HANGZHOU — As he wound his way through campus on a shared bike to collect his undergraduate admission notice, He Youjing may well have recalled the sunny afternoon that changed the trajectory of his life.

It was in 2022, just after he had enrolled at Jinhua University of Vocational Technology in Zhejiang province, that the then 18-year-old He chose to pursue a newly introduced elective course on green skills.

In the first class the teacher asked him what he thought green skills were. He vaguely replied "picking rubbish" — an answer that sparked laughter from his classmates. It was then that he realized just how little he knew about the subject.

Green skills refer to the knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society.

Since 2021, the China office of the United Nations Children's Fund has collaborated with the Ministry of Education to integrate green skills into vocational education. By the end of last year, the initiative had been implemented in 13 vocational institutions across six provincial-level regions, with more than 20,000 students enrolled in related courses.

Initially choosing to study medicine due to his father's illness, He soon recognized the significance of environmental protection through his green skills lessons.

Six months later, he was recommended to join a research team in his school. He spent another six months developing an exhaust treatment material, namely a rhenium-zinc absorbent liquid — targeting carbon dioxide emissions from small and medium-sized enterprises.

This experience reshaped his career aspirations. When considering his bachelor's degree options, he ended up choosing chemical engineering.

"I wanted to continue my research to reduce the cost of rhenium-zinc absorbent liquid, so that it could be widely used," he said.

Green skills are seen as critical in a world struggling with the impact of global warming.

Du Wei, a UNICEF education officer, said, "We aim to empower young people with the skills to address the challenges of the climate crisis and the emerging green economy."

China has set its dual carbon goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", and considerable efforts have been made in China to achieve sustainable development.

Early success

Mao Yi, an associate professor at Jinhua University of Vocational Technology, teaches the green skills course. She also worked with the panel that compiled the course textbook.

"At first, I had no idea how the lessons should be taught," the 42-year-old teacher recalled.

She would ask her students to vote on locations for the classes. The sites they chose included tree-lined streets, bustling markets, grassland next to a pond and a barbecue spot on the urban periphery.

According to Mao, green skills are required in all aspects of a person's daily life, including clothing, food, housing and transportation.

"We were 'crossing the river by feeling for stones' at the beginning," she said. "Now that we are in our third year, the path is becoming clearer."

He Youjing remembered that once he and his classmates had gone cycling with Mao on a shared bike to learn about green transportation. The teacher also taught them how to turn leftover food into delicious dishes to reduce waste, and showed them how to conduct water sample tests for ponds.

Cheng Jun, who was vice-principal of the university when the course was introduced, told Xinhua News Agency that 118 students have taken it since it was introduced in 2022. Apart from the course, the university has also integrated green skills into subjects spanning 24 majors across 10 colleges.

Notably, Guan Quman, a student majoring in electronic information engineering, has devised a "smart agriculture system" using solar energy for intelligent irrigation, soil fertilizer concentration monitoring and pest identification, via AI technology. Having grown up in a farming family, he is planning to test his system at home during the summer break, hoping it will help his fellow villagers conserve resources.

Xie Shiya, a fashion design major, has learned to dye fabrics using coffee grounds, tea leaves and plant dyes under the guidance of her teacher, and has repurposed old clothing to reduce waste. Her first revamped piece was a white shirt that had witnessed many significant moments in her life, which she adorned with irises to cover stained areas.

"My dream is to establish my own brand and apply green skills in fashion design," she said.

Qi Xinya, from the pharmaceutical engineering college, joined the university's environmental protection association "Alang Guardians" to promote eco-friendly awareness. Last October, she represented Chinese youth at the Girls Go Green Asia Pacific Summit in Thailand, where she exchanged views with peers from other nations.

"Environmental protection is a major trend across the globe. I hope to contribute to the environment through learning and applying green skills," she noted.

Knowledge is power

Climate change has caused concerns for many across the mainland.

He Youjing, whose hometown is the coastal Cangnan county in Zhejiang, worries whenever a typhoon approaches, fearing that his home could be swept away. And though the county is in a subtropical climate, where snow is seldom seen, Cangnan experienced heavy snowfall last winter.

"If we don't take action, extreme weather events will be more frequent," he warned.

A report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last November during the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP29, indicated that over 90 percent of respondents in China said that they have felt the impact of climate change, with more than 80 percent expressing a positive attitude toward China's dual carbon goals and green development prospects.

Huang Hui is the deputy director of the Center for Vocational Education Development of the Ministry of Education. She said that learning green skills raises students' awareness of ecological development and helps them master relevant technologies — thereby speeding up China's green transition development.

Huang told Xinhua that the center has had discussions concerning the establishment of "green majors" such as carbon emission statistics and accounting, and will incorporate green skills into the teaching standards of related subjects.

"We are going to develop more learning materials on green skills and supporting digital resources, which will be promoted on the national smart education platform," she added.

The textbook coauthored by Mao will soon be published. She is currently recording her lectures to create online courses for more students interested in green skills.

"I loved nature as a child, and often swam in the river near my house," she said. "It is my hope that in the future children can also swim and play in clean rivers."