COP27 is the first COP to give our future generations a platform to be heard. This year, the Children and Youth Pavilion has been set up to allow children and teenagers to voice their concerns and to discuss which topics that they think are important and should be addressed.
There were contributions from young people from 149 nations worldwide, who have a shared interest in fighting climate change and protecting our planet. These young people have come together to create a ‘Global Youth Statement’, outlining their concerns on the energy crisis, climate resilience and climate finance.
These young people are part of the UNFCCC’s official youth constituency and one of the events of COP27 was for the statement to be shared with attendees.
This statement was finalised at the 17th Global Conference of Youth before COP27 began.
The statement reads as follows:
“At this critical juncture, COP27 must demonstrate tangible progress in delivering on the pledges and promises made in Paris and Glasgow. First, COP27 must finally accomplish the goal on adaptation finance and commit to a dedicated finance facility for Loss & Damage, in order to enable most affected people and areas (MAPA) and climate-vulnerable countries to cope with and recover from the increasingly destructive impacts of climate change.
Second, COP27 must embrace justice in the transformations ahead towards a climate-resilient future, advancing the inter-linked and inter-dependent climate and development goals in the post-pandemic context. Third, despite – or precisely because of – the deteriorating geopolitical environment, the COP27 must facilitate international cooperation and dialogue to collectively address the borderless, transnational climate crisis.
The current global energy crisis perfectly exemplifies how energy markets are built on a broken system that leaves the much-needed just energy transition up to geopolitical confrontations and short-term political gains. Therefore, it is imperative that we decisively transform our societies and economies, and finally end our toxic dependence on fossil fuels.
We urge parties and stakeholders to take the Global Stock-Take process very seriously for it will determine how far we are progressing in delivering the promises of the Paris Agreement.”
