(Group Photo of Youth League Beijing Representatives with the Advisory Group Before Boarding)
The GAUC Youth League is composed of 15 outstanding youth representatives from six universities in India, South Africa, Australia, Britain, Japan, and China. The highly internationalized and diverse GAUC Youth League is looking to fully utilize its advantages to add a touch of color to this year's COP.
Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs of China, sent his greetings to the Youth League: "I wish the Youth Delegation huge success on their journey, undergo exercise in the process of climate governance, feel and understand the multilateral process, and make a difference. "
ZHANG Jiaxuan (China) | Tsinghua University Global Environment Program, School of Environment ZHANG Jiaxuan is a senior student in the Global Environment Program of Tsinghua University. She is particularly interested in the field of climate policy and renewable energy policy. She has rich internship experiences in various types of institutions, including the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Sino-German Energy Transition Project of GIZ, the Clean Power Project Team of the natural resources Defense Council, and the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ICCSD) of Tsinghua University. She also co-authored a review article about the opportunities and challenges of high penetration of renewable energy in China. In addition, she also actively participated in the simulation and practice in the field of climate negotiations. She has won outstanding representatives in the second and third Model Climate Change Conference of Parties, and attended the Climate Change Conference SB48 held in Bonn. |
Joel Naoki Ernesto Christoph (Japan&France) | Tsinghua University School of Social Sciences (Tsinghua University) Joel Christoph is a French master’s degree student in the Global Politics and Economics dual degree program of Tsinghua University and Johns Hopkins University SAIS. Through conference participation, extracurricular activities and personal studies, he has developed indepth understanding of international complexities in multilateral public goods management and policy coordination. At the fourth annual Model Climate Change Conference of Parties held at Tsinghua University, he was recognized as one of the two outstanding delegates out of 150 students during the multi-day negotiations on climate finance. His interests lie in global governance, environmental economics and energy transitions. He has previously worked in research on long-term global energy demand. |
Jessie Yuill (South Africa) | Stellenbosch University BSc (Hons) Biodiversity and Ecology Jessie Yuill, from a small coastal town in South Africa where she grew up in a loving home with her grandparents and sister. She has always had a tenacious curiosity when it comes to the environment and as a result, she has taken up many outdoor sports throughout her life such as kitesurfing, wakeboarding, scuba diving and rock climbing. She was brought up to respect and love nature and have been privileged enough to pursue this love in her degree, Biodiversity and Ecology at Stellenbosch University. This foundation has fed her passion for pursuing ways of ensuring ecosystem resilience and sustainability in the face of the predicted effects of climate change. Within this, she believes that public awareness and education play a key role in conserving biodiversity across the globe, and as such, she has a strong zeal for the involvement of people with her projects. Additionally, in her spare time she enjoys keeping up to date in other fields of research such as nutritional health and for the moment her hobbies include tennis, flute, reading and surfing. |
ZHANG Shangchen (China) | Tsinghua University Global Environment Program, School of Environment ZHANG Shangchen is an undergraduate student in Global Environment Program of Tsinghua University. With interests and knowledge in fields of environmental science and engineering, he has gained a holistic understanding in the cooperation mechanism in technological transfers for climate change and biennial communication on environment funds. He's interested in exploring elements and possibilities of mutual understanding and cooperation for bilateral or multilateral governance structures. As a Chinese millenniel with international vision, he strives to reduce barriers, enhance mutual understanding among world youth through innovation, with an impact on future generations and their environment. |
Aaron Tang (Austrilia) | Aaron is a PhD Scholar in international climate politics and governance at the Australian National University. His research explores the philosophy, politics, and governance of climate engineering technologies (technologies that draw down greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or reflect solar energy away from Earth). Aaron’s PhD investigates the underlying desirable or undesirable ‘visions’ of climate futures that are present in climate engineering discussions. He also explores the creation of governance in the present for technologies that only exist in the future. |
