March 23 is the "World Meteorological Day". To commemorate the establishment of the United Nations specialized agency—World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the meteorological department of each member state organizes a variety of public events on this day to promote meteorological science and arouse people's awareness of environment conservation.

Handle Climate Change Film Festival 2015 (hereinafter referred to as the "Festival") held a press conference and 3D documentary film 0.85°C premiere in Golden Carnival Center Cinema this morning. The official website www.hccff.org of this festival was formally launched on the same day.

Handle Climate Change Film Festival 2015 is China’s first public benefit film activity dealing with climate change. The Festival is scheduled to be held on September 19-20 in Shenzhen. During which, a series of events will be held including film competitions, professional forums, public-benefit screenings, brand exhibitions and etc. It aims to arouse people's awareness of environment conservation; encourage them to actively participate in energy saving and emission reduction to create a greener earth. From March 23 to July 30, 2015, the Festival is calling for entries like documentaries, series, short films, micro-films, cartoons, mobile videos and public service announcements about climate change and environment conservation. Fourteen categories of winning entries will be selected by domestic and foreign experts and scholars through primary election, re-evaluation and final judgment.

Outstanding works of the Festival are expected to be shown in the "Chinese Corner" at the UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris in November 2015, reflecting the non-governmental environmental protection forces—"China is taking action to address climate change." Chen Suping, chairman of Handle, one of the sponsors of the Festival said: "Many countries have their own green (environment) film festival. Chinese filmmakers like us are exploring the way to promote environment conservation through films and television so as to call on the people to build a sustainable and ecological environment. This is the intention of initiating this festival."

Highlight 1: China’s first climate film festival

The Festival organizes film competitions, professional forums, public-benefit screenings, exhibitions and other activities around climate and environment conservation. Through various cultural activities, it will spread knowledge and methods for addressing climate change among the public and call on people to build a low-carbon smart city.

Highlight 2: Famous meteorological host Yang Dan was invited to be publicity ambassador

On March 23, 2015, Handle Climate Change Film Festival 2015 was launched in Shenzhen and the organizing committee invited Yang Dan as its publicity ambassador. Jiang Yuyang, President of Shenzhen Science & Technology Association personally presented the letter of appointment to Yang Dan at the launching ceremony.

Yang Dan is a well-known host of weather forecast in National Meteorological Center of CMA. She was named as Miss Meteorology in 2004, awarded the title of "National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Publicity Ambassador" by Ministry of Civil Affairs in 2011 and won the honorary title of National Woman Pace-setter in 2015.

Highlight 3: World premiere of China’s first 3D documentary film 0.85°C launched in Shenzhen

The film, directed by the specialty film director Liu Rongyan of Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio, uses the latest 3D technology to present a three-dimensional space and brings people close to Earth. Data shows that in recent 130 years, the global average surface temperature has risen by 0.85°C, and the theme of this film is "how global temperature rise of 0.85°C affects the survival of mankind”.

Earth has long been in a state of equilibrium of energy transfer but is now undergoing new changes due to the temperature rise. Enhanced greenhouse effect of human activities results in the rapid increase in global temperature; glacier thawing, permafrost thawing, dying coral reefs, rising sea levels and ecosystem change all result from global warming.

Now, it’s time for mankind to go all out to save themselves. Earth is capable of self-regulation but it takes a long time. However, if such a change is beyond the range of human adaptation, it is mankind rather than Earth that is endangered in the long recovery process. So how we act now will influence the future of mankind on this planet.