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‘A green, healthy and resilient future for all’

Words by Smiley Team

A coalition of youth climate campaigners, including 330 representatives from 140 countries, are calling on world leaders to commit to an ambitious programme of change at the upcoming COP26 conference.

The conference was postponed by 12 months in November 2020 due to the global pandemic, but leaders hope to meet in person in Glasgow in November 2021.

In advance of the meeting Mock COP26 - an alliance of youth climate campaigners - have created a climate treaty developed and written by young people, and launched a campaign to urge world leaders to adopt one or more of the policies outlined in their plan.

These include asking national governments to ensure that substantive education on climate change is available to young people at every level of formal education, based on the best available science.

Delegates are also calling on countries to protect the rights of young climate activists and include young people in decision-making matters relating to the climate emergency and ecological crisis, including sending more youth representatives to COP26.

Suphane Dash-Alleyne, Mock COP26 delegate from Guyana, South America, said: “The year 2020 was meant to be the year of bold climate action, where world leaders turned words into actions.

“The global pandemic may have pressed pause on global negotiations, but the threat of a climate catastrophe is not going away.

“Mock COP26 sends a strong message to world leaders that young people can coordinate global negotiations and we have the solutions.

“Now is the time for us to have a seat at the table. World leaders can and must succeed at COP26 and it is critical that we work together to create a green, healthy and resilient future for us all."

Other policies in the Mock COP26 treaty include asking governments to include policy measures to assist farmers to move away from practices that are harmful to soils, water and biodiversity and that fuel deforestation.

Delegates are also calling for a far-reaching law on ecocide to criminalise the mass destruction and damage of the environment by human activity.

For more information on the campaign visit the Mock COP26 website, or follow them on Twitter.

 

 

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