The new environmental law is surprisingly powerful, but influential state enterprises are already working to undermine it. The documentary “Under the Dome” received congratulations from the environmental minister, but censors pulled it just a few days later. Join Björn Conrad, Director of the Research Area on Innovation, Environment, Economy and Associate Vice President for Research at Germany’s biggest China think tank MERICS, as he discusses China’s push to protect the environment.

Monday, April 27, 11am-12:30pm
“China’s War on Pollution: Fake or Real?”
Bjorn Conrad, Associate Vice President for Research, MERICS
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China
Embassy of Denmark | 80 RMB | Registration

China’s actions on environmental pollution leave many questions open. China’s Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution,” but local officials are turning a blind eye to chemical plants in their districts. The new environmental law is surprisingly powerful, but influential state enterprises are already working to undermine it. The documentary “Under the Dome” received congratulations from the environmental minister, but censors pulled it just a few days later. Join Björn Conrad, Director of the Research Area on Innovation, Environment, Economy and Associate Vice President for Research at Germany’s biggest China think tank MERICS, as he discusses China’s push to protect the environment.  He’ll aim to clear the air on whether the measures are legitimate or a mere window dressing to appease the Chinese people and international community.

Before joining MERICS, Björn Conrad served as Climate Change and Environment Officer at the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), managing numerous environmental projects in China and its neighbouring countries. Prior to taking up this post, he worked for the Global Environment Facility at the World Bank in Washington, DC. In 2008 he initiated the Global Public Policy Institute’s China Programme, with a focus on climate policy. In 2014, Conrad was appointed member of the expert committee for formulating a China Strategy for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).After completing his studies in Sinology, Political Science and Economics in Germany and China, Conrad moved to the US where he gained a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, specialising in environmental policy and economics.

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Event information courtesy of Legation Quarter