l  During the Graduate Forum of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, youth around the world gathered together at Tsinghua University. 

l  Youth around the world jointly issued a declaration to tackle a common issue - climate change.

Over 150 students from 55 universities across six continents joined the forum, the declaration included aspects of acknowledgment, understanding, recognition, and emphasize.

We all have the firm faith that we will conquer the climate change challenge within our generation and bring greater prosperity to the Community of Shared Future for Humankind!

 The Youth's Declaration on Climate Change

Tsinghua University, 2019

Over 150 student representatives from 55 universities, across 6 continents, gathered at Tsinghua for the Graduates Forum of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) on November 2019.

At the World Youth Roundtable — Climate Change and Tomorrow's Earth, held during the forum, representatives issued The Youth's  Declaration on Climate Change to join voices, inspire collective efforts and address the universal responsibility for longstanding environmental woes.

Initiated by the Secretariat of GAUC, and organized by the Graduates Union of Tsinghua University, this forum aims to encourage more academic research and promote further discussion on topics concerning the survival and development of all mankind.

I hope that, by holding this forum, we can address pressing concerns, explore innovative measures, and showcase the determination and confidence of global youth to tackle climate change.

——Xie Zhenhua,

China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs,

President of Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua

Two parallel sessions have been held during the forum, titled The Zero Emission Technical Revolution and Building Green Future: Economic-Social-Ecological System. 

Out of over 100 thought-provoking submissions, 9 of the best papers were selected and more than 30 papers were orally presented during the sessions. 

Background:

During the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum this year, eight world-famous universities jointly launched the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC). Soon afterward, four new universities joined the alliance with a shared desire to move it forward.Currently, the GAUC members are Australian National University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Cambridge, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Imperial College London, Indian Institute of Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sciences Po, Stellenbosch University, University of Tokyo, Tsinghua University.

The Graduate Forum provided a platform for youth around the world to engage in idea exchange and consensus building. More than 100 students around the world participated in the "Climate Change and Tomorrow's Earth" World Youth Roundatable, sharing insights on how different stakeholders are contributing in the mitigation of climate change, they discussed action items from insititution, city, country, to individuals.

Zhang Yuting, a Ph.D. student at the School of Environmental Sciences at Tsinghua University, shared her own research topic. She believes that responding to climate change is everyone’s responsibility and a calling on young people to become active actors in environmental protection. Casey Finnati, a environmental engineering Ph.D. student at University of California, Berkeley, said after the meeting: "We come from different cultural backgrounds and research interests, but we have one common concern about climate change. This forum has provided us with the opporunity to see the various response to climate, allowing us to brainstorm with a group of peers with common interests."

After the roundtable discussion, the participants formed the "Climate Change Youth Declaration". Expressing the common concern of climate change facing all humanity, the declaration calls on young students and scholars to unite and contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Participants proposed "Let us work together to build a more sustainable and greener planet! We firmly believe that climate change will be solved in our generation, and the community of human destiny will be more prosperous in our generation!"

Declaration 

We, youth from different countries and continents, are gathering at Tsinghua University in the name of the Graduates Forum of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate to exchange our thoughts and express the concerns of youth on climate change faced by all humankind. After deep and thorough discussion, we, young students and scholars around the world, strongly believe that young people:

Acknowledge with deep concerns that global climate change poses a fundamental threat to our Mother Earth. Addressing climate change requires the widest cooperation and involvement of countries to respect international conventions and institutions on the challenge. Nations should support the development of green technologies and renewable energy sources, innovations in the education system, and promoting a sustainable lifestyle;

Understand that combating climate change requires an effective response from the global community, whilst respecting the socio-economic conditions of each country with the goal of achieving a balance between economic growth and environmental protection;

Recognize that every human being is fully entitled to a healthy and sustainable living environment. All has the right to express views on climate change in a rational and legitimate manner, whilst contributing his or her fair share in the campaign for solving the issue of climate change;

Emphasize with great concerns that in the goal of addressing climate change, we, young students and scholars, should fulfill our responsibilities to unify the work of various nations, and call upon all people to live an eco-friendly lifestyle in a sustainable community and spread the idea of sustainability.

As the hope of the future and the backbone of the present, we should proactively lead in creating a more sustainable society in which we and our offspring all can prosper and flourish. Let us collaborate to build a more sustainable and greener Earth. We all have the firm faith that we will conquer the climate change challenge within our generation and bring greater prosperity to the Community of Shared Future for Humankind!

Youth of the Graduates Forum of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate

November 19, 2019

The author：GCO                                                            

The translator：Lucy Tony
The Editor: Haijing Ma

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