Hey, remember when we were only supposed to listen to people with degrees in climate science?
UN calls on youth activists to advise on climate crisis and Covid-19 recovery
Youth climate activists are to advise the UN secretary general on the climate emergency as part of a new effort to bring young people into decision-making and planning on the crisis.
Seven young people, aged between 18 and 28, will take on roles to “provide perspectives, ideas and solutions†to the secretary general, António Guterres, aimed at helping to scale up global climate action in the recovery from the coronavirus crisis and ahead of a crunch summit next year on the climate.
Guterres said: “We need urgent action now, to recover better from Covid-19, to confront injustice and inequality, and address climate disruption. We have seen young people on the front lines of climate action, showing us what bold leadership looks like.â€
The new advisory group includes: a young woman from Sudan, Nisreen Elsaim, who is already a junior negotiator at intergovernmental climate forums; an economist, Vladislav Kaim from Moldova; Paloma Costa, a lawyer and human rights defender from Brazil; and from India, Archana Soreng, who works on the traditional knowledge and cultural practices of indigenous people.
They will provide quarterly updates to Guterres, beginning next month, with a particular emphasis on how the global economic recovery from Covid-19 can be aligned with the drastic cuts needed to greenhouse gas emissions.
“We want to ensure the voices of young people are heard not only on the streets, but in the conference chambers,†said Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN secretary general’s envoy on youth. “The reality is that young people today will live with the repercussions [of climate breakdown]. We want to look at the lessons learned from Madrid. This is their future we are talking about.â€
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