January-February , 2022 | @ green

05

COP26

Education ministers from around the world pledge to put climate change at the heart of their curriculums

Events across COP26 focused on harnessing the expertise of young people and putting their views directly to the negotiators and officials working to agree on global action on climate change .

YOUNGO co-chaired the session , the Official Children ’ s and Youth constituency of the UNFCCC which opened with a session called Unifying for Change : Global Youth voice at COP26 .

YOUNGO also presented the COY16 Global Youth Position statement , representing the views of over 40,000 young climate leaders from across the world . The statement presented their priorities directly to Ministers , including action on climate finance , mobility and transportation , through to wildlife protection conservation .

COP26 President Alok Sharma said : “ Wherever I have been in the world , I have been struck by the passion and the commitment of young people to climate action . The voices of young people must be heard and reflected in these negotiations here at COP26 . The actions and scrutiny of young people are key to us keeping 1.5C alive and creating a net-zero future .

I am also aware of the fear and anxiety many of them feel about the planet ’ s future , including my own children . That is why we must act on the COY16 Global Youth Position Statement from COY16 and the manifesto from the Milan Youth4Climate Summit .”

YOUNGO Global Focal Points , Heeta Lakhani and Marie-Claire Graf said : “ YOUNGO has been working closely with the UK Presidency and the UNFCCC Secretariat to co-design Youth and Public Empowerment Day . We successfully profiled global youth voices through the COY16 Global Youth Statement and brought together four generations to share best practice examples of achieving climate justice collectively .”

Ending the session , Alok Sharma and Italian Minister of Ecological Transition , Roberto Cingolani joined young people and Ministers to discuss the manifesto developed by 400 young people at the Youth4Climate : Driving Ambition Summit held in Milan in September .

The UK also announced its draft

Sustainability and Climate Change strategy to equip and empower young people with the skills they need to drive the future of climate action . This includes the introduction of a Primary Science Model Curriculum , to have an emphasis on nature and the recognition of species , supporting the youngest pupils to develop conservation skills .

Education Ministers worldwide also pledged to do the same with nations such as South Korea , Albania and Sierra Leone pledging to put climate change at the heart of their curriculums .

COP26 follows a huge range of youth events and conferences across the world , including the Youth4Climate Summit Milan in September and the 16th UN Conference of Youth ( COY16 ) in Glasgow .

Education

In partnership with UNESCO , Youth- 4Climate and Mock COP , the UK and

COAL WAS BEING consigned to history at the recent COP26 , as countries , banks and organisations move away from the single biggest contributor to climate change .

A just transition to clean energy and the rapid phase-out of coal has been at the heart of the COP26 Presidency as part of its efforts to minimise temperature rises in line with the Paris Agreement . The breadth of commitments in Glasgow at Energy Day signal the world is moving towards a renewable future .

At least 23 nations made new commitments to phase out coal power , including Indonesia , Vietnam , Poland , South Korea , Egypt , Spain , Nepal , Singapore , Chile and Ukraine . In a new ‘ Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement ’, countries also committed to scaling up clean power and ensuring a just transition away from coal .

The announcements follow a collapse in coal financing , as developed nations have pledged new support to help developing countries transition to clean energy . Banks and financial institutions also made landmark commitments at COP26 to end the funding of unabated coal , including major international lenders like HSBC , Fidelity International and Ethos .

This follows recent announcements from China , Japan , and South Korea to end overseas coal financ-

Italy co-ordinated new global action to equip future generations with the knowledge and skills to create a netzero world .

As Education Ministers and young people gathered together , over 23 countries put forward impressive national climate education pledges , ranging from decarbonising the school sector to developing school resources .

The event also unveiled a new statement titled , ‘ learn for our planet : act for the climate ’ which committed countries to revisit progress made on their pledges in advance of COP27 .

The UK also announced a new £ 85,000 research grant to support the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre to produce better information on the education needs of refugee children and enable a more effective international response .

Helen Grant MP made the announcement , Special Envoy for Girls ’ Education , at an event with

ing , which means all significant public international financing for coal power has effectively ended .

In addition , a group of 25 countries including COP26 partners Italy , Canada , the United States and Denmark together with public finance institutions , signed a UK-led joint statement committing to ending international public support for the unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022 and instead prioritising support for the clean energy transition .

Collectively , this could shift an estimated US $ 17.8 billion a year in public support out of fossil fuels and into the clean energy transition . Developing countries including Ethiopia , Fiji and the Marshall Islands offered their support , signalling growing unity . This is

Sierra Leone ’ s Minister for Education , Hon Dr David Sengeh , Education Cannot Wait and UNHCR .

Public empowerment

Civil society , business leaders and ministers also joined together in a special session to discuss how all parts of society must be brought on board with the action needed on climate change .

This event coincided with negotiations on Action for Climate Empowerment , a UNFCCC agenda item aimed at setting the direction on climate education and public empowerment and facilitating coordination between countries and non-state actors

The events signified how young climate leaders are an unstoppable force , equipped with bringing together young policy experts from frontline communities to put forward their pressing climate priorities . — @ Green

an inclusive agenda that must recognise the development and energy needs of all economies .

This is a historic step . It is the first time a COP Presidency has prioritised this issue and put a bold end date on international fossil fuel finance . COP26 has set a new gold standard on the Paris Alignment of international public finance and sends a clear signal for private investors to follow .

Twenty-eight new members also signed up to the world ’ s largest alliance on phasing out coal . The Powering Past Coal Alliance , launched and co-chaired by the UK and Canada . New members include Chile and Singapore , joining more than 160 countries , sub-nationals and businesses .

And 20 new countries , including Vietnam , Morocco and Poland committed to building no new coal plants , matching similar announcements over the past year by Pakistan , Malaysia and the Philippines , and building on the No New Coal Power Compact launched in September by Sri Lanka , Chile , Montenegro and European partners .

There has been a 76 per cent drop in the number of new coal plants planned globally over the last six years since the Paris Agreement was adopted . This equates to the cancellation of more than 1000GW of new coal plants .— @ Green