COP28 is the annual iteration of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties. COP28 will be taking place in the United Arab Emirates from 30th November to 12th December. COP28 marks a milestone since the 2015 Paris Agreement in the form of the first Global Stocktake (GST); this will serve to assess the progress of national and international climate action.
Generation Climate Europe (GCE) is the largest coalition of youth-led networks at the European level on climate and environmental issues, with a view to empower young people to meaningfully engage in European Union (EU) decision-making processes. At COP28, GCE aims to play a convening role to facilitate the collaboration, amplification, and support of young European voices in climate policy.
As such, elements of intergenerational equity and systems thinking are innately embedded throughout the strategy. This extends into advocacy across our thematic areas for more ambitious policy. We aim to bring together our Member Organisations (MOs) to raise awareness on key topics, increase the visibility of youth presence at COP, strive for meaningful and substantive engagement of young people at COP and channel youth voices into decision-making processes. Our strategic priorities and key goals are largely aligned with the broader network of EU Youth NGOs and coalesce to educate, empower, and connect.
Generation Climate Europe has selected five key topics to centre our COP28 advocacy: (1) Recognising the right to a healthy environment; (2) Implementing debt relief in response to loss and damage; (3) Rethinking migration management in times of climate crises; (4) Considering the interdependence between biodiversity and the climate crisis; and (5) Just energy transition: phasing-out fossil fuels.
