The joual Green energy & environment (GEE) was launched in April 2016 in Beijing. It aims to provide an inteational, interdisciplinary, integrated and highly efficient platform for the academic exchange of novel ideas and research progresses in the field of green energy and environ-ment. We sincerely hope that the growth of the joual GEE would not only become a bridge for fostering liaison and cooperation among all researchers in the area of energy and environment, but also serve as a medium for cross-communication between specialists and generalists (non-specialists).