HM Governor's Office
in Anguilla
Youth
The consequences of tomorrow, today
Today’s youth will live with the decisions that are made at Copenhagen. They will live with the current and future effects of climate change. Their interest is personal and contribution to the debate essential.Young people are already represented across diverse stakeholder groups such as faith, sport, culture, communities and NGOs. As individuals, they can extend the ambition of these groups through their families and friends, schools, clubs, societies, consumer and behavioural choices. Collectively, groups such as UK Youth Climate Coalition, UK Youth Parliament, Plan UK and UNICEF are mobilising around action on climate change.
Supporting a platform for youth voice in the lead up to Copenhagen, the Government is:
- Collaborating with stakeholders to hold series of local & regional MP hearings in schools with young people on climate change
- Collaborating with stakeholders to support online debate
- Collaborating to ensure Government policy expertise is fed into youth events
Success so far
Young people’s groups are already successfully making powerful contributions to the climate change agenda. For example,
- J8 to G8. UNICEF Junior 8 sends a delegation of young people to the G8 summit, enabling young people to feed their views on climate change to the world’s most powerful leaders
- Plan UK’s ‘Children in a Changing Climate Coalition’ has run side events at previous COPs, most recently in Poznan, where delegates commented that young people’s arguments in favour of action on climate change were “powerful” and “influential”
- The UKYCC run a 'How old will you be in 2050' campaign
A critical mass of young people’s voices will add significant pressure to governments the world over to implement effective policies for action on climate change. Young people have a powerful voice and can help catalyse governments and societies to take action on climate change for the good of future generations: their own.
Junior 8 Delegation to the G8 Summit
Ed Miliband met with the UK G8 Youth Delegation to discuss how they could feed their views on climate change in to the G8 Summit.
Big Day for the Big Climate Callout
Twenty-three shortlisted 14 to 17 year olds from all over the UK come together in London to take part in the selection day for UNICEF UK's climate change competition.
UNEP International Youth Conference
Emerging leaders representing three billion people - the children and youth of the planet – have converged in Daejeon, Republic of Korea to voice their demands for action on climate change at Copenhagen.
Have your say - online debate on climate change for young people
Are you aged 18 or under? Want to have your say on climate change and Copenhagen? Want to share your views with other young people, MPs and Government Ministers? You can!
UK Youth Climate Coalition meet DECC negotiators
On Monday 7th September, 10 members of the UK Youth Delegation to Copenhagen met with DECC negotiators as part of DECC's youth engagement activities, for a discussion about hopes for the COP
Straight to the heart of the climate debate
Young people going straight to the top – how five young people have become involved in the international debate on climate change at the highest level
UK Youth Climate Coalition granted official constituency status in the UNFCCC
On 9th September 2009 the UNFCCC secretariat granted the International Youth Climate Movement officially recognised constituency status.
Douglas Alexander visits Edinburgh school for kids' climate message
More than fifty pupils in Edinburgh presented their manifesto for tackling climate change to Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary.
Oxfam Midlands Schools' Conference on climate change
David Kidney supports Oxfam Midlands Schools' Conference on climate change
UNICEF's COP delegation talk to DECC Minister
Luke Hughes, one of UNICEF's delegation to the Children's Climate Forum in Copenhagen, reports on the delegation's meeting with David Kidney MP.
