From Paris to Stockholm and Sharm

Youth engagement was highly urged during the recent Stockholm +50 Conference.

This came as the world prepares for COP27 which will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh later this year.

The conference specified a session on this issue. It was organised by the Youth Love Egypt Foundation and titled ‘Youth Perspective – From Paris to Stockholm and Sharm el-Sheikh’.

The session aimed to promote youth engagement in climate action.

Keynote speakers in the session included Johanna Lissinger Peitz, who represented the Swedish Ministry of the Environment. Peitz is also the Youth Ambassador for Stockholm+50.

Egyptian Environment Minister, Yasmine Fouad, also spoke in the session, along with the United Nations Secretary General’s Youth Advisor on Climate Change, Vladislav Kaimn.

The event focused on youth as agents of change, especially entrepreneurs and innovators.

It was an opportunity for governments to listen to the voice of youth, their demands and concerns.

Peitz referred to the challenges that faced the engagement of youth in Stockholm +50.

She said her dreams on youth engagement had not been fully realised, citing the way UN rules are enforced.

Peitz said the current rules made it difficult for her to achieve the level of youth involvement she had desired.

She called for changing those rules.

The system, she said, needed to change to bring youth into formal discussions.

This involvement, Peitz added, had not been achieved during Stockholm + 50.

“A major shift is needed in how multilateral agreements are put together to allow an effective youth input,” Peitz said.

For her part, Minister Fouad raised some important points with respect to COP27.

She focused on the issue of implementation, identifying real examples for solutions that work.

She also highlighted success stories that can be replicated and would give young people hope for the future.

Director and Programme Partner for COP28, David McQueen, said he and his colleagues would learn from COP26 and COP27 to ensure that youth would not feel marginalised by UN processes.

He called for focusing on effective representation; visibility; fair finance, and support for youth.