Global Alliance of Universities on Climate Pavilion, Blue Zone, COP31, Antalya, Turkiye
The Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) was founded in 2019, bringing together 15 universities across 9 countries and 6 continents. It represents a collective endeavour of leading universities worldwide to exercise higher education leadership and galvanise joint action to tackle the climate challenge. GAUC advances its mission through joint research, talent cultivation, campus action, societal implementation and public engagement, serving as a bridge linking cutting-edge academic insights with global climate policy.
Since its inception, GAUC has dispatched youth delegations to the COP each year, nurturing young climate leaders and hosting pavilion programmes and thematic dialogues over recent years. Drawing on this foundation, GAUC will continue at COP31 to leverage the intellectual leadership of global higher education and amplify youth voices, fostering exchanges between cutting-edge climate science and policy communities, and catalysing multi-stakeholder collaboration to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
| Date | Time | Host organization(s) | Session | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 9 | 9:00 - 10:30 | Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) | GAUC High Level Event | China Pavilion, Blue Zone |
Location: C540, Blue Zone
*The events listed in this table may have changes in terms of time and duration. Please refer to the latest updates from GAUC Program team.
| Time | Name of the Host Organization(s) | Title of the Session | Thematic Axes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10 | Thematic Day: Energy and Transport | |||
| 9:00 - 10:00 | Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) | GAUC Pavilion Opening Ceremony | |
| 11:30 - 12:30 | Tsinghua University | Empowering Young Leaders to Drive Sustainable Development | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 14:30 - 16:00 | Australian National University | Energy Storage and Resilience: The Backbone of the Energy Transition | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 16:00 - 17:30 | University of Oxford | Governing International Carbon Dioxide Removal: Insights from and Next Steps for the State of CDR | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 18:00-19:30 | Tsinghua University | From Global Partnership to Local Power: Community Leadership and Youth Agency for Inclusive Climate Action | GCAA Axis 5 |
| Nov 11 | Thematic Day: Zero Waste | |||
| 9:00 - 10:30 | Stellenbosch University | Launching the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI 2.0) | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | University of Cambridge | From 1.5°C to Your Campus: Setting a Fair Carbon Budget | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 12:00 - 13:30 | University of Cambridge | How Universities Can Translate Climate Science into Healthier, More Resilient Societies | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 13:30 - 15:00 | Tsinghua University | Youth Innovation and Design for Land Restoration | GCAA Axis 2 |
| 15:00 - 16:30 | Tsinghua University | From Ambition to Implementation: Delivering Resilient, Efficient and Investable Power Systems | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 16:30 - 18:00 | Tsinghua University | Accelerating Green Urban Transformation | GCAA Axis 4 |
| Nov 12 | Thematic Day: Resilient Cities and Built Environment | |||
| 09:30 - 11:00 | Imperial College London | Round Table Session on Supporting Independent Climate Research in Universities Across the Global South: Towards a Catalyst Facility | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 11:00 - 12:30 | London School of Economics and Political Science | Value of Nature Capital: Financing Nature Recovery at Scale | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 12:30 - 14:00 | University of Oxford | Social and Emotional Learning at the Heart of Climate Change Education | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | University of Oxford | Partnership, Not Just Participation: Meaningful Inclusion of Frontline Communities in Climate Research | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 15:30 - 17:00 | Tsinghua University | Beyond coal-- Policies and Practices of Just Transition from the Coal Regions across the Globe | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 17:00 - 18:30 | London School of Economics and Political Science | Climate Justice in Pakistan: Frontline Perspectives and Collective Demands | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 18:30 - 19:30 | Tsinghua University | Higher Education for Climate | GCAA Axis 5 |
| Nov 13 | Thematic Day: Finance and Trade | |||
| 10:00 - 11:30 | Tsinghua University | China–Europe Dialogue on Global Climate Governance — Clean Electrification, Circular Economy and Earth4China | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 11:30 - 13:00 | Yale University | Leveraging Trade Rules for Climate Action in an Era of Implementation | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 13:00 - 14:30 | Australian National University | Beyond the Hype: How Australia’s Green Commodity Exports Can Help Decarbonise the World | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 15:00 - 17:00 | United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) | From Early Warning to Action: Global Climate Diplomacy and Cooperation | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 17:00 - 18:30 | Yale University | “Turning Purpose Into Practice” | GCAA Axis 5 |
| Nov 14 | Thematic Day: Children, Youth, Education and Skills | |||
| 9:30 - 10:30 | Tsinghua University | From Shared Beginnings to Climate Action | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Tsinghua University | Pathways to Net Zero: Challenges for Energy Transition Modeling and Large-Scale Renewable Energy Deployment | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 12:30-14:00 | Tsinghua University | Communicating Climate Change and Energy Transition to Gen Z: Narratives, Messengers and Engagement | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | University of Cambridge, Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC), Monash University, Higher Education Climate Network of Networks (NoN), International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA) | Universities Advancing Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Tsinghua University | GAUC Delegation Negotiation Briefing | GCAA Axis 5 |
| Nov 16 | Thematic Day: Science, Industry and Technology | |||
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Australian National University | HEATSCAPE: Forecasting harm, not just heat. Building a global early warning initiatve for extreme heat on land | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | C Team / Earth & Life Symbio / Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University | Green Industrialization: Building a Global Green Industrial Value Chain | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 15:00 - 16:30 | Yale University | Interactive Exhibit + Policy Workshop | GCAA Axis 4 |
| 16:30 - 18:00 | ClimaTalk | Decoding UNFCCC Language: Reading the Week 2 Texts | GCAA Axis 5 |
| Nov 17 | Thematic Day: Ocean, Seas, Nature and Land Use — Rio Synergy | |||
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Australian National University | Oceanic Wisdom – People’s Climate Action | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 12:00 - 13:30 | Australian National University, Pacific Academy of Sciences | Pacific Sciences for Global Impact: Pacific Academic Collaborations and Research Leadership in Climate Solutions | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 13:30 - 15:00 | University of Cambridge | Technical guardrails for policy development: the case of contrails and why uncertainty shouldn't block action | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 15:00 - 16:30 | Hangzhou City University | Measuring Urban Low Carbon Progress | GCAA Axis 4 |
| Nov 18 | Thematic Day: Human and Social Development | |||
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Yale University | The Missing Conversation: Semiconductors, Critical Materials and Climate | GCAA Axis 1 |
| 13:30 - 15:00 | ATOX | AI for Climate at COP31: Youth Climate Innovation Showcase | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 15:00 - 16:30 | Tsinghua University | Universities and communities: Connecting Education, Research and Knowledge for Climate Resilience | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 16:30 - 18:00 | Yale University | University Environmentalist Leadership Agenda-Setting and Networking | GCAA Axis 5 |
| Nov 19 | Thematic Day: İmece: Enhancing Implementation | |||
| 11:00 - 12:30 | Tsinghua University | From Carbon Project Design to Credit Issuance: Overcoming Implementation Barriers in International Carbon Markets | GCAA Axis 6 |
| 14:00 - 16:00 | SDG HERO, Boke Foundation | Empowering Children and Youth to Lead Climate Action through Game-Based Climate Education | GCAA Axis 5 |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | Tsinghua University | GAUC Delegation Negotiation Briefing | GCAA Axis 5 |
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