On the morning of July 19, 2024, the first "Chinese Youth Action on Climate Change" initiative was officially launched at the China Meteorological Administration. This event was co-sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund in China, the National Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation Center, and the Chinese Meteorological Society. It aimed to collect cases on climate action from school-age teenagers across the country and present them at this year's 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference, i.e. the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP29.
In order to inspire more teenagers, twin brothers Arthur Li Pingsen and Carter Li Pinghang from Shenzhen were invited to the kick-off meeting to share through video the results of a survey they initiated on teenagers’ understanding of climate change, as well as their learnings from the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in 2023, and all of these efforts are aimed to call on peers to pay attention to climate change and protect our planet by harnessing practical actions.
Arthur Li Pingsen and Carter Li Pinghang have participated in charity activities since they were young, and have always been enthusiatic about improving environment. In 2023, when they were only 12 years old, in order to call on their peers to pay attention to climate change, they designed a "Climate Change Awareness" questionnaire and distributed it to students in grades 6-12 of the school to understand their peers’ awareness of climate change. This topic was accepted by the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP28) "Canal City: Eye of the Climate Change Storm" themed side event, and as youth representatives they gave a keynote speech on "What can we do for climate change when we are 12 years old".
Arthur Li Pingsen and Carter Li Pinghang mentioned in their speech that they received 89 valid questionnaires for this survey. They analyzed the students' answers and based on their analysis, presented a speech at the COP28 conference. The survey results showed that 25% of students were not aware of the impact of climate change, but nearly 90% of students knew the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. Arthur Li Pingsen and Carter Li Pinghang said that they will continue to track the latest developments on climate change based on the results of this questionnaire and share with their peers. They also plan to invite experts to give lectures at the school to encourage more peers to join the efforts to cope with climate change. The audiences stood to applauded the two teenagers right after the speech.
Regarding future plans on climate change, Arthur Li Pingsen and Carter Li Pinghang said: "To cope with climate change, what we can do is to make an impact on our own small world. We will make plans and work hard to achieve our goals - to help our students become the most knowledgeable groups among their peers in Shenzhen when it comes to climate change. They hope to receive an invitation from the United Nations Climate Conference in 2024 to share the results of their actions and continue to call on more people to pay attention to climate change and contribute to environmental protection.
The actions of Arthur Li Pingsen and Carter Li Pinghang showed the world the determination, capability and creativity of Chinese teenagers in dealing with climate change. Experts at the meeting affirmed the actions taken by brothers Li Pingsen and Li Pinghang and hoped that more young people could follow their example and actively participate in the "Chinese Youth Action on Climate Change" to contribute their wisdom and strength in combating climate change, achieving the goal of carbon neutrality, and protecting the earth. Amaboke Sandy, representative of the UNICEF China Office, said at the kick-off ceremony: "China has the second largest youth population in the world. Imagine the potential if everyone can take action on climate change”
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