Ms. Mohammed, GAUC Fellows, GAUC Global Youth Ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to welcome you to the Launching Ceremony of the 2022 GAUC “Climate x” Campaign.

Extreme weather has battered China and Europe this summer. We are clearly witnessing the adverse impacts of climate change to our natural ecological system, continuing to spread into the economy and society. It has strengthened public awareness of the vulnerability of the world to these impacts and highlighted the need for our urgent actions. Being here with you today, I see the power of youth heading to an optimistic prospect of a sustainable net-zero future.

From the perspective of spatial dimension, climate change poses existential threats upon all of us, regardless of national boundaries, which require us to rise above differences and act as one. Established in 2019, with the dedication and support from our member universities, GAUC was able to muster the collective strength of global leading universities and prove to be an indispensable contribution from higher education to the success of global climate governance. Last year, the Global Youth Summit on Net-zero Future was composed of 30 events organized by our member universities and drew in over 1.25 million participants globally during the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. The “Climate x” Campaign is a further step forward in GAUC’s commitment on tackling the climate change challenge. By integrating systematic approaches at national, regional and international levels, it will mobilize the broadest climate actions of multi-stakeholders.

From the perspective of temporal dimension, climate change is not only relevant to our lives, but also to the future of next generations. In order to make youth the backbone of a net-zero future shared by all, Tsinghua and Sciences Po co-initiated the “Climate x” Leadership Training Pilot. During the past two months, the program has taken its students, the GAUC Global Youth Ambassadors, on an interdisciplinary journey to expand their knowledge and hone their leadership skills, and is going to channel their innovative solutions throughout the “Climate x” Campaign to global major climate events, including GAUC event of 2022 UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt and the African Regional Forum organized by Stellenbosch University.

From the perspective of species dimension, climate change is closely intertwined with the well-being of mankind and other species. We have made carbon peaking and carbon neutrality part of our overall plan for ecological progress as well as economic and social development. Conquering a challenge with such complexity requires us to break disciplinary borders, to see the synergy between climate change and every social and economic sector, and to leverage that synergy for effective and innovative solutions. With the letter “x” from the theme, this campaign emphasizes that synergy specifically.

I extend my appreciation to GAUC colleagues for their efforts, and to all GAUC global partners for the continuous support.

With our hands joined tightly, I look forward to more emerging opportunities for greater achievements.

Thank you.