitled: “Recent Advances in Urban Mitigation Technologies.”

Following the first keynote speaker was the second Keynote Speaker Marta Olazabal, Research Fellow at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and Head of the Adaptation Research Group, with a speech entitled: “Is urban climate adaptation in a deadlock?”

After the keynote speech was the First Session of the conference entitled “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation.” The session was moderated by Dr. Huimin Liu, Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, and Dr. Wanlu Ouyang, School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China.

Day 2:

The second day of the conference started with the remaining keynote speaker, Deo Prasad, Scientia Professor in the University of New South Wales, Australia & Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (FTSE) & the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (FAIA), with a speech entitled: “Delivering Net Zero Carbon Buildings.”

After the keynote speech, the Second Session, entitled: “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Urban Planning & Design,” which is moderated by Dr. Huimin Liu, Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, Dr. Wanlu Ouyang, School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, and Dr. Chuan Shang, Associate professor Chongqing university, China took place.

The Second Session discussed eleven presentations before the “Discussion & Conclusions Session” given by the conference chair Research. Prof. Baojie He, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, China & Green Talents Alumni of Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany.

Day 3:

The Third day of the conference started with the speech of the keynote speaker, Professor Joni Jupesta, Senior Researcher in the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE) & Lead Author IPCC 6th AR, Indonesia, entitled: “CD-R Technology and Natural based pathways in the climate Change Policy in Asia.”

After the keynote speech, the Third Session followed and was moderated by Dr. Xuan Ma, Department of Architecture, Chang’an University, China. The Third Session discussed Six presentations before the Virtual Group Photo.

Afterwards, the Fourth Session of the conference took place and was moderated by Dr. Gloria Pignatta, School of the Built Environment, Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture (FADA), University of South Wales, Australia, and Professor Federica Rosso, Department of civil, construction and environmental engineering (DICEA), Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. The fourth and last session of the conference discussed the remaining nine presentations.

A Discussion and Questions and Answers session followed, and the Conference was concluded by a Panel session where final remarks and feedback were discussed.