Courtnae R. M. Bailey (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | Courtnae R. M. Bailey, a PhD researcher conducting research on climate change adaptation financing. Her research focuses on increasing private investment in adaptation in Caribbean Small Island States. She also explores the relationship between the Sustainable Development Goals and Climate change adaptation as a way to attract private investment. |
XU Qinyi (China) | University of Cambridge PhD candidate, Department of Land Economy & Department of Politics and International Studies Her research spans global environmental governance, environmental policy and economics to comparative/international political economy. Her current PhD research is on “role formation”, “role distribution” and “role fragmentation” in international environmental policy-making. Its main focus is to establish the role model to measure and predict the changing roles between state actors in climate change negotiation and within each actors’ policy-making processes. It explains the factors that cause the transition of roles and how such dynamic affect and interact with the issue of compliance in climate agreements. She also works on research topics such as: Global value chain and the trade and environment nexus; Embedded market power and global environmental governance; Policy space with a new green dilemma: tracing renewable energy development in emerging market economies. Qinyi is the recipient of the Cambridge Trust scholarship for her PhD studies. She holds an MPhil in Environmental policy from the University of Cambridge. Prior to that, she obtained her B.A. in Politics and Public Administration (with B.A. Management-Leo KoGuan Scholar; Xinhe Scholar) at the School of Government, Peking University. |
Emma Saraff Marcos (Spain&US) | The University of Tokyo, Global Studies Program Emma Saraff Marcos, currently a graduate student at the University of Tokyo (Global Studies program), where she is working on a thesis about global distributive justice in the Anthropocene. She is interested in the concept of “transition” in the context of sustainability; more specifically, she is interested in ideas such as implementing the circular economy, understanding contemporary energy transition, and developing urban communities that are based on the bedrock of sustainable practice. Her thesis work aims to synthesize her interest in future-oriented sustainability with the notion of justice; that is, how do we ensure a global sustainable future is equitable and accessible? Before enrolling in her current program, she worked in rural development in Andhra Pradesh, India, where she observed firsthand the complicated relationship between Western notions of modernity, community-building in the Global South, and the threat of climate change. She grew up in a multicultural household, and lived in England, Spain, and the United States during her early childhood. As such, her approach to heritage has never been rooted to one place, and she considers many countries and cultures to be “home.” At present, she lives in Tokyo, Japan, and hope to remain there for a few more years. |
LIU Liangke (China) | Tsinghua University Department of Earth System Science LIU Liangke, PhD candidate from Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University. I attended the Department of Atmospheric Sciences of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology in 2013 and received a bachelor's degree in 2017. In my senior year, I was accepted by University of Hawaii at Mano as a formal Master student and went to the United States. I graduated in May 2018 with a Master of Science degree. I attended the Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University in 2019. I am currently the Vice Minister of Academic Exchange Center of Graduate Student Union of Tsinghua University. Besides, I published 1 SCI and 1 core journal as the first author and participated in publishing several other articles. In addition, I used vacations to take part in internships at top domestic and foreign scientific research institutes (such as China Meteorological Administration, Michigan State University, etc.) |
Anand Narayana Sarma (India) | Indian Institute of Science PhD at IISC Anand Narayana Sarma, a final year PhD student at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. After completing his bachelor’s and master’s degree in electronics and communication with a specialization in optics, He is currently working for his PhD degree, carrying out research on the effects of atmospheric aerosols on optical wireless communication systems. His interest in atmospheric science started while carrying out his Master’s thesis work on the design of an elastic lidar for studying atmospheric aerosols. The interdisciplinary nature of the work and the public interest and outreach makes this field exciting. He is looking forward to carrying out more research in atmospheric science and its implications in daily life. After obtaining his PhD degree, he wishes to join academics to carry out both research and teaching together. |
