Secretary-General urges young people worldwide to join online and in local communities
NEW YORK, 20 August—The United Nations today announced that 100 outstanding young climate champions chosen from around the world will receive support to participate in the UN Youth Climate Summit on Saturday, September 21 at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The “Green Ticket” winners will join the more than 500 young climate leaders selected to participate in the first-ever Youth Climate Summit at the UN. The Summit will provide a platform for young climate leaders to showcase their solutions on a global stage and engage directly with decision-makers on the defining issue of our time. Youth leaders will present the discussions of the Youth Climate Summit at the Climate Action Summit on Monday, 23 September.
The 100 ‘Green Ticket’ winners will receive funded travel as carbon-neutral as possible to New York to attend the Youth Climate Summit, after being selected from a group of over 7,000 applicants between the ages of 18 to 29, based on their demonstrated commitment to addressing the climate crisis and advancing solutions. Recipients represent countries from all regions.
Among the 100 ‘Green Ticket’ recipients is Ms. Zahra Abu Taha, a 29-year-old climate activist from Jordan and founder of Greeners startup through which she works to expand the application of sustainable practices to achieve Zero-waste goals. Abu Taha works with local communities on environmental initiatives to help them lead a sustainable lifestyle that can be beneficial to future generations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated Green Ticket recipients and all successful applicants in a video message, saying, “I appeal to young people around the world to follow the Summit online and to be drivers of climate action in their own countries.”
Young people who are unable to attend in person are encouraged to participate in the My Future Our Planet campaign by sharing a selfie video on Twitter or Instagram with the phrase “Youth #ClimateAction Summit”, declaring what actions they are already taking to fight climate change and asking their leaders to take climate action now. They can also get involved in local United Nations Association chapters; continue to make choices to have less harmful effects on the environment and track these efforts through the UN’s ActNow campaign; and tune into the Youth Climate Summit virtually via livestream on UN Web TV. More ways to engage will be announced in the coming weeks on the UN Youth Climate Summit website.
The Youth Climate Summit will feature a full-day of programming that brings together young activists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers who are committed to combating climate change at the pace and scale necessary, as demonstrated by science. It will be action-oriented, intergenerational, and inclusive, with equitable representation of young leaders from all walks of life.
The Youth Climate Summit is a key milestone ahead of the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, which is calling on leaders from government, business and civil society to boost efforts to tackle climate change and comes just one day after the Global Climate Strike on September 20.
“Young people are leading the way on climate action,” said the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake. “The Secretary-General’s Youth Climate Summit will provide a powerful global platform for young climate leaders from all over the world to take their rightful place and drive positive climate solutions”.
With the devastating impacts of the climate crisis being felt right now in all countries, the Secretary-General is convening leaders in New York to spark the transformation that is urgently needed to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and deliver on the Global Goals. He has called for bold actions and concrete plans for carbon neutrality by 2050. The announcement of the ‘Green Ticket’ call for applications took place in early July in Abu Dhabi, where the Secretary-General convened over 1,700 people – including youth leaders and representatives from over 160 countries around the world. The Secretary-General’s public dialogue with young leaders during his opening ceremony, moderated by the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake, is available to view here.