Under the joint efforts of Tongji University, the United Nations Environment Program, the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany and the China Meteorological Administration's Shanghai Key Laboratory of Climate Change Response, the opening ceremony of the 16th Asia-Pacific Leadership Programme on Environment for Sustainable Development (APLP) is successfully held on September 23th at the UN Environment-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD). The theme of this seminar is “Sustainable production and Consumption”. 27 students from 11 countries participate in this seminar, including the Philippines, China, India, Nepal, Vietnam, Kenya, Spain, Myanmar, Italy, Cambodia and Bangladesh. Most of the participants are representatives of the government, international organizations, universities, NGOs and enterprises. The seminar is diversified and has invited experts from the United Nations Environment Programme, Tongji University, Sustainability Asia and Shanghai Climate Change Research Center to give lectures.

At the opening ceremony, Prof. Li Fengting, the executive deputy dean of IESD, delivered a warm speech on behalf of Tongji University. On the 16th anniversary of this programme, he welcomed the students and lecturers from afar and introduced Tongji’s efforts in sustainable development education. I am grateful to the UN Environment Agency and the German Hanns Seidel Foundation for their strong support for this APLP programme. Mr. Janne Leino, Chief Representative of the Zhejiang Office of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), emphasized the importance of the APLP programme for Environment and Sustainable Development and outlined HSF's efforts in environment and sustainability education. Mr. Mahesh Pradhan, Nutrients Management, GPA, Ecosystems Division, UNEP HQs, gave a welcoming speech to the participants and the resource persons who participated in the seminar. He also briefly introduced the development history, opportunities and challenges of the APLP over the past 16 years, emphasizing the urgent need for environmental protection and the importance of sustainable development education and shared UNEP’s contribution to the environment and sustainable development. 

The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor Li Fengting, Executive Deputy Dean of IESD and Deputy Dean of the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University. In the afternoon, Robert Steele from Sustainability Asia led the participants to discuss the challenges of achieving the SDGs and to actively interact with the participants.

Since 2004, the Asia-Pacific Leadership Programme on Environment for Sustainable Development has been held annually at Tongji University, and this year is the 16th year. So far, more than 400 emerging leaders from nearly 50 countries and regions have participated in the programme, and more than 300 of them are from the Asia Pacific region. The programme also attracted participants from North America, Africa and European countries to share their experiences in the field of environment and sustainable development.

In the one-week seminar, the sub-goals of sustainable development will be refined from the four dimensions of economy, society, environment and humanities, and the sustainable development leadership will be explained interactively by Pyramid Sustainability. The teaching forms are diversified, integrating courses, case studies, group discussions, expert interactions, model practice, field trips, etc., to analyze the concept of sustainable development for the participants.