The future belongs to the children

Posted on: December 6, 2020 at 20:51:17 CT

Gladys Habu knows first-hand the devastation climate change is already visiting on the world. The 25-year-old has vivid memories of Kale Island, a tiny islet in the Solomon Islands archipelago where she used to swim and barbecue on the white sand beaches. It’s also where her grandparents used to live, decades back.
But Kale Island no longer exists. It was declared lost in 2016 after it fully submerged beneath the water, a victim of rising sea levels. She worries more of her home in the South Pacific could share the same fate if global temperatures continue to rise at the same pace.
“In just decades, my country’s map has changed drastically,” she says.
Habu and others who have personally experienced the worst effects of climate change took center stage at a two-week summit for young climate activists. The virtual event was organized out of frustration at the postponement of the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also called COP26, meeting between nations. Called Mock COP26, the summit was attended by more than 350 delegates from 118 countries and included speeches from activists and stakeholders from around the world, including the U.K. government minister in charge of the original COP26. In a year dominated by pandemic-related disruptions, the Mock COP26 may be one of the largest international meetings focused on climate change—even if it lacked official status.
But another goal of the event was to elevate the voices of those most affected by climate change. It’s a conscious decision based on consensus among youth activists that people in the developing world and other marginalized voices are not being represented in the climate movement, which has largely focused on activists from developed nations — be they Greta Thunberg’s “Fridays for Future” or Extinction Rebellion, which was established in the U.K.
“The climate movement has been often inaccessible and is generally dominated by middle-class, white people in the global north,” says Aoife Mercedes Rodriguez-Uruchurtu, an activist from the UK Student Climate Network. “We can’t stand up to this challenge without listening to the people whose voices matter the most.”
In an attempt to be more inclusive, the virtual conference granted more delegates to what organizers call Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA), including Kenya, the Philippines and Bangladesh. These countries, and others, were granted five delegates as opposed to three allowed from most developed nations, giving them more speaking time. More than 70% of the delegates represented at the summit were from developing countries. Having more delegates also gave these countries more representation and say in the wording of the final statement from Mock COP26.
The summit culminated Monday with a statement urging the United Nations to formally recognize the human right to a safe and healthy environment. Organizers also called on world leaders to commit to an environment-friendly COVID-19 recovery plan, reiterating a clause in the Paris Agreement that asks developed nations to provide financial assistance to the most vulnerable countries.