Nearly 6,000 Artworks Explore Biodiversity as Children Envision Coexistence with Nature
16th Climate Change Painting Competition Highlights Environmental Education and Cross-Sector Collaboration

The Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE) held the awards ceremony for the 2026 16th Climate Change Painting Competition for primary and junior high school students at Taipei City Hall on September 19.

Under this year’s theme, “Earth’s Diversity Expedition,” the competition attracted 6,212 registrations from 13 countries and nearly 6,000 submitted artworks. Nearly 200 guests, teachers, students and parents attended the ceremony, celebrating young people’s efforts to explore biodiversity and the relationship between people and nature through art.

Sixteen Years of Environmental Education Through Art

Dr. Eugene Chien, Chairman of TAISE, recalled that the idea for the competition was inspired by an overseas environmental education workshop in 2008, where children used paintings to explore environmental issues. Since then, the competition has grown to engage students from 48 countries, with more than 77,000 registrations recorded over the years.

Chien emphasized that the competition’s long-term development has been made possible by students, teachers, parents, judges and partner organizations. As societies move toward net zero by 2050, he noted that environmental awareness must begin with the next generation.

Chen Chun-An, Commissioner of Taipei City Government’s Department of Economic Development, said the partnership between the city and TAISE had previously focused largely on net zero, energy efficiency and sustainability among businesses. Extending this cooperation into children’s environmental education provides another way to strengthen understanding of biodiversity and ecological conservation.

Lin Song-Jin, Section Chief of the Climate Change Administration, Ministry of Environment, also highlighted how Taiwan’s environmental conditions have improved across generations. The students’ artworks, he noted, show that younger generations are increasingly able to connect nature, biodiversity and everyday life.

Children Turn Biodiversity into Stories

This year’s winning works demonstrated how children interpret biodiversity in different ways.

Feng Wan-Yan portrayed different species sharing the natural world in The World’s Animals in an Embrace, while Lin Wei-Ning explored the balance between cities and nature through Light of Coexistence.

Junior-high digital-art first-prize winner Shen Ruo-Yun used A Green Symphony in the Peanut Field to depict the relationship between migratory birds and farmland. She described ecosystems as being like “dominoes”, seemingly separate, yet closely interconnected.

International children’s traditional-art gold award winner Lin Yi-Cheng focused on marine waste in Even a Whale, reminding audiences that small amounts of discarded waste can accumulate into a major burden on marine ecosystems.

Bringing Environmental Learning into the Classroom

Teachers and families also shared how the competition has extended environmental education beyond the artwork itself.

Teacher Chen Yu-Jing described each year’s competition theme as an “environmental literacy final exam,” encouraging students to explore topics ranging from water resources and food waste to biodiversity.

At Toufen Junior High School in Miaoli, teacher Qiu Sheng-ren linked science and art classes, allowing students to first understand biodiversity, food chains and climate change before translating their learning into creative work. He also noted that the competition gives students with different strengths an opportunity to be recognized.

Parent Chen Xiu-qing shared how four years of participation culminated in her daughter Shen Ruo-Yun winning first place nationally in her final year of junior high school, reflecting years of learning and persistence.

Cross-Sector Partners Support the Next Generation

The ceremony brought together representatives from government, business and civil society, including Taipei City Government’s Department of Economic Development, the Ministry of Environment’s Climate Change Administration, Hualien County Government, Epson Taiwan, QMOLiu Stationery CO., LTD., CTCI, Taiwan Soka Association, the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, and other partners. 

For TAISE, the competition shows how environmental education can begin with something as simple as a painting. Learning about a migratory bird can lead children to think about the farmland it depends on; drawing a whale can spark questions about marine waste.

When biodiversity becomes something children are willing to observe, question and express, then it’s not simply a term in a textbook, but environmental education begins to take root in everyday life.

Photo Caption: Ambassador Eugene Chien, Chairman of TAISE, delivers remarks at the ceremony.



Photo Caption: Group photo of distinguished guests, judges, and partner organizations.



Photo Caption: Judge Wang Chun-Tzu poses for a photo with the award-winning students.



Photo Caption: Ambassador Eugene Chien, Chairman of TAISE, presents certificates of appreciation to representatives of schools participating through group registration. From left: Qiu Sheng-Ren, teacher at Toufen Junior High School, Miaoli County; Hsu Jen-Pin, principal of Toufen Junior High School, Miaoli County; and, at far right, Chang Li-Hui, teacher at Beichang Elementary School, Hualien County.



Photo Caption: Lin Yi-Cheng, Gold Award winner in the International Competition, shares reflections on the competition.

Photo Caption: Physical artworks by the top three winners in each category of the Traditional Art Division are displayed for guests, award-winning students, and teachers to appreciate.