A week-long series of youth-led dialogues with negotiators and high-level experts on key issues of the climate agenda during COP28 in Dubai last year resulted with young people calling on country governments to step up action on their climate commitments.
Some of the youth key recommendations were calls to urgently reflect water and food security in COP decisions that spur high-level momentum for action; the need for countries to meet their climate commitments as enshrined in National Determined Contributions (NDC) targets, and for Parties to make ambitious progress on setting the Global Goal on Adaptation to support most exposed countries to the impacts of climate change to accelerate their adaptation processes. The outcomes of the dialogues, along with the demands and recommendations of young people, were synthesised and presented during the intergenerational Dubai Youth Climate Dialogue.
The dialogue brought together a broad cross-section of the thousands of young people from all over the world who had gathered for the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
“It was remarkable to see negotiators and politicians listening to youth perspectives and committing to make good on their demands,” said Ben Santhouse-James, YOUNGO contact point for the energy working group. “Going forward, we need to bring even more negotiators face to face with youth and promote more of this type of two-way dialogue.”
The COP28 Global Youth Statement that synthesises the collective demands and proposals of youth and children on climate policy was also presented by YOUNGO, the official children and youth constituency represented in the UN climate change process. The Statement brings together over 700,000 inputs and voices of young people from 150 countries around the world synthesised through rigorous consultations at Local and Regional Youth Conferences, as well as over 50 policy hackathons, throughout the year.
“I’m optimistic on the power that young people are showing in this specific COP and the whole process,” said Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs. “Count on me and the whole UN to make more opportunities and to put your voices on the table.”
In addition the Youth, Children, Skills and Education thematic day on December 8 saw thousands of young people gather to launch the COP28 Youth Stocktake Outcome Report, produced by YOUNGO. The report provides both a comprehensive analysis of youth inclusion in climate change processes and proposes strategies for further improvement.
“While increased recognition for children and youth is commendable, it is essential to recognise that acknowledgment alone falls short,” said Elizabeth Gulugulu, one of the researchers and authors of the report. “There is a need to improve the documentation of youth efforts to enhance monitoring and reporting, and there is a need to continue working with Parties and other stakeholders to put in place measures to help overcome existing barriers for effective youth inclusion.”
Separately, the thematic day also saw the UAE announcing a new $220 million funding package for Africa to contribute to building a stronger and more resilient health system to the effects of climate change and to support access to essential care for children and youth in different countries in the region.
Youth leading climate action
As part of the COP28 thematic day dedicated to Youth, Children, Skills and Education, two youth representatives were honoured with the UN Global Climate Action Awards. Michelle Zarate Palomec from Mexico and Sebastian Mwaura from Kenya were selected from hundreds of nominees from 120 countries for their extraordinary efforts to make their communities more sustainable, resilient and equitable places to live.
