Partnership in Action: The CEET’s Fourth Annual Meeting in Beijing
In September 2025, the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET) hosted its fourth Annual Meeting alongside the 2025 Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) Conference in Beijing, China. The gathering brought together leading voices in energy, industry, and policy sectors to reflect on progress, exchange expertise, and strengthen collaboration for advancing the global energy transition.
Opening Session
The meeting opened with remarks from Mr. Ciyong Zou, Deputy to the Director General and the Managing Director of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development, UNIDO, and Dr. Cheng Zhiqiang, Executive Secretary for Cooperation of GEIDCO. Their remarks emphasized the importance of multilateral cooperation and innovative engineering solutions in shaping a sustainable energy future, setting the tone for the CEET’s meeting.
Reflecting on the CEET’s Success
Over the past year, the CEET has deepened collaboration with UN agencies and international stakeholders, providing technical advice, policy input, and thought leadership across a range of critical areas. During the Annual Meeting, the Council reviewed these successful collaborations, including:
- Launching the Green Hydrogen Task Force in partnership with SEforALL.
- Hosting three webinars with nearly 1,000 registrants on Energy Rating Labels (with UNEP U4E); Clean Cooking Solutions (with UNDP); and Fossil Fuel Phase-Out (with UNFCCC, UNIDO, and ESCAP)
- Contributing expert analysis to UNIDO’s Energy Foresight Study.
- Co-organizing two official side events at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), focusing on clean energy transition and economic growth in the Global South.
- Publishing a CEET Issue Brief on “Global Strategies for Low-Carbon Iron and Steel Production” (with UNIDO and UNFCCC).
- Providing feedback to UN DESA’s SDG7 Policy Briefs, helping to shape global policy dialogues on sustainable energy.
Together, these milestones reflect the CEET’s growing role as a trusted technical partner and knowledge hub in advancing the global energy transition.
Partnerships for Progress
The afternoon session began by welcoming distinguished partners who shared their institutional priorities, highlighted pressing challenges, and explored potential areas of collaboration with the CEET. Council Members then exchanged targeted reflections, aligning the CEET’s technical expertise with partners’ strategic objectives.
The session underscored the value of building stronger bridges between engineering expertise and policy action, with concrete opportunities for follow-up collaboration. The CEET is grateful to the following partners for their participation in this session and engagement with the Council.
- Mr. Pedro Jatoba, Chairperson of GEIDCO Brazil Committee
- Ms. Divya Kottadiel, Principal Specialist, Energy, SEforALL
- Ms. Phoebe Koundouri, Chair, SDSN Global Climate Hub
- Mr. Hongpeng Liu, Director, Energy Division, UN ESCAP
- Mr. Riad Meddeb, Director, Sustainable Energy Hub, UNDP
- Mr. Stefano Pistolese, Policy Specialist, Sustainable Energy for Development, UNDP
- Mr. James Wahogo, Secretary-General of the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP)
Interventions at the GEI Conference
In addition to hosting the Annual Internal meeting, several Council members participated in sessions during the GEI Conference that showcased the latest thinking on interconnection, innovative green technologies, and the critical role of communities and youth in shaping the energy transition. These interventions highlighted the CEET’s technical expertise and reinforced its commitment to building partnerships across regions and sectors.
Building Local Capacity and Green Skills
Council Member Semida Silveira participated in the parallel session “Global Energy Interconnection Supporting the Implementation of the Paris Agreement: Capacity Building and Climate Action.” Speaking alongside global leaders, Silveira underscored the urgency of investing in local capacity and green skills to ensure that communities can fully participate in and benefit from the energy transition. Bringing a systems perspective into the conversation, her intervention emphasized that technological solutions alone are not sufficient — strong institutions, local expertise, and inclusive education systems are equally vital.
Exploring Opportunities in Green Hydrogen
Council Member Ju Wang joined the session “Powering Inclusive Growth from Potential to Prosperity: Opportunities and Trade-Offs in Green Hydrogen,” hosted by the UNDP Sustainable Energy Hub. His remarks focused on the dual nature of green hydrogen: its vast potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, and the need to carefully manage trade-offs around cost, infrastructure development, and equitable access. The session highlighted how strategic planning and cross-border collaboration can help unlock hydrogen’s promise while addressing challenges of scale and sustainability.
Youth and the Digital Transformation
CEET Secretariat Member Liz Nelson spoke at the “Youth Forum: Enhancing Interconnection to Jointly Promote Energy Transition.” On a panel with researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators, she emphasized the central role of youth in driving the digital and AI transformation shaping the future of energy. Drawing on global examples, she highlighted how young leaders are leveraging digital tools to accelerate cooperation across borders and advance clean energy projects. Nelson also spotlighted SDSN Youth, a leading global network mobilizing young leaders to co-create solutions for a sustainable future, underscoring the importance of intergenerational collaboration in the energy transition.
The Promise of Digitalization: Huawei Exhibition Hall
A highlight of the program was a visit to the Huawei Exhibition Hall, where CEET members and guests saw how cutting-edge digital technologies are reshaping the landscape of sustainable development. The exhibition showcased Huawei’s real-world applications across diverse sectors, including energy, security, and healthcare. These innovations demonstrated how innovations in digitalization, AI, and connectivity can accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Learn more about the CEET here.
