On November 11, 2024, the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) successfully hosted its 2024 ‘Climate x’ High-Level Event at the China Pavilion in the Blue Zone of the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29). Serving as the culminating event of GAUC’s ‘Climate x’ series for the year, the event highlights the climate actions of the next generation of global carbon-neutral leaders, on the international stage of global climate governance.

Prominent leaders in global climate governance attended the event, including Liu Zhenmin, Special Envoy for Climate Change of China; Rachel Kyte, Special Representative for Climate of the UK; Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs; and Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments and Former Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada. They witnessed the achievements of student representatives from GAUC member universities and youth leaders from the GAUC ‘Climate x’ Youth Leadership Training Program, who have made significant strides in climate action over the past year.

 “GAUC, in collaboration with various sectors, provides an environment for young people to receive education, foster personal growth, and unleash their creativity, thus creating a platform for youth to grow and make an impact. An increasing number of young people are joining this noble cause of global climate governance. I hope young faces here will continue to practice low-carbon actions, demonstrate leadership, and inspire more peers to join this great cause,” said Liu Zhenmin.

 “I am pleased that the GAUC 'Climate x' initiative is enabling collaboration between students from academics from the UK, China and around the world.” said Rachel Kyte. “GAUC plays a vital role ensuring that voices from youth climate actions are heard at every level of decision-making, influencing policies that make 1.5 degree within reach.”

Felipe Paullier introduced the UN’s endeavour in mobilizing youth climate actions and spoke highly of GAUC’s youth cultivation activities. “The ‘Climate x’ Campaign is a meaningful space to raise public awareness of the synergies between climate change and all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to call for innovative solutions to achieve future net-zero targets through youth leadership. 

“We're seeing the acceleration of climate disasters around the world. A challenging time ahead calls for us to double down and work harder,” Catherine McKenna emphasized when addressing the event. "The good news is that we have the solutions, coming from the collaborations of multi-stakeholders at all levels, such as governments, academic institutions, and of course, the next generation.”

Li Zheng, Secretary-General of GAUC and Dean of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Tsinghua University (ICCSD), moderated the event. “The ‘Climate x’ Campaign, launched by GAUC, aims to highlight the interconnectedness between climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Li noted. “I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the tremendous support from our member universities and global partners. Their commitment has been crucial to the success of our shared mission.”

The ceremony was followed by the presentation of certificates to graduates of the ‘Climate x’ Youth Leadership Training Program and GAUC Youth Ambassadors, led by Alice Ho, Chief Youth Officer of GAUC.

Following the certificate presentation, two roundtables were organized. Tang Weimin, Senior Manager of Energy Transition at WWF China and HU Bin, Director of Research on Global Climate Governance at ICCSD, joined the panel focusing on ‘Climate x Global Governance”, Moderated by Maximilian Arras, a Ph.D candidate from Tsinghua University, GAUC student representatives, including Youth Ambassador YANG Haoting from Tsinghua University and Muhammad Afaq from United Nations University shared their opinions with the experts from both industry and academia.

Xie Zongxu, the COP27 & COP28 GAUC Youth Ambassador and COP29 GAUC Youth Mentor, moderated the second panel. Themed ‘Climate x Youth Action’, Ambasssador DENG Yuqian from Tsinghua University, Flora Prideaux from the University of Oxford, and Sakura Takahashi from the Australian National University exchanged their climate practise in their own community.

This year, nearly 880 students from 79 countries and over 500 universities enrolled in the ‘Climate x’ Leadership Training Program. They gained valuable knowledge from GAUC’s curriculum and developed leadership skills by organizing local community climate events. Additionally, GAUC inspired over 100 youth-led climate activities worldwide during Global Youth Climate Week, which took place just before COP29. These youth-driven events reached over 20,000 participants and attracted more than 270,000 online viewers. Ultimately, 28 students from 9 universities and 10 countries were selected for the GAUC COP29 Youth Delegation. 

During COP29, GAUC will also host a dedicated pavilion in the Green Zone, serving as a hub for its member universities and young students to exchange ideas and showcase their latest climate efforts. Additionally, GAUC has partnered with multiple pavilions, including the Resilience Hub, Thailand Pavilion, and Singapore Pavilion,  to launch the ‘Climate Q’ Campaign. “We hope this interactive quiz and stamp collection activity will encourage COP participants to engage with the rich conference agendas and diverse experiences offered by the pavilions of various countries and themes, fostering in-depth communication and action,” said Alice Ho.

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