Twin power tackles climate change

Two teenagers, who were invited as youth representatives to a side event at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), held their own event earlier this week to encourage their peers to help protect the environment in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Li Bingchen and Li Bingheng, twin brothers also known by their English names Arthur and Carter, independently conducted a survey to explore how students in grades 6 through 12 perceive the current state of climate change.

The survey revealed that around 25 percent of Shenzhen students showed little interest in addressing global warming, but 90 percent of all the youngsters surveyed possessed basic knowledge linking carbon dioxide emissions to climate change.

When they were 12, the two teenagers developed passion for climate change under the influence of their parents, who are dedicated to a variety of charities.

The twins' thinking and approach in involving their peers in climate-related discussions earned them an invitation to deliver a speech at the COP28 side event titled "Canal Cities: Eye of the Climate Storm" in early December last year.

Since their return, the brothers have followed through with their plans, tracking climate change knowledge and information, which they share with their classmates.

On Tuesday, they hosted a themed session in Shenzhen titled "Climate Change and Youth Power", to which they invited Wang Shi, founder of the Vanke Group, and a prominent advocate of environmental sustainability, whom they met during COP28, where he was a guest speaker.

Wang has attended 14 consecutive UN Climate Change Conferences and shared his expertise on mangrove protection, corporate ESG implementation, and zero-carbon campus development, urging youth to actively engage and incorporate climate awareness into their lives.