Historic news for the international community and more specifically for young people and climate action. The first international soft law instrument on climate action and young people was officially adopted by the Committee of Minister! This is a Recommendation that has been in the drafting process for more than two years and comes after many years of the Advisory Council working to put climate and young people on the agenda of the CoE. After hard negotiations in April 2024 during the 50th Joint Council meeting (CMJ), the CMJ agreed on the text. Then, on October 23rd this text with some last-minute amendments by the States, was officially adopted by the Committee of Ministers.
Youth and Environment Europe feels very proud to have played an active role in this process.
Our Secretary General Pegah Moulana was the Rapporteur of the drafting group for the past years and our Advocacy Manager, Agni (Agnes) Gkoutziamani, elected member of the Advisory Council on Youth of the CoE, has been the lead of the climate portfolio since January 2024 and represented the Advisory Council on Youth in the final negotiations processes in the CMJ meetings.
Key points mentioned in the recommendation:
Rights. The rights of young environmental defenders should be defended.
Participation. Young people should be able to participate in climate-related decision-making processes, and barriers to this engagement should be removed.
Education. Tailored climate resources should be provided for all education methodologies.
Health. Youth-friendly health services should be provided to young people experiencing health issues due to climate change.
Information. Member states should ensure full access to climate-related information and data
Discrimination. Member states should address all forms of discrimination young people experience in relation to the climate crisis and their activism.
Needs. When climate measures are implemented, the specific needs of young people should be considered (especially marginalised people etc).
Local dissemination. This should be translated, and shared, and the local and regional authorities should be invited to implement it.
We invite civil society and youth organisations to spread the word, disseminate the recommendation and its key points to your ministries, to the regional and local authorities and keep the recommendation relevant and alive, integrated into every aspect of your work. This is the moment to institutionalise the rights of young people in climate action.
We invite member states to respect the essential commitments they have made. We now look forward to seeing how the Council of Europe and member states will turn words into action,
YEE aims to unite environmental youth non-profit organisations in Europe in order to enhance international cooperation, increase knowledge about the climate crisis, raise awareness of environmental problems and to strengthen participation of youth in environmental decision-making.
