Adolescents and youth taking charge: action on climate change for their well-being #All4Climate-Italy

On the margins of the Pre-COP26 Summit in Italy, more than 70 participants joined the “Adolescents & Youth Taking Charge: Action on Climate Change for their Well-being”, a PMNCH-organized virtual event in partnership with the Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change, Y-PEER, CORE Group and Countdown to 2030. The event drew attention to the critical interlinkages of the climate crisis with adolescent well-being.

As one of the most vulnerable populations globally, adolescents and young people will be forced to live the most severe effects of climate change during their lifetimes. In addition to health-related consequences, climate change is threatening children’s and adolescents’ rights to education, food, and recreation, amongst others.

During the event, an broad mix of speakers spanning youth activists, ministers, academics, experts, and healthcare professionals came together in a high-level dialogue and interactive breakout sessions. They highlighted the need to acknowledge the deep impacts of climate change on the well-being of current and future generations of young people and what must be done to address these challenges.

The event opened on a musical note, with indigenous Brazilian rapper Kaê Guajajara, reminding the audience through her song “COVID-19”, about the deep impact that the pandemic has had on indigenous populations. Her performance was followed by a high-level panel featuring Rt Hon. Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair; H.E. Evans Opoku Bobie, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Ghana; Anthony Costello, Co-Chair, Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change; Nafesha Richardson, Founder, Spark SVG and St. Vincent and the Grenadines Delegate, Youth4Climate Milan; Julieta Martinez, Founder, Tremendas Collaborative Platform and Co-founder, Latinas for Climate. The dialogue was moderated by Omnia El Omrani, External Relations Officer, International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA).

“This global gathering is a reminder to us all – international partners – that collective action is the key,” said Rt Hon. Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair. “We must all ‘walk the talk’ and meaningfully engage YOU, the SDGs generation, to ensure climate change measures address your everyday realities and lives”.

The meeting focussed on the multiple challenges posed by climate change to the health and well-being of adolescents and youth, and ways in which this demographic can be engaged to drive the agenda of tackling the perils of climate change. Speakers also highlighted strategies for engaging adolescents and youth in this space, and ways in which their role can be strengthened to contribute to national and local efforts for addressing climate change. The event witnessed the speakers calling on key stakeholders to support the Call to Action for Adolescents, including a high-level dialogue on adolescents and youth during the UN SDG Summit in 2023. 

The event was complemented by the release of the Knowledge Brief: Young People’s Fight Against Climate Change. The brief is designed by adolescents and youth, and targets adolescents, youth and youth-led organizations who are already involved in the health arena with the aim to increase awareness, knowledge and capacity on the intersection between climate change and health.

For more details about the event and the speakers you can visit the event page.