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2023 Global Youth Submit on Climate Change
The 2023 Global Youth Climate Week was officially launched on November 20th, marking the commencement of a five-day spectacular journey led by young people worldwide dedicated to advancing global climate action. also features the organization of the 2023 Global Youth Summit on Net-zero Future, co-hosted by UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia and Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC), which drew over 200,000 global views.
The Global Youth Climate Week Launching Ceremony is organized by the GAUC at Tsinghua University since the year of 2021. Scheduled a week ahead of each COP, this international mechanism calls on global youth to pool their climate actions to facilitate progress in global climate governance and the success of each UN Climate Change Conference.
WANG Hongwei, Vice President of Tsinghua University, and Shahbaz Khan, Director of UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia addressed the ceremony. The event was also honored with remarks from XIE Zhenhua, Special Envoy for Climate Change of China, read by LI Zheng, Secretary-General of GAUC, who moderated the event. In his opening remarks, Wang Hongwei stated, “The 2023 Global Youth Climate Week engages an even broader spectrum of multi-stakeholders around the world.” “I am proud to share that in the following days, Tsinghua University will host the second Tsinghua Climate Week.” He also mentioned the specific actions of GAUC by training local youth climate leaders, leveraging Asian Universities Alliance’s regional strength in tackling the continent’s unique climate issues, and the collaboration with UNESCO and global organizations.
“The Global Youth Climate Week is a vital initiative as it links to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Prof. Shahbaz Khan, Director of UNESCO Regional Office of East Asia. “I strongly believe that within our lifetimes, there is hope for a world where we have solved issues like climate change issues, water scarcity, food shortages, poverty, and where no one is left behind.”
XIE Zhenhua stated in his remarks to the 2023 Week. “COP28 emphasizes implementation and action. It marks the first time the global community will comprehensively review the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Despite the multiple differences and challenges faced by various parties, it is crucial to adhere to the principles and framework of the Paris Agreement. I hope young people can fully grasp the global trend, actively seek solutions for global climate governance, and achieve self-fulfillment in the process.”
The ceremony continued with great anticipation as it unveiled the 'Message to Youth' video, a poignant and inspirational testament to the unwavering commitment of global climate leaders to the future leaders of our world. In this stirring video message, esteemed figures from the forefront of the climate movement shared their heartfelt encouragement and high expectations for the Global Youth Climate Week.
Recognizing the obstacles youth face in advancing climate solutions, GAUC proposed the establishment of the Week to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in February 2022, co-initiating it with over 100 global partners. The then UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa praised the Week as “an impactful contribution to the UNFCCC process.”
Leveraging GAUC’s ‘Climate x’ Campaign 2023, the second Global Youth Climate Week features the launch of its official website and registered events by close to 1000 college students from over 300 universities in 74 countries and regions. These students, enrolled in GAUC’s 2023 ‘Climate x’ Leadership Training Program, have participated in interdisciplinary lectures and organized around 200 events ahead of the Week, impacting over 20,000 people in their local communities.
The launch ceremony of the Week 2023 was followed by the 2023 Global Youth Summit on Net-Zero Future (the Summit), one of the flagship projects of the Week. Ahead of the event, the Summit received close to 300 innovative solutions regarding the four topics from global college students, namely the synergies between climate change and clean power, health, disaster, and sustainable fashion. 10 outstanding young innovators were selected to join the panel discussions of the Summit, where they exchange ideas with leading experts from academia and industry. Enterprise executives and experts from Mercedes-Benz, Kering Group, World Health Organization, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, GE Healthcare, Amazon Web Services, and PIESAT conducted in-depth exchanges with young innovators.
Reflecting the ‘By Youth, For Youth’ spirit of this climate festival, the Summit was a youth-led event designed and organized by a committee composed of students from GAUC’s ‘Climate x’ Training Program, representing 10 universities in 7 countries. The ceremony continued with great anticipation as it unveiled the 'Message to Youth' video, a poignant and inspirational testament to the unwavering commitment of global climate leaders to the future leaders of our world. In this stirring video message, esteemed figures from the forefront of the climate movement shared their heartfelt encouragement and high expectations for the Global Youth Climate Week.
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The 2023 Global Youth Summit on Climate Change is supported by UNESCO-China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) and Mercedes-Benz Star Fund. This year, UNESCO East Asia Regional Office, Mercedes-Benz Star Fund and Tsinghua University have jointly organised a number of youth climate initiatives in order to promote youth climate leadership and innovative actions for sustainable development.
Highlights from the past:
- was held in Chebaling UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Guangdong Province in June this year. The event was supported by MAB China, IRDR and Shaoguan Municipal Government. More than 80,000 young people participated in the event both online and offline.
- UNESCO and GAUC jointly launched the . Prof. Shahbaz Khan gave a keynote speech at the Climate Change Lecture Hall on the theme of "Making Peace with Nature, Building a Climate-resilient Society ". The programme has trained nearly 1,000 young people from 74 countries and regions, 392 universities and research institutes, who will use their knowledge and skills to influence more people in their localities to pay attention to the issues of climate change and sustainable development after the four-month training.
- In August 2023, , more than 1,000 secondary school students participated and gained comprehensive understanding of climate change related knowledge. And they would like to impact their family members and friends in the future.
- In August 2023, UNESCO Regional office for East Asia and the School of Environment, Tsinghua University jointly organised . 240 university and high school students from 10 countries undertook a four-day negotiation simulation exercise at Tsinghua University and Beijing 101 High School.
The above activities have demonstrated the leadership role of young people on promoting global climate change governance, green innovation and green skills development, and education for sustainable development. The UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia will continue to work with and for youth, strengthen cooperation with governments, private sectors and schools, for accelerating the carbon neutrality and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
