On the afternoon of May 28, 2020, the IUC-Asia Programme, together with more than 20 experts from the European Union and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, conducted a webinar to prepare for the large-scale seminar to be held in China this September.

Chaired by Manuel CARMONA, Director General of the Climate Action Division of the European Commission, the main purpose of the seminar was to exchange policy views and good practice cases on resilience and adaptation to climate change, with a focus on green infrastructure and sponge city solutions.

Zhang Weijun, General manager of Ewaters Environment, was invited as one of the experts in China and shared the successful experience of sponge city construction in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province.

The conference began with a presentation by Manuel CARMONA on the European Green Deal and the EU's new adaptation strategy. He introduced the European Convention on Climate Change, which aims to transform the EU economy and achieve sustainable common development.

Professor Zheng Yan from the Institute of Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, then shared the relevant policies and success stories of climate-resilient cities in China, pointing out that the standard system for classifying different adaptive and vulnerable zones in China has led to a deepening difference in urban resilience between the eastern and western regions of China. The reason for this is that the socioeconomic resilience and disaster preparedness of cities in eastern China have developed faster.

Zhang Weijun, general manager of Ewaters Environment, then introduced sponge city construction in China. Taking the practice of Suqian City in Jiangsu Province as an example, Zhang Weijun introduced the system idea from water system to urban node with the framework of integrated basin management and planning coordination, and the management mechanism guaranteed by dynamic control means. The report also introduced the sponge design of Zhuomeng Town in Jingdong E-commerce and the classic cases of water ecological restoration of Maling River in the old city.

At the conference, Professor Alberto INNOCENTI from the IUC-Asia expert team introduced good practice cases of green infrastructure in Copenhagen and Rotterdam, emphasizing the need to localizing adaptive measures. Piero PELIZZARO, a resilient city expert from Milan, shared the case studies of low carbon cities in Milan and Paris, providing reference for the corresponding solutions to the challenges of global climate change.

The seminar provided a good platform for experts from China and Europe to introduce their outstanding project experiences and have in-depth discussions and active exchanges on the differences between resilient cities and sponge cities in China.