Blog by Liliana Mosca, SI United Nations Representative, Rome.
In the run up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) taking place from 31 October – 12 November 2021, the Government of Italy brought together young climate delegates, Environment Ministers, Heads of State, and United Nations representatives, who participated in 500 events during a week dedicated to the fight against climate change. Supported by the private sector and civil society, the week consisted of two international meetings: the Youth4Climate (28 – 30 September) and the Pre COP26 Summit (30 September – 3 October).
The event, called “Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition”, is part of the increasingly active involvement of young people. The virtual meetings aimed to keep high attention towards the role of young people in climate change action. At the centre of the discussion, the young delegates worked on the drafts of the 4 main themes:
- Youth driving ambition;
- Sustainable recovery;
- Non-state actors’ engagement;
- Climate-conscious society.
Each theme corresponds to a working group, which will be led by two people: a youth representative and a senior expert from an international organisation.
After the institutional opening of Youth4Climate, participants discussed the four themes and continued to work in groups until the results were discussed, before the final document was agreed and adopted. On the third day, the young participants and Ministers engaged in a discussion on the main elements of the outcome document, as well as on the possible next steps.
The second meeting, the Pre COP26 Summit, was the last official meeting before the world climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021 under the presidency of the UK, in partnership with Italy.
The purpose of this preparatory meeting is to provide a select group of countries with an informal setting in which to discuss potential political roadblocks to ramping up climate ambition and to establish strategies for overcoming those challenges come the COP26 negotiations. The preparatory meeting was attended by delegations from over 40 countries, representatives of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, the chairs of the Subsidiary Bodies of the Convention, and a number of stakeholders who play a key role in the fight against climate change or in the transition to sustainable development. The plenary session led to the drafting of the “COP26 package”, when the final considerations were adopted.
During these meetings, the city of Milan was for five days the “green capital” of the planet. A place where a strong intergenerational message was delivered to world leaders, demanding urgent action to reduce global warming – a responsibility that governments must face up to in order to limit the threat of further climate change and to promote and implement better policies for better lives.