By Ricardo Pires, 7/12/09
After a week of intensive work and debate, some 160 young people from New Zealand and 43 other countries presented a climate change Declaration that will go before world leaders.
Five New Zealand young people attended the UNICEF Children’s Climate Forum in Copenhagen last week and took an active role in preparing the Declaration, which commits to personal changes in their own lives and demands that governments worldwide take actions to protect our planet from the impacts of climate change.
The young people presented the Declaration to the President of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15), Connie Hedegaard, during the closing ceremony of the Children’s Climate Forum. Ms. Hedegaard is now expected to take the Declaration to world leaders at the COP15, which starts today.
“It’s so good that young people from the whole world are telling us – the politicians – that the time for action is now,” says Ms. Hedergaard.
Ms. Hedergaard also addressed the young delegates, emphatically supporting the children’s statement that the time for talk is over: “You must tell the politicians that they cannot leave Copenhagen empty-handed two weeks from now. Because you, the citizens – the new generation – demand us to take action now.”
Declaration’s recommendations
The youth delegate’s Declaration outlines the main concerns and recommendations shared by all climate ambassadors, stressing how climate change has threatened their lives and that of their families.
“We, the youth delegates from 44 countries, attending the Children’s Climate Forum 2009, will not sit back and watch. We already face the effects of climate change. Our communities are deprived of clean drinking water, denied access to education and vulnerable to disease every time it floods. Our future is at risk and we demand that something be done. The time for talk is over. Now, we hold you accountable for your commitments,” the Declaration states in its first paragraph.
The Declaration was finalized after a long week of consultations between the delegations, study, and training focusing on local activities that climate ambassadors can take back to their home countries.
The main recommendations are that industrialized countries ramp up spending on adaptation; that cities be well planned and sustainable; that safety standards, regulations and emergency protocols be established to prepare for climate induced disasters; that better water conservation be practised; that education on sea level rise and flooding and biodiversity-related projects be provided.
A commitment to action
The closing ceremony was followed by the Danish band Alien Beat Club performing the Children’s Climate Forum anthem ‘It’s My World’.
“After this week together, I learned that we are not alone,” says 15-year-old Axam Malmoon, a climate ambassador from the Maldives. “Countries and places as far away from each other and as different as the Maldives, India and the UK got together to share the same concerns and the same intention to change things.”
Later in the evening, the young delegates were officially named Climate Ambassadors, formalizing a one-year commitment embodied in their Declaration. To better implement their promises, the young people have formed a social network so they can share their experiences and difficulties as they take forward what they have learned in Copenhagen.
“We have finalized this declaration and have also finished a Youth Action Plan, which we will take to our homes and start implementing,” says 16-year-old Bripra Biswambhara Nil, from India. “This is just the first step. The beginning of something that will change all of our lives in a near future.”
A battle declared on climate change
The final paragraph of the Declaration is a perfect summary of what happened in the last seven days in Copenhagen:
“The battle against climate change is upon all of us. We are ready to act and we invite you to join us. Climate change is affecting our lives, our families and our future,” the document states. “We must act immediately and we are ready to fulfil our commitments. We are prepared to give all we have as long as there is the possibility of saving our planet.”
“We expect the same courage from you,” the declaration concludes.