The power of youth for taking action on climate change took a step forward today with the launch of the “Youth Leadership Summer Camp for Climate Action” at the United Nations Compound in Beijing, designed to promote youth engagement in tackling climate change and promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Together with Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences (CAFS) affiliated with Ministry of Finance (MOF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a report entitled Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR): A Study of Hebei Province, China. The report represents the second phase in a series of reports that aim to review the status of multi-dimensional support for climate change activities and contribute information on public expenditure related to climate change in China.

As part of the efforts to support exchange of experience of developing countries and facilitate dialogue on development solutions from China, the United Nations Development Programme in China (UNDP) hosted a high level “Low-Carbon Development and Financing Solutions” workshop today in Beijing.

UNDP, IamtheCODE in collaboration with ThoughtWorks brought together geeks, do-gooders and innovators with different skill sets ranging from coding, app-building and data analysis to design solutions to challenges facing the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in China. The 2 day workshop helped to engage the participants with the SDGs and outline how their skills can be utilized for social good. After two days ‘hacking’ and developing innovative solutions to pressing challenges in China the teams had the opportunity to present their ideas to a judging panel.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an economic framework developed to increase connectivity between China and over 100 countries and international organizations, based on the ancient Silk Road land and maritime routes. The BRI aims to link different regions through infrastructure construction, transport and economic corridors and by bridging China with the rest of the world both physically, financially, digitally and socially. UNDP and the People’s Republic of China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in September 2016. The MOU outlined a strategic cooperation framework to enhance collaboration between UNDP and the Chinese government for the implementation of the BRI and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

China’s first ever UN-led open design challenge, "Geek for Good" provides a platform to galvanize citizen engagement and inspire people to find tech-based innovative solutions for some of the toughest development challenges in China.

On June 5th, World Environment Day, UNDP teamed up with Green Manufacturing Co. (GEM) to increase the public’s awareness of the importance of proper recycling of e-wastes. An online live broadcast event exploring how e-waste can be dismantled in an environmental friendly way was broadcasted on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Picture Story- Hawa Adams is a vegetable farmer in Tamalgu, Ghana. Hawa lives with her husband and eight children. She complements her income through a pilot demonstration initiative together with UNDP and a local NGO, New Energy. Over the past two years, she and 77 other families in the community have been testing enhanced agriculture production methods using drip- and regular irrigation.

To raise public awareness on the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and help China reach the goals and targets set forth by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China today launched its Massive Open Online Course on Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals (UNDP SDG MOOC) developed in cooperation with NetEase Media, as the first knowledge product to combine the global Agenda and China’s current situation.

The key findings of the “Philanthropy for Sustainable Development in China” are based on a powerful database, in-depth data analysis, and present the results through various data visualization tools and a real-time publicly accessible platform.

China’s announcement of a total energy consumption cap of 5 tons of coal equivalent comes after the success of the 12th Five-Year Plan from an energy perspective, in which energy and carbon targets were met and surpassed. Between 2011 and the end of 2015, energy intensity fell by 18.2% and carbon intensity declined 20%. These declines are due in large part to the drop in coal consumption: down 3.7% in 2015, following a 2.9% decrease in 2014. The total from all sources of energy in 2015 was 4.3 billion tons of coal equivalent, an increase of less than 1% from the previous year. This markedly slowed consumption, coupled with the decline in heavy industry, suggests that achieving a 5 billion metric ton energy cap will not be challenging.

Endosulfan is an insecticide that has been phasing out globally due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and its role as an endocrine disrupter that can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders. Because of its threats to human health and the environment, a global ban on the manufacture and use of endosulfan was negotiated under the Stockholm Convention in April 2011.

By Nicholas Rosellini: Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room,” Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the assembled leaders at the World Economic Forum earlier this year. “While wind and rain may be kept outside, that dark room will also block light and air.”