Tag Archives: COP17

Climate Youth Groups in Europe

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A Polish boy celebrates the Eco-Schools program. Successful Eco-Schools are awarded the Green Flag, an international symbol for environmental excellence, during a ceremony. (Courtesy Photo)

A Polish boy celebrates the Eco-Schools program. Successful Eco-Schools are awarded the Green Flag, an international symbol for environmental excellence, during a ceremony. (Courtesy Photo)

This week is all about environmental issues in Europe and the people taking action to address them. We will highlight climate change youth groups, interesting developments in policy, and cross-country alliances that showcase the international nature of climate change.

Today’s post covers some of the incredible work being done by young people across Europe to address climate change. One particularly active group is called Young Friends of the Earth Europe, an offshoot of the international organization, Friends of the Earth. Their “about” section really says it all:

Young FoEE is a grassroots network of young people and youth organisations working together on social and environmental justice issues. We work collectively on a local, national and European level, to inspire other young people, organise great actions and events and get lots of attention in the media, in politics and amongst the general public on what we think as young people in Europe.

They have lots of events across Europe, including a special Conference of Parties climate change summit (COP-17) event called “Durban in Brussels,” a week-long event bringing together youth climate activists across Europe to discuss the same issues as heads of state in Durban at the real COP17. They have newsletters, summer camps, movies, photo galleries and a wealth of other content on their website to give you the tools you need to combat climate change as a youth activist.

In the United Kingdom, the UK Youth Climate Coalition is a group of young people “united for a clean energy future.” They have projects across the UK, including Power Shift, an event that brings together young people for several days to discuss climate change issues, share organizing and activism tips, and create plans of action moving forward. Power Shift is a very successful event started in the United States by the Energy Action Coalition, and it sounds like UK Youth Climate Coalition is gearing up for a monumental PowerShift across the pond in the spring of 2012.

The UK Youth Climate Coalition also participates in Push Europe, an effort to galvanize young people to push Europe to “raise its ambition in tackling climate change.” They are asking European leaders for:

  • Greater investment in green jobs
  • A transition to a low carbon society isa measure that has to be taken immediately
  • A European-wide commitment to at least 30% emissions reductions targets by 2020

One very exciting component of the Push Europe website is the Vision and Stories section, which shows dozens of videos of young people from all over the Europe answering this question: “What is your vision for a better future?”

What is your vision for a better future?

Young People Taking Action

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Kids participate in a demonstration on Earth Day 2011 in the city of Raipur, India. (Courtesy Photo)

Kids participate in a demonstration on Earth Day 2011 in the city of Raipur, India. (Courtesy Photo)

Have you heard of the Conference of Youth (COY)? COY is going to celebrate its 7th year in action at the 17th UN Conference of the Parties (COP17) this November and December in Durban, South Africa.

Why is a group of young people from all over the world getting together in South Africa this winter? According to the International Youth Climate Movement, COY is “about bringing together youth from all over the world who are passionate about sustainability and climate change. It’s a place to connect, share skills and build a movement…All young people are welcome – experienced youth climate activists, newcomers, local South African students – anyone who wants to build a safe climate future!”

Interested in going to South Africa to participate, or already in South Africa and think your friends or schoolmates might also be interested in attending? Then check out the registration form here.  For more information on some of the young people taking action around the world to combat climate change, check out this photo gallery.

One issue that the youth delegation focuses heavily on is survival, or rather the idea that “
survival is not negotiable.” This idea began at COP 14 in Poznan, Poland, where over 90 countries signed onto the Survival Principle, which entails that a committed nation must do more, faster, to mitigate and adapt to dangerous climate change.” The Survival Principle is for all people in all countries, but is especially important to those countries most vulnerable to climate change, like those in the Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries.

Are you considering going to COP 17 in South Africa? If you are unable to go, what are you interested in knowing about the event? What do you hope will come out of it?