On April 3-4, Prof. ZHU Dajian was invited to participate in the 333rd National Foundation of China (NFC) Shuangqing Forum in Tianjin, China. He gave a keynote speech on the need to develop sustainability science for in-depth study of the Anthropocene.

The Shuangqing Forum is a high-level strategic academic conference organized by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It has the same academic reputation as the Xiangshan Conference organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology in China. The forum invites experts from different fields to discuss the intersection of natural sciences and humanities and social sciences in the era of “Anthropocene”, condenses the core basic scientific problems that need to be focused on and solved in the related fields. The forum provides a strong support for the development of the research field of “Anthropocene Science” and the search for the path of sustainable human development.

Professor ZHU Dajian gave the keynote speech at the forum, served as the co-chair of the forum’s trio, and moderated the discussion on the fourth topic, theories and pathways of sustainable development in the Anthropocene. In his keynote address, Prof. Zhu Dajian said: In-depth discussion of the Anthropocene requires not only identifying how much human impact is on Planet Earth, but also examining in what direction human impact is moving and how to respond to it. Sustainability science is the study of doctrine and paradigm change in understanding the relationship between people and the Earth system and realizing the transformation of the development paradigm. It is necessary to identify the fundamental theoretical issues in three dimensions: the object, the subject and the process. In the object level, whether the three intersecting circles of the weak sustainability model keeps transcending the planetary boundaries of the Earth, or the three encompassing circles of the strong sustainability model pursues the economic and social prosperity in the donut space. In the subject level, whether there is no dominant multi-stakeholder participation or whether government mechanisms need to play an integrated role in the people and planet governance system. In the process level, whether it is a simple post-event emergency management and technical improvement, or the whole process management and system innovation with cause and effect traceability. China is a world laboratory for Anthropocene science and sustainability science and can make creative contributions to the in-depth study of the Anthropocene concept and the development of sustainability science.