One Act of Hope at a Time at the U.N. Climate Conference

Young people are the heartbeat of progress, bringing fresh eyes to a world they have yet to become desensitized to—a world they will inherit. We look to young people for energy, higher ideals, and hope that a brighter future will outcompete our greatest fears.
 
Climate action is urgently important for future generations of polar bears and people. At the U.N. Climate Conference in Glasgow, Scotland—also known as COP26—the young generation sought to be heard amidst the commotion. Delegates praised young people for their leadership and activism, but few were given the opportunity and mentorship to participate in the proceedings in a meaningful way. Panama’s negotiating team provided a notable exception.
 
During a formal meeting between all 195 national governments and the U.N. President, Panama handed their precious floor time to a small group of young leaders who were eager to add voice to this important conversation about climate action. In this window, Panama’s deputy lead negotiator Mari Helena Castillo Mariscal, 25, delivered a speech co-written by dozens of young people at COP26, including Polar Bears International’s delegation. Thanks in large part to our delegate and impact producer Alex Haraus, over 21,000 young people from 140 nations co-signed the speech in less than a day. These climate negotiations are exclusive and difficult to attend so when Mari delivered the statement, she brought thousands of voices from all corners of the world into the room. See the full statement at the end of this article. You can watch the speech here and read a Washington Post article about the experience here.
 
Christopher J. Carter has represented Polar Bears International at these climate negotiations for six years, and he reported a shift among young people at COP26. “I witnessed a powerful, excited, and humble collective of people under 35 years old charging head on in the face of complicated economic and political interests. They stressed that keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is a lifeline for much of the world’s people and ecosystems, including the Arctic. As we said in the statement, ‘1.5 is the simplest moral choice in all of history’.”
 
This intervention may not have concretely shifted the terms of negotiations in the meeting hall that day, but it did remind global leaders that the studies and statistics they build national policy from represent real human lives—current and future. For our international coalition of young people, modeling the collaboration, intersectionality, and boldness we hope to see among leaders was a practice of hope in an unpredictable time.
 
“We, the most connected generation can see the pain and light in each other, and know the movement is not big enough yet. We know we simply cannot cut anyone down or leave anyone out—we need all hands on deck. We are on one team, even if algorithms and politicians try to tell us otherwise.” – Christopher J. Carter
 
Climate warming has no borders and no preferential treatment. We all need to be a part of the conversation, planning, and action. As Panama’s lead negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez says, “Government will only move as fast as civil society wants it to move.” Every vote, every call, every demonstration applies pressure on governments and corporations to make tangible and earnest moves towards a just energy transition and to protect the most vulnerable people and ecosystems along the way.