UAE Pledges Further Empowerment Of Youth In Climate Action Efforts

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published September 23, 2019 | 09:15 PM

NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 23rd Sep, 2019) The UAE announced new commitments to empower youth in its national climate policymaking during the Youth Climate Summit at the UN.

Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, and Shamma Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs, joined hundreds of youth delegates from around the world, to push for greater youth leadership in the fight against climate change.

The UAE was one of the first countries to formally include youth members in its climate negotiation team, and one of the first to create a youth council for climate and environmental policy.

During the Summit, Al Mazrui announced an additional set of actions to ensure youth leadership in UAE climate policy, all in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment: "Mobilise key Federal and local players in the climate field to establish new youth advisory councils. Organise consistent national dialogues between government, youth and civil society on climate change and action priorities.

Encourage youth to submit policy proposals and solutions on climate matters to the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment. Train and educate youth on climate change and sustainability. Provide internships to youth with key players and pioneers in the climate field."

The Youth Climate Summit is part of a weekend of event related to the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit on Monday, September 23.

In June 2019, the UAE hosted the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting, the preparatory meeting for the Climate Action Summit. The goal was to prepare, shape and raise the ambition of the commitments, announcements and initiatives that will be announced on Monday.

The Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting set a new precedent for youth engagement at the UN, with youth delegates opening the event, speaking in the ministerial roundtables, and participating in the evaluation of proposals for the Summit. The UAE sponsored the participation of the youth delegates, as selected by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Youth.