The HUSS Environmental Consortium (hereinafter referred to as the Environmental Consortium), which consists of five universities including Kookmin University (President Jung Seung-ryul) and Duksung Women's University, Ulsan University, Inha University, and Chosun University, attended the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (COP29) held in Baku, Azerbaijan from Sunday, 17th to Monday, 22nd.

On Monday, the 18th, the delegation held a workshop on the theme of “Youth Green Alliance” at the Korean Pavilion of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) in collaboration with American and Japanese university students.

The workshop was held on the themes of the main agenda of COP29, including the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (International Carbon Market), Loss and Damage, and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), providing participating professors and students with a learning opportunity on international climate change negotiations.

This event was an opportunity for young leaders from the three countries to discuss ways to cooperate to solve global environmental problems, and it focused on presenting specific examples of the role and leadership of young people in responding to the climate crisis and achieving carbon neutrality.

Son Seung-beom, a student from Kookmin University majoring in Global Climate and Environmental Convergence, who represented Korea in the presentation, emphasized that Korea can take the lead in protecting the aging society and vulnerable groups by establishing indoor air quality standards, and said, “The climate crisis is an issue that affects all generations around the world, and we need to seek practical and feasible solutions in the fields of clean and circular economies through cooperation between Korea, the US, and Japan.” Sophie Lehrenbaum/Jenna Clark (Tufts University) of the US emphasized the importance of sustainable technological innovation through sub-national partnerships and cooperation between the private sector and universities, and the role of young people in addressing the climate crisis. Japan's representative, Yuki Wada (Nara Women's University), argued that the three countries should combine their technological strengths in disaster prevention and response to increase disaster resilience in the Asia-Pacific region and expand cooperation.

The event consisted of presentations by young people from the three countries, as well as a panel discussion with students from Korea, the US, and Japan, and representatives from civil society (Climate Solutions) and international organizations (APEC Climate Center). It was of great significance in that it provided a forum for young leaders to take the lead in promoting climate action and discuss ways to respond to the climate crisis with experts in each field. In particular, the participation of Hokkaido University as a co-host, which operates various programs in Japan to respond to the climate crisis and implement the Sustainable Development Goals, served as an opportunity to create a concrete foundation for youth cooperation activities between countries.

The event consisted of presentations by young people from the three countries, as well as a panel discussion with students from the US, Japan, and Korea, and representatives from civil society (Climate Solutions) and international organizations (APEC Climate Center). It was of great significance in that it provided a forum for young leaders to promote climate action and discuss ways to respond to the climate crisis with experts in each field.

The student delegation to COP29 was composed of 18 applicants for majors (Global Climate and Environment Convergence Major, Climate Change Convergence Major, etc.) established on the basis of environmental consortia for each of the five universities, including the Kookmin University Climate Change Response Project Team (Director: Professor Kang Yun-hee), and consisted of eight students from Kookmin University, three from Duksung Women's University, three from Ulsan University, two from Inha University, and two from Chosun University.

Meanwhile, the Kookmin University Climate Change Response Project (led by Professor Kang Yun-hee), the host university of the HUSS Environmental Climate Change Consortium, has once again highlighted the importance of convergence education for fostering talent in the field of climate and the environment, as well as the role of young people in the field, through this event, and has shown the possibility of youth-led climate action to bring about real change in the international community. Kookmin University plans to continue to strengthen its global climate response capabilities and contribute to designing a sustainable future centered on young people.

※ HUSS: Humanities - Utmost – Sharing System The Humanities and Social Convergence Talent Development Project (HUSS) is a project funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Education to actively foster humanities and social convergence talents based on humanities and social sciences to solve problems arising from social changes such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, climate change, and population structure. Five consortia (digital, environmental climate change, social structure, population change, and culture) are operated by five universities each. The consortium on environmental and climate change consists of Kookmin University (host), Duksung Women's University, Inha University, Ulsan University, and Chosun University.

※※ The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a meeting of parties held every year to discuss specific implementation plans for the Climate Change Convention signed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, and is considered the only official global international diplomatic conference where the entire world can come together to make commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The main contents of the UNFCCC include ▷ preparation of national statistics on the status of greenhouse gas emissions and absorption and national reports on policy implementation ▷ establishment and implementation of domestic policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ▷ recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Here, the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change gather to review the implementation of the Convention and make the necessary decisions. In fact, the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, which agreed on greenhouse gas reduction targets for major countries, and the Paris Agreement of 2015, which agreed to limit the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius for 197 countries, were signed at COP3 and COP21, respectively. (Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP (Encyclopedia of Contemporary Thought, pmg Knowledge Engine Research Institute)