Youth Leaders at United Nations Summit Vow to Continue Pressing Governments, Business for Urgent Action in Addressing Climate Emergency
Young Highlight Acceleration, Mobilization Plans after Massive Rallies Worldwide
A day after thousands of young people marched and rallied for urgent climate action, youth leaders brought their message to the Youth Climate Summit, the opening salvo of the three-day-long United Nations Climate Action Summit, which will culminate on Monday, 23 September.
The Youth Climate Summit — the first time the United Nations has convened a summit for young people devoted entirely to climate action — was intended to give voice to the demands by youth for far swifter action to reduce the emissions that, without action, are on track to reverse the development gains of recent decades that have improved the lives of millions of people. The Summit opened a dialogue between youth and decision makers, putting young people in the driving seat with the voice and agency to realize both their potential and the change for which they persist in pressing towards climate action.
Hosted by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the Youth Climate Action Summit brought youth climate champions together from more than 140 countries and territories to a platform from which to share their solutions on the global stage and deliver a clear message to world leaders: we need to act now to address climate change. The outcomes of the Youth Climate Summit will feed into the Climate Action Summit, which will be attended by Heads of State and Government, as well as business chief executive officers and civil society leaders.
The Secretary-General, describing the present generation of young people as “essential” in combating the climate crisis, said today’s gathering is a critical milestone ahead of Monday’s Climate Action Summit, where he has asked world leaders to come with bold, concrete plans. He credited youth with shaking up the “laissez-faire” approach to climate change among leaders.
“We are not yet there,” he said, adding that we are “still losing the race” against climate change. “But, there is a change in momentum,” he noted. “Largely this change in momentum was due to your [Greta Thunberg’s] initiative and to the courage with which you have started this movement.” The Secretary-General added: “Millions around the world [are] saying clearly, not only that they want change, not only that decision makers must change, but they want them to be accountable.” He continued: “I have granddaughters. I want them to live in a liveable planet. My generation has a huge responsibility. It is your generation that must hold us accountable to make sure we don’t betray the future of humankind.”
The Youth Climate Summit featured a full day of programmes that brought together young activists, innovators, entrepreneurs and change makers committed to combating climate change at the pace and scale needed to meet the climate challenge. The programme culminated in the unveiling of the State of Youth platform and the ActNow platform that encourages climate action.
To close the Summit, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed took part in a town hall with participants and high-level representatives from Governments and civil society.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, said: “Climate change is the defining issue of our time,” noting: “Millions of young people all over the world are already being affected by it.” She warned: “If we don’t act now, the impact will be severe.” Emphasizing that climate action must be fair and just, Ms. Wickramanayake went on to state: “We have to ensure that no one, especially young people, is left behind.” The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a blueprint for the world to achieve sustainable development by 2030, she noted, stressing that climate action (SDG 13) is crucial to achieving that aim.
With global emissions increasing, temperatures rising and its effects growing, climate change is already affecting the lives of all people, but the 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years feel the issue with far more urgency as it will shape their lives in ways never witnessed before. For the younger generation, the need for urgent climate action has never been clearer.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the world is now experiencing the warmest five-year period on record. The average global temperature for 2015–2019 is on track to be the warmest of any equivalent period on record and is currently estimated at 1.1°C above pre-industrial times. Widespread and long-lasting heatwaves, record-breaking fires and other devastating events, such as tropical cyclones, floods and drought, have had major impacts on socioeconomic development and the environment.
Sea ice and ice mass continue to decrease, sea-level rise is accelerating, and sea water is becoming more acidic. Food insecurity and health impacts are growing. But, the world continues to invest in fossil fuels.
For more information, please follow Youth #ClimateAction Summit; the livestream at: http://webtv.un.org; or visit the Youth Climate Action Summit’s website at : www.un.org/en/climatechange/youth-summit.shtml. For information on the Climate Action Summit, please visit www.un.org/en/climatechange.
Press contact: Nicholas Ceolin, Office of the Youth Envoy, at email: nicholas.ceolin@un.org, tel. +1 917 367 8575; or Dan Shepard, Department of Global Communications, at email: shepard@un.org, or tel.: +1 212 963 9495.