Young people have long been at the forefront of climate change discussions and activism. This year’s COY17 was another turning point for us to become official stakeholders in the fight of climate change.
Young people’s voices and opinions will now have a much greater impact to influence climate policies and that was exactly what the 17th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY17) seek to achieve. COY aims to empower youth by formalizing their participation in UNFCCC negotiations and shaping intergovernmental climate change policies. As a youth advocate, this was an opportunity to make my voice loud in the climate change mitigation and adaptation processes and influence policies to this effect.
Climate change affects everyone and there is no doubt about that. Interacting with fellow activist from all over the world revealed one thing in common; the gravity of the climate change crisis. It is not enough to simply involve youths in climate change actions but ensuring meaningful and inclusive engagement of youths should be at the very heart of all processes. Harnessing the power of young people in the climate crisis is the genesis of the climate solution we want to see. One thing I noted from the many sessions is that “Young people’s voices on climate change have just become more audible. A little further action can spark a sustainable change”
Climate change affects health and reproductive health of young people especially adolescents. During the conference sessions, I leveraged the opportunity to discuss the work we do as Ghana Youth Task Team- Africa Youth Partnership to share our current campaign on the need to remove menstrual taxes on menstrual products in Ghana.
We discussed how countries can strengthen their response to the threat of climate change, with different country specific approaches. In Ghana, a sustainable investing in environmental friendly initiative, sustainable financing to youth driven interventions and an independent monitoring firm may help in the fight of climate action.
Thanks to Youth Opportunity and Transformation in Africa for the all logistical support to ensure my participation.
