After two intense weeks of negotiations and climate policies, the 27th 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, came to a close last month on 20 November. COP27, which started on 6 November, took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt under the Egyptian Government’s presidency.
Two young leaders, supported by a team of nine young delegates, all from the United Kingdom (UK) have come back from Egypt having represented the youth of the UK at COP27 - the world’s biggest climate change conference.
Since 2021, the Future Leaders Network (FLN) has selected young leaders to represent the UK at COP, including for last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. After fierce competition, FLN selected two young leaders - Anna Gardner and Marc Tilley - who represented the views of UK youth at this year’s COP27 negotiations in Egypt. Supporting them, in the areas of advocacy, communications and research, was a team of nine young delegates from the UK - Josh Oxby, Patricia Gonçalves, Nikita Shrubsole, Katie Riley, Hannah Harrison, Kayley Curtis, Madelaine Constance, Amy Campbell and Jasmine Brittan.
At COP27 in Egypt, the delegation set out to advocate for more meaningful youth participation. They worked with other youth delegates and organisations to get more young people into sites of negotiation and to make specific references to young people in the texts. At the UK level, the delegates spent time at the UK pavilion pushing for a formal UK youth delegation at COP28. The Communications delegates - Kayley Curtis, Hannah Harrison and Katie Riley - used social media to make COP27 accessible and engaging for other young people in the UK and beyond, reaching more than 11,000 people.
COP27 resulted in some positive outcomes for young people and we welcome these. This year saw FLN deliver the first ever Children and Youth Pavilion where FLN’s Chief Executive Officer, Sophie Daud, discussed the Youth Negotiators Academy and was joined by the Kenyan Ministry of Environment. The FLN COP27 Delegation also endorsed the African Youth Declaration for Climate Mobility. And young people have become official stakeholders in climate policy under the ACE action plan. More broadly, the delegation celebrates the agreement to provide funding for “loss and damage'' but recognises that many young people feel let down by the failure to incorporate the phasing out of fossil fuels in the final agreement.
Madelaine Constance, Amy Campbell and Jasmine Brittan, FLN’s COP27 Research Delegates, are set to release a written report summarising the team’s reflections on the decisions made at COP27.
Anna Gardner, COP27 Climate and Environment Delegate, commented:
“There is still so much to do to keep the goal of 1.5 degrees alive. Spending time at COP with young people from all over the world gives me hope as we keep pushing for further climate action.”
Four of our COP27 youth delegates at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Notes to the Editor:
For more information about the support available to young people in the UK, particularly our Youth COP opportunity, please visit our website: https://www.futureleaders.network
For interviews or more information, including details of how you can interview the COP27 Delegation, please contact Sophie Daud – Chief Executive, directly on +44 7788 990041 or at sophie.daud@futureleaders.network.
About Future Leaders Network
Future Leaders Network is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at discovering and developing the next generation of social, economic and political leaders in the United Kingdom. We are revolutionising the leadership development landscape, by equipping young people with the leadership experience, skills and network they need to deliver positive change in the world. We make a difference today with the leaders of tomorrow.
Since 2011, FLN has selected and supported young people (aged 18 - 30) to represent the United Kingdom at the G7 and G20 Youth Summits (known as the Y7 and Y20). These are the official youth engagement groups for the multilateral Heads of State Summits.
In 2021, in line with the U.K.’s G7 Presidency, FLN held the title of the Y7 Presidency. FLN successfully coordinated the engagement and participation of over 50,000 young people ahead of the Carbis Bay Leaders’ Summit last June, and ensured young people’s voices were reflected in the G7 Leaders’ Declaration for the first time in history.
In 2021, FLN also selected and sent youth delegates to a COP Summit for the first time and seven young people represented the UK youth at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Website: https://www.futureleaders.network
About COP27
COP27 refers to the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference. COP27 will be the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference and will take place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from 6 - 18 November.
COP27 is under the Egyptian Government’s presidency and the COP27 appointed president is Dr Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Throughout the year, there have been regular multilateral meetings and consultations at the level of heads of delegation in preparation for COP27.
Website: https://cop27.eg/#/
About Anna Gardner
Anna Gardner is a COP27 Climate and Environment Delegate. Anna is also a writer for ClimaTalk.
She recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Bachelor’s degree in Geography.