By Janet Ekstract
UNITED NATIONS (TURKISH JOURNAL) – On the cusp of the United Nations Youth Climate Summit, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres struck a chord with all nations when he emphasised that ” Climate change is the defining problem of our generation.”
The Youth Climate Summit, set to take place this Saturday at the UN, promises to be a defining moment in the very real climate emergency that the world is facing.
This unique platform will bring together youth leaders from multiple nations to showcase their solutions for climate change.
It’s a historic event and a historic moment in world history when these young leaders will have an opportunity to fully engage with decision makers on this most pressing issue in the 21st century.
On September 21, young activists, innovators, entrepreneurs and change makers who are committed to fighting climate change at a faster and more efficient pace, will all take part in sharing their most creative and savvy ideas on how to deal with this very 21st century global scourge.
This summit promises to be action oriented, intergenerational and inclusive, with equal representation of young leaders from all sectors of life.
Young people between the ages of 18-29 have been invited based on their commitment to climate change and demonstrated leadership in advancing solutions to the climate crisis.
This unique, first ever summit, comes on the heels of the broader UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit next Monday September 23.
Within the summit there are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Action Zone which plays a crucial role in implementation. The SDG Action Zone was organizational by the Department of Global Communications Youth Representatives Steering Committee with the support of the Youth Climate team in the executive office of the Secretary-General.
As UN chief Guterres has so often reiterated: “It is crucial to have input from young people across the globe.”
The major aim behind the SDG Action Zone is to focus on solutions to the ubiquitous climate crisis worldwide as well as to demonstrate practical, actionable solutions, commitments and pledges from youth on a global scale to work together to deal with this very urgent climate emergency.
What makes this event so unusual is that participants will have opportunities to network within exhibits, meet climate activists and experts as well as present their innovative solutions in an open-mike format about how best to take action on climate change.
What is especially extraordinary is that the Youth Climate Compact originated from thousands of youth pledging to take climate action at the 68th UN Civil Society Conference.
On the cusp of next Monday’s major international climate summit, Guterres had this to say: “I want to hear about how we are going to stop the increase in emissions by 2020, and dramatically reduce emissions to reach net zero emissions by mid-century.”
