Guangzhou University hosted the 2025 International Conference on Climate and Energy Finance (ICEF) in Guangzhou, China, on 13-15 June, 2025. This conference focuses on “Energy and Climate Finance in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals”. This year, nearly 300 experts and scholars from 100 renowned universities and research institutions around the world, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Fudan University, Renmin University of China, the University of Zurich , and the University of Oklahoma, participated in the conference to explore new ideas and cutting-edge researches.
Researcher Chao Qingduan, Director of the National Climate Center of the China Meteorological Administration, Professor Douglas Cumming from the Stevens Institute of Technology, Professor William Megginson from the University of Oklahoma, and Professor Zacharias Sautner from the University of Zurich, delivered keynote speeches at the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony respectively. Prof. Ching-Tsing Chao’s presentation entitled Building Sustainable and Climate Resilient Energy Systems proposed climate resilient solutions for sustainable energy systems, while Prof. Douglas Cumming’s presentation entitled Sustainable Banking: Unlocking the Reputational Potential of ESG Media and Maintaining the Stability of the Financial System analyzed the impact of ESG performance on the stability of the banking and financial system. Prof. William Megginson’s presentation on the financial economics of spaceflight focuses on the importance of the global space economy. Prof. Zacharias Sautner’s presentation on natural risks examines the corporate investment and management challenges posed by natural risks.
The ICEF conference has 44 thematic sub-forums, which are fully discussed around the themes of climate risk management, social and governance performance, sustainable development, energy market development and transformation, and green finance, aiming to build a high-end platform for international academic exchanges in the field of climate and energy finance.
During the conference, the Climate Finance Research Chapter held the fourth board meeting of the first council, which was chaired by researcher Xia Yan, Secretary-General. Mr. Zhang Dayong, Chairman of the Board of Directors, introduced the rich work of the Chapter for the year 2024-2025, and presented the major work arrangements of the Chapter for the coming year. Finally, Prof. Song Yan from Xidian University applied for hosting the next annual meeting, which was unanimously approved by the Council.
This conference was co-organized by the Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, TIERS from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics and Guangzhou University School of Economics and Statistics. Prof. Song Yan from the School of Economics and Management of Xidian University, the organizer of ICEF 2026 warmly looked forward to the gathering of global experts in Xi’an to explore more cutting-edge theoretical results and practical cases for climate and energy finance.
