26 May 2026, Associate Professor Dr. Kitikorn Charmondusit, Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, along with Lecturer Dr. Praewa Wongburi, Assistant Dean for Policy, Planning, and International Relations, Assistant Professor Dr. Wichaya Rongsayamanont, and Dr. Shreema Rana, International Expert, held a discussion with representatives from the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) Bangkok and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). The delegation was led by Ms. Juhi Bansal, Regional Expert for NDCs and LT-LEDS at the UNFCCC-IGES Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia and the Pacific, accompanied by Ms. Jean Paula Bermudez Regulano, Climate Action and Adaptation Specialist, and Ms. Jessica Merailo, Youth Engagement Coordinator.
The meeting aimed to exchange ideas on youth capacity building, education, and climate action initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region.
During the meeting, the representatives from RCC Bangkok under the UNFCCC presented the center's role in supporting developing countries in Asia and the Pacific regarding Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), climate adaptation, data transparency, youth engagement, and climate action collaboration across various sectors. They also introduced a 5-module youth climate action capacity-building curriculum covering climate science, participation in national climate action plans and commitments under the Paris Agreement (NDCs) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), and international negotiation processes. This curriculum focuses on participatory and practical learning through workshops to promote meaningful youth engagement in climate science.
On this occasion, Associate Professor Dr. Kitikorn shared his experience in developing sustainable organizations at the university level. He highlighted the integration of sustainability into university policies and teaching across all fields, not limited to environmental studies. He also presented approaches to expand sustainability efforts from universities to schools by developing living lab schools, creating teaching manuals for Thai teachers on sustainability, carbon footprint, life cycle assessment, and CCUS, and studying Thai curricula to push for policy changes with the Ministry of Education in the future. Examples of joint projects with the public and private sectors to promote eco-friendly behaviors, such as reducing plastic bag use in schools, were also shared.
Both parties further discussed future collaboration opportunities. These include developing online training for students in the faculty's Carbon Neutrality Campus (CNC) network in the ASEAN region, organizing youth climate camps with the private sector, and inviting UNFCCC experts as speakers and panelists for CNC activities scheduled for June 23–25, 2026. They also explored connecting Mahidol University to the UNFCCC academic network to build a shared regional learning center and platform for climate change in ASEAN.
