Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to 2021.

I am grateful to Council members, special advisors, partners, team leaders, and members for the continued momentum of CCICED's work, despite the challenges of the past year. CCICED's advice to the State Council has helped inform China's strategic focus on green development in the 14th Five Year Plan: the details of that plan are expected in March 2021.

CCICED Special Policy Studies (SPS), including new work on nature-based solutions and integrated freshwater basin management, are moving forward extraordinarily well.

CCICED's work could not be more timely: China's September 2020 carbon neutrality pledge has instilled a renewed urgency to tackle climate mitigation, from the launch of a national emissions trading system in 2021 — the world's largest — to scaling up net-zero green technologies, exploring net-zero cities, expanding green consumption options, and implementing standards and safeguards to green the Belt and Road Initiative. CCICED's work is also examining Nature Positive outcomes, including through its work on biodiversity, oceans, green finance, and green supply chains that avoid deforestation linked to soft commodities.

In the coming weeks, we are looking to share with members, special advisors, and partners the progress of CCICED's 2021 SPS research through a virtual meeting. We are also preparing a meeting on the theme of Nature Positive pathways in advance of China hosting the Kunming Biodiversity Summit in 2021. An update will be shared in the coming weeks.

As always, I look forward to working with you and, with good fortune, to seeing one another in person in 2021. Until then, please stay safe.

Scott Vaughan

CCICED International Chief Advisor