Chen Ying, deputy director with the Research Center for Sustainable Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says climate change is a long-term global issue and young people will be most affected.

Wang Zinan, who also attended the Children's Climate Forum, started studying Beijing park lawn degeneration when he found the grass in the Yuan Dynasty Dadu City Wall Park, near his house, was withering.

"Our school (Beijing No. 22 Middle School) will reconstruct the campus in the next two years and I hope to help plan the replanting of the campus lawn," Wang says.

Chen Ying and her team conducted a survey of 1,500 students at seven universities in China last year. It found they were highly concerned and willing to make efforts on energy reservation and emissions cuts.

Only 6.47 percent of respondents said they never took environmental protection measures, such as water and electricity conservation and cutting the use of plastic bags; 35.56 percent said they were willing to encourage the others to protect the environment, according to the survey.

Chen says young people feel less pressure in daily life and are more open to new concepts, so their concern about climate change is higher than average and their efforts will definitely reap rewards in the future.

On the other hand, young Chinese have to learn more to understand the complexity of the issue, says Chen.

"For example, how should developed and developing countries share responsibility and obligations in tackling climate change? I hope they can develop a more comprehensive understanding," she says.

And China should strengthen education on the issue.

Sixteen-year-old Wang Zinan says foreign high school students spend more time in working with schools and communities while Chinese students do less because of the heavy burden of homework and exams; and when they try to do the work, some adults refuse to take it seriously.

"If we can do it well under this pressure, as long as we stick to environmental protection, we will also do a good job in tackling this issue when we grow up and face other kinds of pressure," he says.

Zhou Denglin says they hope, through CYCAN's work, not only that young people take action now, but that some of them continue environmental protection work in the future.

"We hope more young people who care about climate change become decision-makers in government, management of enterprises or experts in universities, which is a practical way to better tackle the issue," he says.

Li Chuheng finds many people have an attitude of "It's none of my business" towards climate change issues.

"They don't want to change their way of life because of an uncertain thing in the future," she says.

She plans to study psychology and economics in university. "I can take more acceptable measures to tell the public about climate change by understanding their thinking through studying psychology," she says.

Economics could help her apply research on wind power to more widely practical uses, she says.

Li feels action is more urgently needed.

"Climate change waits for no one. We have to act now."

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2009)