Youth Climate Summit: UN to offer 100 green tickets to young people

To recognize the vital role of young people in driving climate action, the United Nations on Monday July 1, 2019 announced that it will offer over 100 “Green Tickets” – funded opportunities for young people, in particular from the least developed countries, to participate in the Youth Climate Summit. The Green Ticket will include travel to and from New York – which will be carbon neutral.

The Youth Climate Summit will bring together young innovators, entrepreneurs, change-makers and activists to showcase their solutions, exchange ideas and grow networks, and take their place on the global stage with decision-makers across governments, business and civil society, in line with the UN Youth Strategy: Youth 2030 launched by the Secretary-General last year.

Young people around the world will also be able to participate in Youth Summit activities from their own communities, through a variety of virtual and digital engagement opportunities, and continue to play their part in driving global climate action.

Applications for the Youth Climate Summit are being accepted from today until 19 July, and all applicants will be considered for a Green Ticket. Youth between 18 and 29 can apply through the Youth Climate Summit website www.un.org/en/climatechange/youth-summit.shtml, which also includes information on participation in the Summit for youth under 18, recognizing the powerful role younger people are playing in countries around the world.

“It is inspiring to see the leadership of young people in driving climate actions and solutions,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammad, announcing the Green Tickets and general applications today.

“The Youth Climate Summit is about both recognizing and empowering our youth, and I urge young people from all countries who have a passion for finding climate solutions to apply. It will be an incredible experience, and we need all the talents of our youth on board to have the impact we urgently need.”

The Deputy Secretary-General also invited members of the business community and any others interested in supporting the Green Ticket initiative to contact youthenvoy@un.org.

Successful Youth Climate Summit applicants, including recipients of Green Tickets, will be selected on the basis of merit – including a demonstrated commitment to climate action and problem-solving – as well as considerations of need. The allocation of Green Tickets will ensure that youth from all regions of the world have an equitable and realistic chance to participate in the Youth Climate Summit.

Applications will be assessed by a panel led by the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.  The panel will include experts from within the UN and from civil society with experience across the Sustainable Development Goals, reflecting the interdependence of climate action and sustainable development.

The Youth Climate Summit precedes the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, which will take place at UN Headquarters on 23 September, and comes just a day after the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike on 20 September, where an unprecedented mobilization of young people from the global south and north is expected to declare the global climate emergency.

The Secretary-General has called upon all leaders to come to the Climate Action Summit with bold actions and a major increase in climate ambition, backed up by concrete plans.

The Green Tickets announcements was made in Abu Dhabi today, where over 1,700 people from more than 160 countries, including youth delegates, gathered for a key preparatory meeting in the build-up to the Climate Action Summit. During the opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi meeting the Secretary-General held a live-streamed intergenerational dialogue with youth delegates.

“Having an opportunity to participate has shown me that there are other young people all around the world who share the same passion for climate justice and climate action, and we need action urgently,” said Amelia Radinivugalei, a youth delegate from Fiji participating in the Abu Dhabi meeting.

“Youth are showing us the way on climate action,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Luis Alfonso de Alba. “This week in Abu Dhabi we focused not only on the energy transition, but on the role of youth in climate action. You could say renewable energy is powering both.”