Young people from around the globe this week called on world leaders to take radical measures against climate change.

At the largest-ever truly global youth gathering on climate change, some 700 young people, ranging from 10 to 24 years of age, honed in on their governments’ track record in addressing climate change, emphasising the need for strong vision and leadership.

In a statement, the young delegates — representing three billion of the world’s population — expressed their “concern and frustration that their governments are not doing enough to combat climate change”, adding that “we now need more actions and less talking”.


Rallies in 100 cities will be organised by young people across the world as part of a major push to persuade governments to Seal a meaningful Deal at the crucial UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in just over 100 days time.



Youth delegates pledged to keep global warming high on the international agenda as the Tunza International Youth Conference on Climate Change came to an end on 23rd August in Daejeon, Republic of Korea.



“Climate change is the greatest threat we are facing in the 21st century, and many countries are vulnerable,’ said 22-year-old Jessie James Marcellones, outgoing Tunza Youth Advisory Board member from the Philippines. ‘If we the children and youth don’t act now, we cannot be sure there will be a future for us, for future generations. We want to make sure that future generations will inherit a better place to live in.”


Regional Action Plans, agreed during the conference and covering Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and West Asia include:-

* Mobilising youth for the upcoming UN climate change meeting that opens on 7 December in the Danish capital 



* Reaching out to other environmental groups, especially during the September 21st — 25th Climate Week



* Educating others about the Copenhagen meeting on campuses, in school and among churches, sports teams and more



* Letter-writing, phone banking, visiting officials to Seal the Deal’ 



* Social Networking through the Unite for Climate, Facebook, Twitter and other e-fora.



* College campaigns and tree planting initiatives.

Seventeen-year-old Yaiguili Alvarado Garcia, from the Kuna indigenous group in Panama, expressed the need for adults to hear, listen and understand why the young need their support. 

“There are a lot of indigenous cultures that are losing, because nobody wants to hear what we want to say, what we know about mother earth, and it is frustrating for us because we have so many things to share and the world doesn’t listen to us,” Yaiguili said. “There are many things we asked the governments to do and we know it is hard, but we want to work with them, we just want to make a better place for the children, for the animals and plants. It is about time we stop thinking just for us and think also for other beings that cannot speak for themselves. It is time to stop being selfish.”



Yaiguili Alvarado Garcia is among the 13 newly elected Tunza Youth Advisor Council members. The Tunza Youth Advisory Council has two Youth Advisors for each of the six regions, and two representing indigenous groups. The Council advises the UN Environment Programme on better ways of engaging young people in its work and represents youth in international environmental negotiations.

“The young people of the world are the generation that will inherit the transformational decisions governments need to take in less than 110 days time,” said Achim Steiner, Under Secretary-General and Executive-Director of the UNEP. 
 “If their passion, commitment and ideas can be embraced by world leaders and governments over the coming days and weeks, then a climate agreement that can puts the world on track to a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy can be secured.”

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