Recently, China University of Petroleum (Beijing) was elected as the UNESCO Chair in Green Transition for Carbon Neutrality and Climate Change for the period of 2023 to 2027. The Chair is hosted by Professor Rui Zhenhua of the College of Petroleum Engineering, a national leading expert in the field.

The application procedure for the Chair took half a year, with fiercely contested national and international selection, and strong support from the Ministry of Education and 31 international organizations, energy companies, universities and research institutions. Previously, there were only 22 UNESCO Chairs in China. This Chair is the first one directly related to carbon neutrality in China and the world. It will be an important way to make China's voice heard, contribute China's wisdom, and provide China's solutions in the process of green transition to carbon neutral energy. The university and UNESCO will sign an agreement to ensure the successful completion of the Chair from various aspects.

The university will take this opportunity to promote international platforms such as the Chairs and the Worldwide Energy University Network and the "One Belt, One Road" Energy Partner Network University (Youth) Team Leader under the leadership of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to promote North-South cooperation, South-South cooperation and global energy cooperation with China. It also promotes North-South cooperation, South-South cooperation and China-led North-South-South cooperation on energy, accelerates the global flow of knowledge on the green energy transition, builds information platforms to support the open science movement, raises public awareness on carbon neutrality and climate change, educates responsible global citizens and lifelong learners, and prioritizes support for Africa and women's development.

The UNESCO Chair Program was established in 1992 to promote resource sharing, information exchange, and synergy among universities and research institutions worldwide, and to collaborate with UNESCO to address the major global issues facing the world today and to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for human society.