Leading the Fight Against Climate Change for the World: President Qiu Yong's GAUC Forum speech
Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong delivered a speech at the GAUC Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The text is as follows:
Leading the Fight Against Climate Change for the World
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon! Welcome to GAUC forum. First of all, on behalf of GAUC members, I would like to extend our warmest welcome to all of you. Thank you for joining us today.
In the past year, we experienced the hottest June and July on record. Glaciers melting, frequent flood, hot wave, drought and bushfires... More and more extreme weather events have occurred on the earth we live, and man induced climatic change is the main driving force behind these extreme weather events. Under this background, in January last year, right here in Davos, we 8 universities signed a joint statement to propose to establish “Global Alliance of Universities on Climate” (GAUC). Four months later, 12 universities from 9 countries in 6 continents gathered at Tsinghua University in Beijing to officially establish GAUC. On January 6 this year, President Xi Jinping sent a letter in reply to the student representatives of the GAUC Graduates Forum, expressing his appreciation for their concern for the shared future of mankind and his expectations for their active role to protect our common planet. Yesterday, we convened the first board meeting of GAUC. Today, we host an open event to introduce our work and to kick off an important conversation at Davos on the mission of colleges and universities to tackle climate change.
In the charter of GAUC, it is stated that GAUC aims to address climate change by promoting bi-lateral and multi-lateral scientific and technological research, cultivating leaders in the field of climate change and building consensus among people from all walks of life. We believe that in the face of the common challenge of climate change, colleges and universities in the world have a shared responsibility to play a leading role in terms of promoting education and research on climate for the future. It is also important to create a mechanism for exchange and cooperation among colleges and universities, and to strengthen the implementation of practical policy around the world. We are glad that our GAUC members have different advantages in these areas, and we also share the same passion and dream. We are also ready to work with other education and research institutions, governments and NGOs, international organizations and private sectors beyond the alliance, to jointly fight against climate change.
Five days ago, I visited the University of Bologna in Italy. Founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is recognized as the first modern university in the world. It is well known that universities are institutions with longevity. The year 2088 will witness the millennium of modern university. I sincerely hope that 68 years later, when our successors look back at our 1000-year journey, they can acknowledge the true value of what we did on climate today, as well as the significant and far-reaching impact of our joint efforts on the common destiny of humankind. Thank you!
