CLIMATE YES COP STATEMENTS
COP29 STATEMENT
Climate YES is an ecumenical movement of young people calling for climate justice in the world. We are a representation of youth of faith from different church denominations across the world having both global north and global south voices. Our active regional presence is in the United Kingdom, Italy, East Africa, Southern Africa and Central Africa.
We, the young people of Climate YES, call on you to take to heart the core need for critical action at a time when the effects of the climate crisis are more felt than ever before in all the regions of the world.
As you are meeting here in Baku, to participate in the 29th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to negotiate our future through local and global policies, we implore you to consider:
CLIMATE FINANCE:
We are experiencing extreme weather conditions in most regions with 2024 having had the highest temperatures ever recorded globally and especially in Europe. This has caused devastating effects to developing countries that have been faced with extended rainy seasons in West Africa causing deadly floods and increased heat waves that have caused new record droughts in Southern Africa. The El Niño has caused developing countries to experience more extreme weather conditions and increased the need for these countries to increase climate finance to cope with these effects.
We acknowledge with concern that the climate finance goal of $100 billion a year is not being met despite the increased desperation for this fund in communities most affected by climate change.
As you are meeting to set new climate finance targets for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), we, the young people of faith, ask of you all to:
- Increase the climate finance goal from $100 billion annually to over $1.3 trillion dollars annually for developing countries as called for by Africa, India and the Arab Group.
- Set out separate funding for climate adaptation which is much needed in developing countries.
- Specify terms of the finance which are deliberate and inclusive for all affected communities, especially us the youth who are the largest population
- Set out specific ways in which this finance goal will be measured regularly
National Determined Contributions (NDCs)
The IPCC report on climate change pointed out the urgent need for climate action to secure a sustainable future for all. Critical issues were also raised like the need to cut methane emissions from oil and gas, coal mines, agriculture, and dairy as these could reduce global warming by more than half a degree. There is a great cry to protect forests especially in the Amazon and the Congo which is important for biodiversity and carbon storage. As you are setting out your country’s NDCs to meet the February 2025 target, we the youth urge you to;
- Making ambitious measures to cut fossil fuel exploration.
- Protect the forests from deforestation and engage in more planned afforestation techniques.
- Employ nature-based solutions which are becoming more accessible and cost-effective and allow vulnerable and low-income regions to have impactful access to these solutions.
- Create international cooperation and financial resources that target most vulnerable regions to enhance climate adaptation and resilience.
These NDCs need to address the needs of vulnerable communities and youth to create a more sustainable future and limit global warming to the recommended level by 2030. You need to be deliberate and cautious in setting out measures that keep stock of the implementation of these NDCs to make them more transparent and measurable.
National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)
As of September 2023, 48 countries have submitted their NAPs, and we are hoping for these numbers to grow especially in regions most affected by climate change like Africa and Small Island States. We are facing extreme weather events which have increased our vulnerability and loss and damage. Countries that are most affected do not have the means to adapt and be resilient to unavoided and unavoidable loss and damage. We call on you as leaders to;
- Increase adaptation ambitions as you restructure the NAPs.
- Cover the gaps that we have already seen in the NAPs, most of the NAPs are too broad and need to be attached to the needs of local communities.
- Include migration in the plans as we have noted increased migration due to effects of climate change.
- Be more coordinated and involve more young people and faith groups that reach the remotest communities that grapple with these extreme weather conditions.
Young people are increasingly becoming the majority in most countries, continents and globally. We face the larger stake of the effects of climate change. This means we are the most powerful force to fight the climate crisis.
We urge all climate stakeholders to:
- Design inclusive programmes that involve young people in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
- Leverage the youths’ energy, creativity, and reach through religious structures to provide climate education and lead climate interventions.
- Invest in education in the renewable energy sector.
- Enhance monitoring and communication through young people.