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China

China and Tsinghua launch Global South climate training programme, with first project in 2027

2026-11-15

Illustrative aerial forest and road, not the climate-training programme or the COP31 venue.

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment and Tsinghua University have launched a programme intended to train climate professionals in developing countries. The Global South Climate Action Leadership Programme, known as SCALE, was announced on Wednesday at the China Pavilion during COP31 in Antalya, Turkiye. Its first project is planned for 2027.

The announcement came at the fourteenth High-level Forum on South-South Cooperation on Climate Change. COP31, formally the thirty-first meeting of parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, opened on Monday and is scheduled to continue until 20 November. SCALE is a capacity-building initiative within that setting, not an announcement that new national emissions targets have been adopted.

From international plans to local implementation

Li Gao, head of the Chinese delegation and vice minister of ecology and environment, said China had carried out more than 300 climate capacity-building programmes since 2011. He said these had trained more than 10,000 officials and technical professionals from over 120 developing countries. Those figures describe earlier activities, not participants already trained under the newly announced programme.

Li said countries needed professionals able to turn their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans into policies and projects suited to local circumstances. China has worked with the UNFCCC Secretariat and other partners to initiate SCALE in response, he said. Yang Bin, vice chair of Tsinghua University Council, said the university would contribute its research strengths and expert network.

Planned activities combine online preparation, in-person training and field visits, focusing on climate governance, policy design and project delivery. The programme also envisages a long-term alumni network, opportunities for outstanding participants to study further in China and former participants returning as mentors. The aim is a continuing professional network rooted in developing countries; the announcement did not set out an application deadline, participant quota or completed training outcomes.

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