Sicab, Sino-Italian capacity building for protecting the environment, is a higher education programme promoted by the Ministry for Environment and the Protection of Land and Sea, to share environmental knowledge in topics such as climate change, sustainable development, pollution prevention and management, waste management and disposal and the green economy. Sicab is designed for company directors, high officials and researchers in Chinese organisations and institutions, offering classroom lectures, study case analyses and visits to companies, research centres and university laboratories. The programme also seeks to create a community to introduce course attendees to Italian technologies and initiatives promoting Sino-Italian economic, cultural and institutional exchange.

Sicab is inserted in the framework of the Sino-Italian Co-operation Programme (SICP) for Environmental Protection, established in 2003 following a joint declaration by the Italian and Chinese Environment Ministers. The document highlights the global nature of environmental issues, as well as the need for international cooperation to reach solutions that are both effective and long-lasting. Over the years, SICP has expanded, bringing on board all the leading Chinese institutions with expertise in environmental matters. Today, SICP numbers over 10,000 representatives of institutions and the private sector and over 250 courses. Sicab evolved from SICP in 2018 and the programme for 2018-2019 was designed by a professional consortium, with the objective of helping Chinese officials to learn about the management systems, methods and initiatives in Italy and the EU in the environmental field.

As of today, 15 courses have been designed in Italy and 9 in China, involving 640 attendees.