Germany assumed the Presidency of the Council of Europe on the 1 July this year and will retain this position for six months. Under the banner of ‘Together for Europe’s recovery’, Germany has identified ‘a sustainable Europe’ as one of the six priorities of its programme and shaped it primarily around the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and sustainable agriculture.
On 13th July 2020, Generation Climate Europe (GCE) organised the EU Presidency Youth Dialogue – a meeting with Ms Svenja Schulze, Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Attendees were able to pose their most pressing questions to the minister and this opportunity was fully utilised; the event itself had over 100 participants representing 70 nationalities with participants braving time zone differences from Belize, Nepal and Japan among other nations. Where people could not attend, they viewed the Youth Dialogue Livestream more than 1000 times in the few days since. This feat highlights the importance of the European Union in shaping the global response to tackle and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The questions posed reflected the priorities of European and global youth today; they emphasised climate and biodiversity, transport and energy, international partnerships and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as education and youth participation. As Germany’s Presidency will help shape the economic landscape of the European Union after Covid-19, the circular economy was also a topic on which attendees were particularly keen to hear the minister’s views and strategies going forward.d
The Presidency’s environmental priorities were made clear. The minister stated that the EU recovery package ‘has to support a way to a CO2-neutral Europe’ and that ‘for the German Presidency, the SDGs are a guiding principle’. From the fruitful discussion held, it is clear that sustainability will be integral to the culture of the EU more so than ever before. The circular economy as a means of achieving this was not a theme left unaddressed – in the words of Minister Schulze herself, ‘I think it is very important to have better waste management, for example, to forbid single-use plastic and increasing the lifespan of products’.
It is crucial to continue having conversations in which youth has a space to share ideas and ask questions. Throughout this presidency and those that follow, Generation Climate Europe will work on amplifying voices across the continent to ensure legislative programmes reflect the concerns of European youth. According to UN #YouthStats, more than 89% of youth respondents say young people can make a difference on climate change. The minister recognised this, stating ‘I hope we can make this [Youth Dialogue] into a tradition.’
Would you like to see the EU Presidency Youth Dialogue? Click here to watch it now!
Written by Ditė Bagdonaitė
Ditė Bagdonaitė is an incoming law student at Durham University who is enthusiastic about increasing youth involvement in politics and the legislative process.