The Children's Climate Forum took place in Copenhagen just before world leaders met in the Danish capital for the COP15 summit.
Photo: UNICEF UK/2009/Rowan Boase.
The
UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) ended in frustration last month with
world leaders failing to reach an agreement on limiting global warming.
But the outcome was especially
disappointing for the young people around the world who took part in the
Children’s Climate Forum. Meeting in the Danish capital just before the world leaders, they came to a far reaching agreement on climate change, demanding that governments take action and committing to personal changes to reduce their own environmental impact.
“COP15 placed climate change at the forefront of global politics. There was
so
much hope, so many aspirations, so many words
yet so little action,” said Luke, one of the ‘
Copenhagen 4’ who represented the UK at the Children’s Climate Forum. His words were later used as part of the Children’s Climate Forum’s official response to COP15.
Katie, another member of the UK team said: “At UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Change Forum, young people
from all over the world
called upon world leaders to create a fair, ambitious and binding deal. Yet they have failed us.
“
I will be 57 years old in 2050, and will still need a safe planet to live on. That is why whilst the world leaders of today may not recognise the urgency of the situation we face, our generation are ready to take action and make sacrifices in order to protect our homes and futures.”
It was hoped that world leaders meeting at the COP15 would agree to
limit the global temperature rise to 1.5C to avert the disastrous effects of climate change.
But leaders only signed up to keeping global warming to 2C. And crucially their agreement, known as the Copenhagen Accord, is not legally binding. This means there is nothing stopping countries from ignoring it.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. For the first time
all United Nations now accept that drastic action needs to be taken on climate change and have pledged to limit temperature rise to 2C. And this year more negotiations will take place in Germany, in June and Mexico in December to try to make the Copenhagen Accord legally binding.
Anand, who represented his home country of India at the Children’s Climate Forum, said: “I am glad that 119 leaders did convene on a single day for climate change.
The inaction at Copenhagen just explains the complexity of the whole issue. Yet, one step at a time, a deal can (has to) be reached in 2010.”
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