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Climate change is a global challenge that respects no national borders. To achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, all nations need to take actions to address climate change and its impacts now. The Chinese government attaches great importance to addressing climate change by setting it as a strategic goal concerning economic and social development while considering green and low-carbon development as an essential aspect of ecological civilization. China pledges to achieve carbon peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is essential to promote climate action. As the creators and builders of the future world, youth play a significant role. Youth are the future. In the spirit of “Changing the minds, not the climate”, UNESCO has been committed to empowering the young generation to tackle climate change, supported by its robust networks in education, sciences, culture, communication and information.

In June 2022, the first phase (2022-2025) of the “Accelerating Carbon Neutrality: Innovative Actions for Sustainable Development” project was officially launched under the sponsorship of the China Youth Development Foundation-MercedesBenz Star Fund. This project will fill the gap of China’s carbon neutrality action through activities such as “Accelerating youth climate action”, “Forest Protection Action” and “ Tropical Rainforest biodiversity conservation action” and make a pilot for climate change education and sustainable development education in China and the world by empowering institutions and community residents, including women, children and youth, and contribute to the realization of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a bottom-up manner, including SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The project aims to promote youth capacity in innovation and communication skills. Moreover, it seeks to increase young people’s awareness on how to reduce carbon footprint, protecting the environment, conserving biodiversity and promoting man-nature harmony through education for sustainable development, climate change, environmental protection and global citizenship education. Additionally, the project aims to explore best practices that can be shared and applied internationally.