Gen Hayakawa (Japan) | The University of Tokyo School of Civil Engineering Gen Hayakawa is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Tokyo. He is majoring in Civil Engineering and my research topic for bachelor thesis is the impact of ride-hailing services on the use of mass transit in Asian developing countries: case study of Phnom Penh. Although his bachelor thesis is not directly connected to climate change, but he is going to conduct research on the impact of climate change on water resource for master thesis. Therefore, he is strongly interested in climate change. In the future, he wants to contribute to the development of advancing countries. On the other hand, he has not decided how he will tackle this problem. One option is through climate change, for developing areas are more susceptible than other part of the world to the problems caused by climate change such as uneven distribution of water resource. He hopes he can get the clue to his future career during this stay. |
Kotone Kagami (Japan) | University of Tokyo School of Environmental Science I’m Japanese but spent my entire childhood (up to graduating high school) living in Bangkok, Thailand. I am currently a second-year undergraduate student and haven’t had a chance to dive into my field of interest which is sustainable building and design. I am currently fascinated by the climate change impacts of the buildings we create and have been looking into the impacts of embodied carbon in building materials rather than the environmental impact of operating infrastructure. This passion most likely stems from my hobby of product designing. I have built a habit in researching environmentally friendly materials and manufacturing processes as I ensure that all of my products and installations are ethically and sustainably made. In addition to all this, I am extremely active (played for varsity football, track, swimming, rugby, softball, X-country etc.) and I currently represent my University’s Boxing Team as the only female athlete. Oh, I also enjoy puzzles (Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, mazes etc.)! |
WANG Xiaoyu (China) | Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management WANG Xiaoyu received her bachelor’s degree in Economics from the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University in 2017. She continued to work as a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, where she is focusing on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is currently the Vice President of Graduate Student Union of Tsinghua University. She had previously served as Vice Minister of the Organization Department of the Communist Youth League Committee of Tsinghua University, Deputy Director of the Science and Innovation Center of the Communist Youth League Committee of Tsinghua University, and Vice President of the Undergraduate Student Union of Tsinghua University. She had received the First-class Scholarship of Tsinghua University, Academic Excellence Scholarship of Tsinghua University, Mitsubishi International Business Scholarship, Outstanding Student Leadership of Tsinghua University, and Outstanding Student of the School of Economics and Management. |
Habiba Ahut Daggash (Nigeria) | Imperial College London Ph.D. in Sustainable Energy Futures I am a third year PhD student at the Centre for Environmental Policy, and part of the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctoral Training Partnership (SSCP DTP) at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC). I am interested in the implications of climate change mitigation objectives on energy system transitions, within the context of geopolitical and bio-geophysical constraints. I completed both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees at St John's College, University of Oxford where I specialised in chemical engineering. She is also the past Chair of IChemE Energy Centre's Future Leaders Group and served on the board of the centre. I am from Borno state in Nigeria, where climate change has contributed to a decadelong conflict, as land and water resources become increasingly scarce. My passion for climate change research stems from my desire to develop solutions that will help people in vulnerable regions like my hometown to mitigate the devastating risks of climate change. |
Karina Andrea Corada-Pérez (Spain) | Imperial College London PhD researcher I'm a PhD researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College. I'm proud of being Latin America (From Patagonia to the world), scientific and feminist woman. I'm interested in urban vegetation and its impacts on pollution removal. I hope my passionate research will contribute to informed decision-making for more health-promoting urban environments through the optimisation of benefits expected from urban greenspace. I enjoy my time working and communicate science because I want to make a better and clean respirable world for everyone. |
GAUC Youth Delegation Group Photo
On-site, members of the youth delegation will not only participate and observe in official agendas such as UNFCCC official side events, press conferences, and Chinese corner side events, they will also act as speakers/presenters at GAUC press conferences to share youth stories, present youth declarations, and voice out in representation of the youth from twelve universities and worldwide.
In addition, youth representatives organized various activities such as youth discussions, intergenerational dialogues, advisory meetings, and sustainable fashion shows. Discussion on the progress of the negotiations and highlights were shared with consultation from the expert teams, to ensure the accuracy of their conclusions.
