Scholars and students from 43 countries attended the International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability held by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Tongji University on Sunday.

This year's conference coincides with the 50th anniversary of the UNEP and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of cooperative relations between UNEP and Tongji, said Chen Jie, president of Tongji University.

Experts, including Arun Agrawal, member of US National Academy of Sciences, and Pierre Boileau, head of the Global Assessment Unit at UNEP, gave four keynote speeches on sustainability governance, planetary health and green finance during the conference.

Earlier on Friday, 160 student teams competed in a contest in which they showcased their solutions for climate change and human health challenges, and for building better circular economy and smart environment.

Several teams from institutions, including University College London, Zayed University, Tsinghua University, University of Belgrade and Egerton University, received prizes on Sunday.

"Youth play a major role in global affairs and in driving circular economic growth and promoting sustainable change," said Tu Ruihe, a representative of UNEP in China.

"We are committed to finding and supporting young people with visionary ideas, insights into the urgency and severity of the current global environmental crisis, and who are actively seeking innovative solutions."

The award ceremony of the 2022 Green Seedling Programme, which was founded by the Beijing Environment Foundation for Young Talents, was also held during the conference.