The 29th session of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development was held in Geneva, Switzerland from April 20 to 24, 2026. Zhang Xian, an alumnus of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at Beijing Institute of Technology and Chief Scientist of the China Agenda 21 Management Center under the National Natural Science Foundation of China, was elected Chair of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development. This election marks a major breakthrough for Chinese experts participating in global science‑and‑technology governance and demonstrates the international influence of BIT alumni in the global science and technology community.

As a key body coordinating global science‑and‑technology governance, the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development is mandated to coordinate global S&T policies, empower sustainable development, and build platforms for international scientific and technological cooperation. His election as Chair represents high‑level international recognition of Zhang Xian’s professional competence and global influence. It also serves as a vivid reflection of China’s steadily growing comprehensive scientific‑technological strength and international discourse power. With a global perspective, alumnus Zhang Xian will contribute to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and foster a new, fairer, more inclusive and universally‑beneficial global S&T governance landscape.

Alumnus Zhang Xian has long devoted himself to strategic research on climate change and low‑carbon technologies, and has been deeply engaged in global climate governance and international S&T cooperation. He is a recipient of the National Ten‑Thousand Talents Program for Young Top‑Notch Talents. He has been listed in both the career‑long and annual versions of the World’s Top 2 % Scientists ranking for five consecutive years, and serves as a Coordinating Lead Author (CLA) for the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has published more than 150 papers in top‑tier international journals including Nature Climate Change, Nature Review Clean Technology, Nature Communications, and One Earth, among which 12 papers are ESI highly‑cited or hot papers. He has presided over more than 70 national‑ and provincial‑level research projects and authored over 20 monographs. Many of his research outputs provide critical scientific support for China’s climate‑change policy‑making and the development of low‑carbon industries.