We Call on the Conscience of World Leaders to Act to Protect the Youth and Children of the World

Friday, 14th 2007, Bali, Indonesia – As the negotiations reach their final day, international youth are gravely concerned for their future. Strong, urgent action must be taken by delegates. Inaction will have irreversible consequences. With the security of the world's future generations hanging in the balance, Youth delegates implore world leaders to move beyond the last-gasp delaying tactics of the United States, Canada, and Japan.

"It is humiliating to have to implore our leaders to take action and protect our futures. We have no options left but this one humble plea. Please. Please act." Kelley Greenman, 20, US youth delegate.

Over the past two weeks, youth from around the world have gathered to express their optimism about the process, highlight the potential for all nations to build upon global momentum, and forge a true Bali Breakthrough.
"Already, we are seeing the devastating impacts of climate change – and they are only going to get worse unless something is done immediately," said US youth delegate Matt Maiorana, 19. "The precautionary principle has been completely ignored. Negotiators are acting as though this is a political question, when it is instead a moral imperative. What are they doing to protect my future?"

"The negotiators don't seem to realize the consequences of the decisions they are making, they talk only about themselves and don't listen to others. It seems so selfish" said Indonesian delegate, Choiriatun Nur Annisa, 20, "These are human lives we are talking about, not numbers on a piece of paper. Please. Please, do everything you can. The world and our future depends on what we do now,"

Youth are calling for the recommendations made by the Nobel Prize winning IPCC to be adopted. To protect the next generation, developed countries need to reduce their emissions by at least 25 40% by 2020. As youth are the most impacted, the world must build an adaptation fund that is just and able to protect those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. To unleash the potential of youth in developing nations, technology transfer must become a priority to ensure the decarbonization of all countries.

As youth, we simply ask please.

As countries argue, time runs out. If the wrong decisions are made, there wont be time to undo them. Please protect our future.

The Environment Minister cancelled his appearance at a government-sponsored event yesterday at the UNFCCC in Bali, Indonesia.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/video/vs?id=RTGAM.20071211.wvbaird_climate1211&ids=RTGAM.20071211.wvbaird_climate1211

Tuesday December 11, 2007
Nusa Dua Indonesia

A UN audience was left in a lurch during a Tuesday evening event hosted by the Canadian government at the ongoing UN climate talks in Bali, Indonesia.

Youth joined a large audience anxiously expecting to hear the Minister of the Environment address Canada’s climate change policy. Instead Canadian industry representatives showcased new ‘clean’ technologies.

The audience was informed during the event that the Minister would not be speaking about his highly touted ‘Turning the Corner’ plan. “The side event was publicized as being a presentation of their policies, but nobody talked about this at all. Not the Minister or a representative,” said Genevieve Gilbert, 22 from Ottawa.

The presenters were forced to field questions and attempted to explain the Ministers’ absence. One presenter later expressed that he “felt hung out to dry.”

According to Adrianna Hoogenboom, 23 from Ottawa, “Baird arrived in flip flops, surveyed the room quickly and left after his handlers berated the conference staff for the quality of the sound system.”

According to Katrina Genuis, age 18 from Edmonton, “I came to engage with my government and they did not have the courage to present their plan and justify it, I found it disrespectful to the UN audience as well as to the presenters.’

Sentiments following the meeting echoed frustration and comments overheard included, “I am not even Canadian and I find this embarrassing.”

Although the overall message of the Canadian government has been disappointing youth will take this as an opportunity to hold their government accountable. “Youth will be stepping up our actions during these last three days of the conference. Canadians have a right to know about their government’s dismal performance in Bali,” summarized Rosa Kouri, 24 from Saskatoon.

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NUSA DUA- International youth called for swift and immediate action from their governments today in the latest UN climate change talks in Bali, Indonesia to help secure a world that they already see as changing for the worse

"Young people are more than passive victims of climate change. They are here to remind the international community that they have the responsibility to act. Climate change is already having a large effect on children, and children know it," says Balthazar Tribunalo, coordinator with Plan International, a global child-rights organization.

Four youth spoke at a press conference today and highlighted the ways in which climate change is affecting their local communities. They identified what domestic and international measures should be taken to help combat climate change.

"I have experienced sudden and extreme changes in the river in my community," says Hazel Candelario, 15, from the Philippines. "There are less fish being caught and less harvests. My mother has difficulty paying my tuition fees. I think the Adaptation Fund should be including the education sector to improve education."

Candelario is joined by Thomas Bielby, 16, from England, Hanna Sundwall, 16, from Sweden, and Eni Andri Yani, 17, from Indonesia, who all won national competitions to join the Bali discussions.

They are sponsored by a new research program called Children in a Changing Climate. The Bali conference is the first stage in a build up to the 2009 Copenhagen talks, where organizers hope to host a youth presence of 360 children in a 'Children's Climate Adaptation Summit.'

While in Bali the youth have been participating by asking questions, challenging ministers, participating in side events, and setting up a framework to ensure their voices are heard.

Bielby, who spoke about the floods in England this past year, would like to see children and youth become much more involved in the UN process. He suggests that each party should have their own youth delegation and consult with this small group to formulate policy positions.

"After all, it's the youth having to inherit these decisions. This way at least everything is working alongside," he says.

Although there are people who are receptive to a youth message, says Candelario, there are others who are not. When she approached the Chinese booth to talk about Chinese youth involvement on environmental issues, the attendants were very unhelpful, she says.

"One thing we've found is that the delegates struggle on how to pitch their message to children," says Tom Mitchell, research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, one of the organizations that sponsored the youth.

But the difficulty that children and youth encounter is not only from outside forces, but from within their own ranks, says Mitchell.

"A lot of work is still yet to be done," he says. In his work with the role of children in adapting to climate change he has found that 'youth' involvement is typically from the 18 to 25 year range, when they have already had some professional conditioning.

He suggests getting children as young as nine involved in these discussions.

His research has indicated that young people have a greater ability than most adults to perceive high-risk and low-probability disasters, and they are able to communicate these risks to those people around them.

"I think we see youth engaged in the process as vital," he says. "This year there has been a great coalescing of voices, and this collective voice is important, but, we are concerned that there aren't enough younger voices involved."

Hundreds of environmental activists gather to form the shape of a globe in Kuta beach, Bali island December 9, 2007. Rich and poor differed on Sunday over how to open up trade in green goods, with Brazil fearing a major U.S.-EU proposal raised on the fringes of climate talks in Bali was a protectionist ruse.

REUTERS/Murdani Usman (INDONESIA)