Some people have challenged Zhao Xiangyu, deeming that the money would have been better spent on tree planting than sending young people on a junket to Copenhagen. He both concedes and disagrees, “As I see it, participation in such a civic and international event might not be as practical as planting trees, but it will have a far wider influence. As young people, we have a duty to be concerned, and a right to speak out about this matter.”

Snowball Effect

The ongoing Energy Consumption Survey in Chinese Higher Education Institutes is a key project run in partnership by CYCAN and the Clean Development Mechanism Club of Peking University. The aims of the survey are to assess energy usage efficiency, explore more effective ways to cut carbon emissions and provide reliable scientific data for higher education institutes. CYCAN selects suitable campus clubs with distinct specialties and organizational strength. The heads of the clubs chosen are given training courses in project management and teamwork to help them develop their research.

More and more college clubs and NGOs are making concerted efforts to boost the presence of youth in relevant fields, and the influence of young green frontrunners on their contemporaries is very evident.

July 12 saw the opening, at the United Nations Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, of the 2nd International Youth Summit on Energy and Climate Change (IYSECC). It was sponsored by Peking University CDM Club, Tsinghua University Student Green Association and CYCAN, and supported by the Green Road Association of Tongji University. With the theme “The Low-carbon Ideal Takes Off,” the summit was designed as a platform for dialogue between youth, government bodies, enterprises and media.

In China, more and more college clubs and NGOs are making concerted efforts to boost the presence of youth in relevant fields, and the influence of young green frontrunners on their contemporaries is very evident. The 23-year-old Liu Wei now works in a Beijing company, but she remembers her first “Earth Hour” activity in her third year of university. “I noticed this activity on our college online bulletin board.” At half past eight in the evening, half the lights in the male dormitories opposite were switched off and Liu put her lights out without any hesitation. She recalls many male students leaning out of the windows, yelling to the lighted dorm rooms, “Lights out! Lights out! For our Earth, turn off your light for an hour.”

Liu Wei expresses great concern about climate change. “This year, China experienced abnormal weather. It was still snowing in Beijing in April! Of course it made people more alive to the issue of climate change.” During the Copenhagen Conference, Liu preferred to use the Internet, reading the text of speeches given by NGO members. She points to the huge download rate for the article, “Notes on the Failure in Copenhagen” written by Li Yan, director of Greenpeace China’s climate and energy program. “Material published by NGOs, which have no vested interests to protect, is seen as more credible and more likely to get the attention of the young.”

For a long time Chinese youth showed little interest in the field of climate change, in her view. “Perhaps, it’s hard to relate to, being such a vast topic. But the Copenhagen Conference can be seen as a milestone. Since the summit, there has been an obvious increase in the number of domestic NGOs and student associations.”

On the subject of rousing young people to action, Zhao Xiangyu comments, “On one hand, we need to start with ourselves as individuals, pay more attention to the small stuff, like taking public transport and conserving electricity and water as far as possible. On the other hand, at the society level, we need to explore new development modes and new ways of tackling climate change, energy saving and emission reduction.”

Like Li Lina, many NGO activists hold down day jobs too. “I’m thrilled that there are still many young people in China whose sole concern is not about getting into a college overseas and forging a career path, but also about their right and responsibility to make a better world. The willingness to do something about it makes the difference.”