On 22 April 2024, Shanghai Climate Week, an international platform for exchange and cooperation supported by the United Nations and the Chinese government and joined by government, business, academia and civil society, opened at the Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai. The inaugural Climate & Sustainability Photography Awards held their debut exhibition at the museum the same day. WeCarbon's founding team were members of the founding team that proposed and initiated the concept of Shanghai Climate Week, and have supported its development ever since the idea was born. On the day, WeCarbon, its founders and the whole team supported the opening of Shanghai Climate Week and the Photography Awards in many ways: serving as a core ecosystem partner of Shanghai Climate Week, holding the post of Secretary-General of the Shanghai Climate Week Youth Council, assisting with on-site work at the opening ceremony, supporting the Secretariat of the Shanghai Climate Week Executive Committee, and acting as a supporting partner of the 2024 Climate & Sustainability Photography Awards.
Launched in 2023 with the guiding principle of “China Action, Asia Voice, Global Standard”, Shanghai Climate Week aims to encourage broad participation across society in China's sustainability commitments, tell the world China's story of climate action, carry Asia's voice on the green transition, deepen international exchange and cooperation on climate change, and take part in shaping and leading international rules.
At the opening ceremony venue, the Climate & Sustainability Photography Awards held their debut exhibition the same day. The Awards were co-hosted by Shanghai Climate Week and the Asian Development Bank, organised by the Shanghai Climate Week Youth Council and the Asia-Pacific Entrepreneurs Association (APEA), with strategic support from Fuqi Youth and the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Shanghai Hub; WeCarbon took part as a key supporting partner. Dedicated to “showing the beauty of ecological civilisation through authentic images”, the Awards focus on “tackling climate change” and “protecting biodiversity”, two pressing and difficult global environmental issues, and take as their themes four UN Sustainable Development Goals: “Sustainable Cities and Communities”, “Climate Action”, “Life Below Water” and “Life on Land”. Young photographers were encouraged to capture the beauty of ecological civilisation through their lenses, showing the public moments and stories of all living things growing together in harmony. Five works (or series) were selected in each category, for a total of 20 works (or series) on display.
As the lead of the exhibition's organising committee, Remoca Shi, Founder of WeCarbon and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Climate Week Youth Council, explained that the exhibition was carefully designed in three respects, content, presentation and materials handling, to reflect the ideas and spirit of green, sustainable development across its whole life cycle. On content, the exhibition went beyond the visual impact of the photographs: in plain language it introduced visitors to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) behind each work, explained why each goal matters, where things stand and what the challenges are, and encouraged visitors to take part in sustainable action themselves. On presentation, paperless digital media replaced the paper tickets and brochures used in large quantities at traditional exhibitions; the “Public Climate Action Handbook” educational materials provided by WildAid were presented online; and degradable, recyclable corrugated cardboard backdrops and stands replaced the plastic materials of conventional shows, greatly reducing the exhibition's waste and carbon footprint. On materials handling, the exhibition followed the “3R” principle of reduce, reuse and recycle, disposed of waste responsibly, and put internal processes in place so that stands, works, interactive props and other key materials can be reused at later exhibitions.
The event was honoured by the presence of Ms. Zhao Shaohua, former Vice Minister of Culture, who toured the exhibition and delivered a keynote speech. Ms. Remoca Shi, Founder of WeCarbon, as Secretary-General of the Shanghai Climate Week Youth Council and lead of the Awards' organising committee, joined other Youth Council members in accompanying Vice Minister Zhao around the exhibition, followed by a group photo and lunch. Vice Minister Zhao Shaohua spoke highly of the work of the Shanghai Climate Week Youth Council and of what the Climate & Sustainability Photography Awards had achieved.
On the same day, as part of the official programme for the opening day of Shanghai Climate Week, events including the Green Carbon Asia Forum 2024 Annual Meeting, the “Beautiful China” Forum and the Nordic Climate Forum also took place. As night fell, the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, Shanghai White Magnolia Plaza, Citigroup Tower, Aurora Plaza and other Shanghai landmarks lit up in the Shanghai Climate Week theme colours with the slogan “China Action, Asia Voice, Global Standard”, raising the curtain on the Shanghai Climate Week 2024 light show, “Spring Rhythms of Shanghai, Green Embroidery of the East”, along both banks of the Huangpu River.
To better promote the sustainability theme of the event and keep the competition fair, the Climate & Sustainability Photography Awards opened online public voting from 22 April to 6 May, making the public part of the judging. By scanning a QR code, members of the public could vote for their favourite works and help decide the winner of each category and the overall winner of the year. In the second half of 2024, the Awards will also launch a global touring exhibition to bring the idea of sustainable development, and the moving stories behind the works, to a wider audience.
While continuing to support the work of the Shanghai Climate Week Executive Committee, the Youth Council and the 2024 Climate & Sustainability Photography Awards, WeCarbon will meet more peers and partners at a number of events. At the Shanghai Climate Week celebration evening (“Cheers Climate Week”), WeCarbon Founder Eric Ma will share use cases of AI in tackling climate change and show how AI is applied in several WeCarbon products. WeCarbon will also attend the 2024 Green Finance and Sustainable Development Forum, the Youth Sustainable Development Innovation Debate and other events.
Tackling climate change is now a global consensus, and climate weeks are becoming platforms where all parts of society focus on climate change and showcase climate action. Going forward, WeCarbon will continue to work with all parties to help Shanghai Climate Week grow into a globally influential, non-governmental platform for international cooperation and exchange on climate change, and a climate week brand on a par with those of New York, London and Paris. WeCarbon will also draw on this global platform to help develop a standards system aligned with international benchmarks and share China's “climate voice”.