China launches climate change film festival in Katowice

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China on Thursday launched an international film festival focusing on climate change during a major UN conference in the southern Polish city of Katowice as part of its efforts to show its firm commitment to tackling the pressing issue.

The organizing committee of Handle Climate Change Film Festival (HCCFF) called for entry for the 2019 HCCFF award expected to be announced in October next year in Shenzhen, China.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during a plenary session at the COP24 UN Climate Change Conference 2018, in Katowice, Poland, December 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

The annual film festival launched in Katowice follows its sessions in Paris in 2015, Marrakech in 2016 and Bonn in 2017. The previous three sessions have received 4,056 films from more than 100 countries.

The two-week 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which opened Sunday in Katowice, aims to finalize the implementation guidelines of the landmark Paris deal and provide clarity on how to carry out the accord fairly for all participating countries.

Smog is seen in this general view of the Upper Silesian Industrial Region from Bedzin, near Katowice, Poland, December 5, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

Founded in 2015 by Innovative Research Institute of Science Popularization, an NGO based in Shenzhen, the film festival has been welcomed and supported by Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China Meteorological Administration, and China's National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.

With its growing industrial influence, the festival has attracted resources from different stakeholders and an international jury with authorities is involved in the selection and awarding process.

(Cover: A United Nations flag is seen during the COP24 UN Climate Change Conference 2018 in Katowice, Poland, December 4, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency