COP28: Youth, Children, Education and Skills Day

With the debate on phasing out fossil fuels still ongoing, Day 9 of COP28 focused on the social element of ESG. Youth, children, education and skills were for the first time put at the center of discussions on climate change goals. Day 9 called for an inclusive transition towards net zero and aimed to amplify the voices of youth, the rights of children and other stakeholders. Youth-led sessions were held to facilitate meaningful conversations between youth representatives and policymakers.

We are now over halfway through the conference and reflecting on the atmosphere so far, the President of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, said “There is a unique sense of momentum, a sense of inclusivity and a sense of willingness and flexibility. I also feel a sense that something unprecedented is possible here at COP28.” It remains to be seen if this feeling of optimism will materialize into tangible changes more generally. However, movements in terms of placing youth at the forefront of the conversations has certainly been demonstrated as we explore below. On this topic, Sultan Al Jaber said “This COP is building a global legacy and defying expectations. We are doing this to build a better future world for youth and children. This is a turnaround COP that will ensure full inclusivity is at the heart of the climate process.”

Some of the day’s key takeaways included:

The main objective of today’s youth is encouraging parties to jump into action to ensure adequate mitigation of rising temperatures, as climate change has a more noticeable impact on their lives. This is demonstrated by the fact that at present over one billion children are at extreme high risk due to climate change. During COP28 youth representatives have sought to address the lack of action by asking tough questions. The primary focus of youth is urging fossil fuel fade out, increasing financial support towards the transition to net zero and ensuring parties’ compliance with the Paris Agreement. Today’s youth from different parts of the world want to make sure that parties get a clear view of their experiences with and ideas regarding climate change. In the first ever Youth Stocktake, young people addressed the necessity of including youth in the climate change dialogue, but also called upon other young people to take action and join in the conversation to express their challenges and the needs of young people in the transition. The impact of climate change on today’s youth should not be ignored or underestimated, including their voices in the discussions is paramount.

Following from the Youth Stocktake, inclusion of all sectors and stakeholders is key to a just transition. The effect of the transition on the agricultural sector, communities in rural areas, farmers and fossil fuel workers should also be taken into account. Access to knowledge and financial resources for stakeholders in developing countries is important in order for them to be part of the solutions towards a just transition. Farmers are critical in the transformation of food production, which currently is a source of the damaging greenhouse gas, methane. They are vulnerable to climate change, with drought, floods and other weather changes having a great impact. Farmers in rural areas need help to be able to transition to net zero and therefore there have been calls for finance, recognition and collaboration in order to assist with making the transition. For young people in these areas, they need new education and skills in order to survive the transition. All parties need to contribute towards reaching this goal. Therefore, youth call upon the responsibilities of the parties to try to ensure this in light of a just transition.

The workforce has to make the transition to a net zero workplace, and this will require all parties contributing in order to reach this goal. Young people are the consumers of the future, so businesses should pay attention to the visions of young people regarding climate change when seeking to introduce new innovative solutions. Youth also stress the importance of financial support for new and creative start ups which introduce solutions for climate change.

Day 9 also saw the second edition of the RewirEd Summit. This event brought together a variety of stakeholders from heads of state and ministers to international NGOs, academia and teachers. The Summit had four key priorities:

1. “Rewiring lifelong learning for green jobs and green economy;
2. Transformative policy and innovative financing;
3. Leveraging technology and connectivity to rewire education systems for climate adaptation and mitigation; and
4. People and knowledge at the heart of transformation.”

With over 1,000 people in attendance, including 2 heads of state, 22 ministers and 28 CEOs, a commitment was made to transform education to ensure it aligns with a green economy. This demonstrates the collective focus on the need to reform education for a sustainable future for youth and the next generations. Further, the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition introduced their ‘Plant-Friendly School Meals White Paper’. This has received subsequent support from countries including Rwanda, Kenya and Sierra Leone.

38 countries signed the UNESCO Greening Education Partnership - Declaration on the common agenda for education and climate change at COP28. This will ensure that their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans will include climate education going forward. As the next set of NDCs are due by 2025, this sets the stock for a focus on youth in future climate action plans.

Other announcements of note included:

• The UAE will provide a new $220 million funding package to Africa. This will enable the development of better health outcomes for youth. The UAE’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented “When health improves, life improves.”
• 54 University leaders and global University Climate Networks established plans to develop partnerships and provide funding for research that aligns with the COP28 agenda.
• Over 100 teachers from 35 countries met to discuss how curriculums can be improved to have a focus on climate.

Separately, it has been confirmed that Azerbaijan will host COP29 next year. This follows both Bulgaria and Armenia formally withdrawing their applications. As a result of the EU’s support to Ukraine, Russia had indicated it would veto any application for an EU member state to host COP29. The UN rules dictated that an eastern European country was to be responsible for hosting. With the uncertainty over where COP29 is to be located now resolved, parties can focus on implementing the initiatives of COP28.