On February 28, 2025, the kick-off meeting for the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) Scoping Study on "Collaborative Innovation in Energy and Environment for High-Quality Development" was held in Beijing. The study is chaired by Wang Zhixuan, former Vice Director General of China Electricity Council. Its Chinese Coordinating institution is the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). Liu Shijin, the Chinese Chief Advisor of CCICED, Scott Vaughan, the International Chief Advisor of CCICED, and Jiang Zhaoli, Counsel (Director-General level) of the Department of Climate Change of MEE attended the meeting and delivered opening remarks.

Wang Zhixuan, team lead of the study, presented the overall framework for the project's implementation plan. He introduced the research background, key focus areas and the timelines of the project. The project aims to identify the emerging environmental challenges for synergistic development between energy transition and environmental protection during the deepening energy transition and propose policy recommendations to address the interconnected energy and environmental issues in an innovative and coordinated manner to promote high-quality development.

Experts from Energy Research Institute of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Coal Science and Technology Research Institute, National Energy Group, Energy Research Institute of Peking University, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), UNEP and International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) also participated the meeting and shared their insights.