MILAN, SEPTEMBER 28 – The UN relies on young people for concrete action against climate change: “We count on your energy. Your voices truly matter. You have the chance here to change things, give solutions. We look forward to hearing your proposals”, said Patricia Espinosa, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the MiCo in Milan during the opening of Youth4Climate, the youth’s conference con the climate crisis.
“There are 400 young leaders. They come from all over the world to work on concrete proposals. It is them who will inherit the planet: let’s listen to their voice”, said via Twitter from New York the Italian Permanent Representative to the UN, Maurizio Massari, to the 400 “under 30s” coming from 186 countries.
‘Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition’ stems from a project of Italy’s former Minister of the Environment, Sergio Costa, who two years ago proposed and got the UN green light to this particular rule of engagement. For the first time in the history of negotiations on the environment, youths, with their globally renowned environmental leaders at the forefront, Swedish teen-ager Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate from Uganda, brought the voice of young people from the north and south of the world, united in the fight for their future, and taking action on strategies against the main climate emergencies. They will then meet again, on October 1st, for the usual mobilization Fridays for Future.
“For many of us, reducing and avoiding is no longer enough. You cannot adapt to lost cultures, traditions and history. You cannot adapt to starvation. It is time for leaders to put loss and damage at the centre of the climate negotiations”, said Vanessa, while Greta stroke a skeptical tone: “From world leaders we only heard words, 30 years of blah blah blah. We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive. Hope is not blah blah blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action”.
Greta argued that “the climate crisis is the symptom of a much larger crisis, the social crisis of inequality, dating back to colonialism. A crisis that is rooted in the idea that some people are worth more than others”. Before her, Vanessa reminded that African countries are deeply affected by climate change, even though they emit only 3% of greenhouse gases: “Africa pollutes little but suffers a lot from the climate crisis,” she said, and strongly demanded for rich countries to increase aids. The “social” approach to the climate emergency was adopted by the Ministrer of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani: “Remember, climate changes and social inequalities are to be dealt with together”.
Youths’ proposals, collected in the Youth4Climate final document, will be brought on Thursday to the inauguration of the Pre-Cop26, still at the MiCo in Milan. The Italian head of State, Sergio Mattarella, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi will attend, alongside (in video-conference) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The key meeting will be then in Glasgow from November 1st to 12th. (@giorgiodelgallo)