Dec. 8 | |
10:00 - 11:00 | Pep Rally |
14:00 - 17:00 | GAUC Working Conference |
17:00 - 18:30 | Welcome Dinner |
Dec. 9 | |
09:00 - 11:00 | China Pavillion - Universities' Mission and Action on Climate Change |
13:00 - 14:00 | Engaging the Private Sector in Adaptation Action |
14:00 - 15:30 | China Pavillion - Concerted Action on Environment and Climate |
15:30 - 18:00 | Closing Plenary of the SBSTA and SBI |
Dec. 10 | |
08:00 - 08:30 | YOUNGO's Morning Meeting |
08:30 - 09:00 | Youth Dialogue Campaign |
09:30 - 13:00 | Exhibit - Outstanding Collection of Works from GAUC |
14:00 - 15:00 | High-level Event on Action for Climate Empowerment |
15:00 - 16:30 | Resilience Roundtable |
16:30 - 18:00 | Gender Day Activities |
Dec. 11 | |
08:00 - 08:30 | YOUNGO's Morning Meeting |
14:00 - 16:00 | Inter-Generational Dialogue: The Power and Effective Ways for Youth Climate Action |
Dec. 12 | |
08:00 - 08:30 | YOUNGO's Morning Meeting |
09:30 - 11:30 | 12 Universities Youth Dialogue - How to Amplify the Voice and Influence of Youth in Climate Affairs |
15:00 - 18:00 | Closing Plenaries of COP, CMP, and CMA |
18:00 - 19:30 | China Pavillion - Fashion Innovation for Future & Youth Climate Action |
18:30 - 20:00 | UNFCCC Side Event - Increasing Climate Ambition Through Capacity Building Among Youth and Educators |
Dec. 13 | |
09:00 - 10:30 | China Pavillion - International Experience and Domestic Practice on Non-Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gas Emission |
11:00 - 12:00 | Press Conference - Outstanding Collection of Works from GAUC |
13:00 - 18:00 | Closing Plenaries of COP, CMP, and CMA |
19:30 - 22:00 | Farewell Dinner |
To ensure the smooth execution of the Youth League’s work in Madrid, the GAUC Secretariat, Tsinghua University Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University Center for Global Competence Development and the Chinese Youth Climate Alliance Network formed a support team.
Advisory Group | |
LI Zheng | Executive Vice President of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University; Secretary General, Global Alliance of Universities on Climate |
ZHANG Jian | Vice President of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University; Deputy Secretary General, Global Alliance of Universities on Climate |
LIAO Ying | Director of the Center for Global Competence Development, Tsinghua University |
Coordination Manager | |
Binbin WANG | Program Director of Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University |
ZHENG Xiaowen | Executive Director of China Youth Climate Action Network |
Working Team | |
FU Yanan | Foreign Affairs and Outreach Manager of Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University |
TONG Lucy | Project Manager of Center for Global Competence Development, Tsinghua University |
ZHANG Haoran | GAUC COP25 Youth Delegation Team Leader; Program Officer of China Youth Climate Action Network |
HU Jingwei | Communication Officer of China Youth Climate Action Network |
GAUC
In 2019, Tsinghua University, in conjunction with the The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the Australian National University (ANU), University of California, Berkeley, Cambridge University, Imperial College London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Tokyo, and other well-known colleges and universities, initiated the establishment of the "Global Alliance of Universities on Climate" (hereinafter referred to as " GAUC "). GAUC is missioned around joint research, talent development, student activities, green campus, public participation and other major aspects, including the implementation of bilateral and multilateral joint research in climate-related technologies, economics, and policies to promote innovation in technology and policy solutions, carry out joint education projects and the construction of climate-related curriculum systems.
CYCAN
CYCAN is the first Chinese non-profit organization for youth action in the field of climate change. It was jointly established by seven outstanding youth organizations in August 2007, combining their respective resources and strengths. CYCAN's mission is to coordinate and provide services for organizations interested in promoting youth participation in civil society. Building on its domestic and international contacts, it wants to build a sustainable low carbon future. Inspire and guide young people to grasp the opportunities in China and tackle the challenges of climate change and the transition to a sustainable energy future, support Chinese youth to become a new driving force to achieve global sustainable development.
Acknowledgement
Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University
The Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development of Tsinghua University was established in December 2017, and Mr. Xie Zhenhua, the Special Representative for Climate Change in China, served as the founding dean. The Institute is committed to establishing a global climate network, conducting high-quality strategic research, training future climate leaders, and contributing to the sustainable development future.
The Center for Global Competence Development, Tsinghua University
The Center for Global Competence Development (CGCD) was established in April 2018 with a mission to support global competence development for all students, and to facilitate students' development on global competence as an integral component of undergraduate and graduate education. While preparing our students for the world, the CGCD is also dedicated to foster a diverse and culturally inclusive environment in which all students, faculty and staff thrive.
The author:ISCCD
The translator:Lucy Tony
The Editor:Haijing Ma
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