Climate x Project: When Students Take Action

Sciences Po is one of the 15 founding universities of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC). Created in 2019, the alliance launched in 2022 the “Climate x” leadership training pilot: a joint teaching programme initiated by Sciences Po and Tsinghua University to educate and empower students from all over the globe to climate change issues. More than 500 students applied and 150 were selected. Two of the thirty student ambassadors from Sciences Po look back on this one-of-a-kind experience.

Climate change: many paths and profiles, one common goal

Both students from Sciences Po, the two participants of the programme have not reached the same milestone in their student’s journey.

Garance Breuil graduated last summer 2022 from the Master Ecological Transition in European Cities of the Urban School. She stated that climate was at the center of her studies and career and that it feels necessary for her to prepare for the future.

She adds, “Climate impacts our lives very concretely and there is so much that needs to be done still. It impacts our vital needs. Just consider eating and drinking: agriculture depends on climate, droughts are more frequent, and drinkable water becomes rarer. Climate also makes a place livable or not, as we observe temperatures and the sea level rising. Therefore, we really need to tackle the climate change issue and I want to be part of that.”

Naman Kapoor is a third-year graduate student of Politics and Government from India. His motivation for studying at Sciences Po was to raise the baseline quality of life for all. He believes that climate change is one of the most intractable political issues today and that humans have the power to shape the world. He quotes, “As the old adage goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.” My responsibility as a person with the privilege of a world-class education and as a citizen of the world is to take charge and find solutions for climate change.”

Global stakes lead to international cooperation

With 50% of its students coming from all six continents, Sciences Po is one of the most international higher education institutions in France. Founding the GAUC in 2019 and its “Climate x” Programme in 2021 seemed like an organic step. Sciences Po has always believed that multiculturalism and international dialogue is key to a better world, so do the two ambassadors. 

Naman Kapoor explains that his motivation to study at Sciences Po was to raise the baseline quality of life for all. Growing up, he observed that “The poorest regions and people who are least responsible for climate change are the most affected by it. As a young child, I was constantly shoved away when I tried to question the status quo and was unequipped to defend my stance. Through my education at Sciences Po and the training that I have received during GAUC’s Climate x project, I am confident that I am equipped with the tools and knowledge to advocate and take action to change the status quo”. He is also confident that “studying and working to solve climate issues on a European and international level is an asset as it allows for optimal allocation of global resources by sharing ideas, financial assistance and transfer of technologies.”

Garance Breuil remembers that a sentence that defined her first year as an undergraduate and that hasn’t left her since would be “I want to be useful”. She trusts that Sciences Po has given her an extended education, including with memorable conferences and access to networks like the GAUC, to fulfill her urge for “meaningful and impactful action”. She confirms that the international context is interesting as it allows students to hear about climate change from very different perspectives. She finds it very encouraging to see an intensification of the universities international cooperation.

The birth of two impactful international students projects

The 150 ambassadors from the “Climate x” Pilot were offered to work in international teams on challenging climate-related projects. They all came up with rich and often original ideas.

Garance Breuil formed an interdisciplinary team with students from Stellenbosch University in South Africa (Willem Malherbe), Tsinghua University in China (Shangchen Zhang), The Indian Institute of Sciences (Rohan P. Unni), and Columbia University (Dongping Song). Their Project “Brace for Impact” came from the realisation that “Even though extreme weather events have become a common occurrence and are likely to get more frequent, more severe, we don’t feel prepared at all. Our aim is to empower anyone who wants to “Brace for Impact”. So, we are currently creating a website where you can find, according to your location, information about the risks of extreme weather events, case studies to learn how to face these kinds of events, and a marketplace, finding links to useful products like safety kits for instance.”

The challenge for Naman Kapoor and his international team was to imagine solutions to reduce the massive climate finance-gap by widening the investor base. They realized indeed that “A considerable amount of financing is needed to address climate-related challenges and green bonds are an instrument to connect green projects with capital markets and investors to channel capital towards sustainable development. However, the green bond market is controlled by high net worth individuals and has entry barriers for retail investors. Our project democratises green bonds by creating a platform for retail investors who want to diversify their investment portfolios with assets that beat inflation with higher returns than Fixed Deposits (FD) and with lower risk than Stocks (equity), while also making the world a greener place.”

A heartwarming launch of the programme by two Sciences Po professors

The pilot project organises joint lectures by the 15 universities of the GAUC. The students have the opportunity to learn from professors that are specialists in their respective fields from all over the world, including the high profile professors of Sciences Po.

Naman Kapoor remembers fondly of the first two lectures that were given by Dr Carola Klöck (on climate negotiation) and by Prof. Charlotte Halpern (on climate governance), “The first lecture by Dr. Carola Klöck set the stage for my engagement with the training as it was about inequalities in relation to climate change and how it impacts negotiation dynamics. Social justice in climate policy is rarely discussed and it was heartwarming to learn how to solve a problem for which I feel deeply. While understanding the environmental and policy landscape of the European Union in Prof. Charlotte Halpern’s lecture, I gained perspective on policy approaches to address environmental challenges.”

Meanwhile, Garance Breuil feels that she has learned a lot about leadership, about “how to precisely adapt working methods to your team, and I have learned about communication plans, how central it is when implementing anything to think of how you can reach your audience.”

Towards a wonderful future?

Young generations of students will be key in the fight against global change. They are a source of inspiration and optimism in their trust towards the future. That is why Sciences Po aims to prepare them to tackle any upcoming challenges including climate change.

Graduate and ambassador Garance Breuil hopes that leaders will be even more ambitious with their environmental goals, in order to protect biodiversity and humanity. She personally expects that she will “continue developing solutions and business” and thrive in Amsterdam, where she moved to this month.

Naman Kapoor defines his approach to life as one of realistic optimism and does believe that “We will succeed in solving the problem of climate change, given that we take measured actions towards finding and implementing green solutions for electricity production, transportation, industry, agriculture, and forestry.”

Let’s follow the undergraduate ambassador’s advice: close our eyes to look at the beautiful world of the future, smile and listen silently to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”.

More information: 

• “Climate x” Pilot Programme of the GAUC
• Master Ecological Transition in European Cities
• The Bachelor’s Programme