THUSDG hosted the Universities for SDG13 Award China Finals

Universities for SDG 13 Award China Finals 

On the occasion of the 53rd Earth Day and the 111th anniversary of Tsinghua University, the Universities for SDG 13 Award China Finals was held successfully in Beijing on April 22, 2022. The China finals was hosted by Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (Tsinghua SDG Institute, THUSDG) and sponsored by Pernod Ricard China.

The Universities for SDG13 Award was initiated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and SIEMENS GAMESA, and was staged simultaneously in 5 universities in the United States, China, Germany, South Africa, and Brazil, respectively. As the organizer of the China finals, Tsinghua SDG Institute aims to lead Chinese youth to actively participate in SDG13 Climate Action, and to propose more practical and innovative solutions towards the global climate crisis. Meanwhile, the Award seeks to cultivate students’ innovative ability and raise their climate awareness.

"The Wining Prize"

The "Sun Dawn Goddess"  Team 

The "Byte Rainforest"  Team 

The "Carbon Trail"  Team

"Pernod Ricard (China) 

Special Award"

The "Waste Explorer" Team

The "Sun Dawn Goddess" Team

The China finals called for university students from all over the country. 25 teams and 114 students signed up for the competition. After two rounds of rigorous selection and professional guidance, 11 teams were shortlisted for the China finals. Eventually, three teams - “Sun Dawn Goddess”, “Byte Rainforest”, and “Carbon Trail” won the “The Winning Prize”, while two teams - “Waste Explorer” and “Sun Dawn Goddess” won the “Pernod Ricard (China) Special Award”. The teams awarded the Winning Prize will enter the global finals as the representative teams of China.

Four judges : Junjie Zhang, Hu Qin, Kathie Wang, Junming Zhu

Junjie Zhang, Director of the Initiative for Sustainable Investment at Duke Kunshan University and Associate Professor of Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University; Hu Qin, Acting Chief Representative at Environmental Defense Fund China; Kathie Wang, Vice President of Public Relations and Communication at Pernod Ricard China ; and Junming Zhu, Vice Director of Tsinghua SDG Institute and Associate Professor of the School of Public Policy & Management at Tsinghua University jointly attended the competition as the judges.

On behalf of the organizer of the China finals, Professor Xufeng Zhu, Executive Dean of the School of Public Policy & Management at Tsinghua University and Executive Director of Tsinghua SDG Institute, delivered remarks. Ms. Kathie Wang and Ms. María Cortés Puch, Vice President of SDSN, also remark to the finals online.

María Cortés Puch delivered remarks

Prof. Xufeng Zhu delivered remarks

Prof. Xufeng Zhu mentioned in his remarks that “countries around the world have taken actions to address climate challenges from the 1992 Rio Conference, the 2012 Rio+20 Summit, to the 2015 Paris Agreement. China, as a responsible country, has made solemn commitments to the world by taking practical actions: integrating climate change, energy conservation and emission reduction actions into several national Five-Year Plans, implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and striving to  peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Chinese youth will be the main players to actively participate in global climate actions and governance in the future. By taking the opportunity and platform of this competition, we hope to turn students’ fertile imagination and creative ideas into practical and implementable climate innovation solutions, and ultimately contribute the wisdoms of Chinese youth to the global climate action.”

Kathie Wang delivered remarks

Kathie Wang mentioned that she was “delighted to see so many outstanding young people taking climate actions. They have come up with a lot of high-quality solutions, and have flexibly applied what they have seen and learned to tackle real-world problems, from source monitoring to public advocacy. These all provided us with great ideas and inspiration for our future sustainable public welfare.” She hoped Pernod Ricard China could continue providing support and guidance for youths’ sustainable actions in the future, and helping cultivate professionals in sustainability in China.

Presentation and Q&A session

Centering on SDG13-Climate Action, The 11 finals teams presented many climate innovation and global governance solutions by combining interdisciplinary knowledge and technological innovation. These creative solutions included topical issues, such as haze monitoring and governance, community participation in climate change, solid waste treatment and recycling in scenic spots, carbon sequestration and forest management, technology-assisted photovoltaic power plants, as well as individual carbon emission and carbon trading, etc. Each team fully demonstrated in-depth understanding and strong interpretation of “climate change” and “sustainable development” through their amazing presentation. In the Q & A session, the judges shared the cutting-edge scientific knowledge, industry perspectives and practical experiences on climate change with all students. The synergy between the jury and contestants stimulated more inspirations and in-depth discussions on climate innovation.

The Universities for SDG 13 Award China Finals brings us a great opportunity to learn these novelty innovation ideas from Chinese youth on tackling climate crisis, to feel the growing scientific literacy and global vision of students, and to see these innovative achievements highly integrated with theory and practice. We sincerely wish Chinese youths’ climate innovative solutions will stand out in the global finals, and contribute more creative ideas to the continuing global climate actions for humanity!

Group photo with all judges and teams

Gourp photo with all participants

TUSDG公众号