June 10th, 2014

InternationalStudent Conference on Environment and Sustainability

We, the youth,from 47 countries come together at “2014 International Student Conference onEnvironment and Sustainability” in Shanghai, China. We believe that we haveinnovative ideas and abundant energy and capabilities to confront thesustainable development challenges. We are very appreciative towards the vehementsupport of UNEP, which has taken part in this initiative, along with TongjiUniversity and other co-partners, to create a collaboration of internationalstudents, raising awareness of the importance of consumption and behavior, asdriving force for change towards sustainable future, which can be linked to theUnited Nations Millennium Development Goals.

We realize thatfood security and health status are essential components of human well-being.We encourage the consumer-based decisions to direct the trends of globalindustry and economy. Green consumption patterns are important not only forincreasing individual awareness and behavioral change, but also for influencingeco-friendly urban development and smart cities, a key driver in the transitionto green economy.

We, therefore,urge the global leaders to establish guidelines and launch a global frameworkto integrate sustainability into decision making, redirect their publicinvestment towards green sectors, create green job opportunities for the youth,enhance the existing knowledge base at grass root level and promote theinternational cooperation and knowledge sharing, in order to realize the visionof a sustainable future.

We make astrong commitment and assure the global leaders that we will support effortstowards a sustainable world by:

- Promotingadvocacy on different environmental, social and climate change issues at local,regional, national and international level;

- Supportingthe campaigns on the concept of Environmental Sustainability through Conferences,Workshops, incentive discussions and global cooperation;

- Practicinglow carbon activities at the individual level to reduce our carbon footprintsthrough behavior changes;

-Involvingactively in raising awareness and education on sustainable development in localcommunity by propagating the concept of ESD.

Today, we,being the youth, are going to be the decision-makers of tomorrow. We believethat the smallest change may cause a radical difference in the future to come.Together, we can create a green and sustainable future, as we are the engine ofsustainable development.