The Copenhagen 4 first met David Kidney at the House of Commons in October 2009.
© UNICEF UK/2009/Jazmin Burgess
UNICEF UK’s youth climate ambassadors met with
David Kidney, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy and Climate, last week to discuss the importance of including young people in the climate change debate.
The
Copenhagen 4 formed the UK delegation to
UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Forum in Copenhagen in December 2009, attended by 164 children aged 14-17 from 44 different countries.
The team shared with Mr Kidney the
Declaration that was agreed on at the Forum, and asked for his views on
how young people's voices can be taken into account in the Government’s plans to tackle climate change.
After discussing the declaration in detail, the team quizzed the minister on matters such as how the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is planning to involve young people in the run-up to the 2010 general election; his opinions on the Copenhagen Accord that emerged from the UN Climate Summit in December 2009 and what he thought were the biggest challenges to a global deal on climate change in 2010.
“David felt that if world leaders had acted in the same way as the young people did at the Children's Climate Forum - not out of self-interest but for the good of the global community - then a stronger deal would have been agreed upon,” said Katie Haywood, 17, one of the Copenhagen 4. However she also noted that despite this, “David said that it was essential for the momentum to be maintained up until Mexico, and the UK government will be doing all it can to make the Copenhagen Accord legally binding.”
Mr Kidney also explained to the team that DECC is keen to involve young people in climate change decision-making, and hopes that DECC’s new Youth Panel, of which two of the Copenhagen 4 are members, will help the Government include young people’s views in their climate change work.
“David Kidney seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say, and gave us some great responses to our questions,” Katie concluded. “As a result, I plan to firstly maintain communication with my local MP as I have realised how effective local lobbying can be, and secondly remain involved in the DECC Youth Panel.”
The Copenhagen 4 are now focusing on activities in each of their regional areas, to build on the knowledge and skills they gained at the Children’s Climate Forum and to help engage other young people in climate change activities.
Read the Copenhagen 4's blog about their activities on climate change.