European Youth Demands towards COP28

Young people are at the forefront of the climate movement. As organiSations representing young people across the European family, we have been advocating for ambitious climate policy for years. After years of informal collaboration at COPs, various European youth NGOs working on UNFCCC issues formed the Network European Youth NGOs for Climate Action (NEYCA). The goal of this Network is to develop joint political positions and to advocate together for our collective political demands in the UNFCCC processes. This document is therefore a collection of demands developed by young people from across civil society.

The signatory organizations call on you to act in the interest of the millions of young people we represent, many of which are still unable to vote, but see their future increasingly threatened by the climate crisis. We call upon the EU and its member  states, as well as all countries on the continent of Europe, to address the issues presented below and act in accordance with the demands of European Youth.

1. As established in IPCC AR6, current emissions trajectories are depleting carbon budgets at a rate that will severely aggravate climate impacts experienced by present and future generations. The lack of ambition of current NDCs, combined with implementation and financing gaps, will jeopardize the 1.5°C goal.

We:

• ● Stress the need for an ambitious and comprehensive GST decision at COP28. All relevant topics including finance, mitigation across all sectors, and climate justice, as well as all GST-connected work streams, must be incorporated into the outcomes.
• ● Recognise the importance of the 1.5° goal in the GST assessment(s) of the Paris Agreement’s implementation on all levels.
• ● Urge a complete and timely phase-out of all fossil fuels to be referenced in the cover decision of COP28 or a decision on the GST.
• ● Encourage the EU, as well as all countries in Europe, to take leadership in raising the ambition of NDCs; Strengthen NDC implementation through the enhancement of finance flows, including driving forward work on the establishment and fulfilment of an ambitious NCQG on climate finance, as well as an ambitious and strengthened Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme, the outcomes of which should be referenced in a GST decision.
• ● Urge an accelerated global effort of ambitious NAP development and implementation, to protect the most vulnerable peoples and sectors in line with the Global Goal on Adaptation.
• ● Stress that national stocktakes should be included in the GST decision, as a way for countries to regularly assess their own progress.

2. Despite the fact that increasing mitigation remains the centerpiece of our efforts against the climate crisis, it has already progressed so far that damages already take place. Since the burden of these impacts falls largely on vulnerable groups, which additionally often contributed almost nothing to cause the problem, addressing these losses becomes a vital responsibility of all historical emitters.

We:

• 
  ● Urge the EU, and all European countries, to take a strong and constructive position on the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28.
  ● Recognise that as a leading historical emitter, the EU and all European countries have the obligation to sufficiently contribute to the Fund. Funds have to be additional, not merely relabeled existing ODA funds.
  ● Encourage the EU, and all European countries, to work towards a contribution structure based on historical emissions related to per capita GDP. Public contributions should cover the required sums for LD Finance and private contributions should only be considered as an addition to this sum.
  ● Urge the EU, and all European countries to ensure that resources from the LD Fund reach MAPA, through a fund that is transparent and structured from the bottom up,
  considering MAPA realities and addressing their needs. In order to guarantee that funds reach MAPA, it is crucial that a section of the LD finance facility disperses grants directly to civil society organizations focused on the needs of MAPA.
  ● Encourage that funds provided through the LD Fund are grants. Incurring additional debt could lead countries in the Global South into debt traps and significantly hinder their sustainable development prospects.
  ● Invite the EU, and all European countries to pursue alternative revenue sources in the event that public contributions are insufficient, such as redirecting fossil subsidies, which must be phased out as soon as possible, or additional taxes on fossil fuel companies, international fossil-fuelled transportation or high net-worth individuals.

3. Climate justice must have a central role in mitigation and adaptation efforts in order to ensure an equitable sustainability transition. Youth participation, intergenerational equity, and human rights are all crucial elements in fulfilling climate justice.

We:

• ● Urge the EU, and all European countries to ensure the effective inclusion of civil society and to provide a safe environment for civil society participation, at COP28.
  ● Stress the need for the robust protection of procedural environmental rights, democracy, and the rule of law, including by championing youth and civil society participation at high-level climate negotiations.

4. Enhancing youth participation in international conferences.

• ● Recognise the recommendations made in the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan. Noting youth must be meaningfully included in national delegations and involved in the process of designing and implementing climate policy and action.
  ● Stress that the engagement of young civil society must be prioritised in UNFCCC fora. The EESC Youth Delegate to COP Programme should be recognised as a best practice to replicate in other EU and European national bodies and processes.
  ● Encourage the establishment of a formal Advisory Council on Youth to the UNFCCC, to take a notable presence during climate negotiations, which would provide a key intergenerational perspective for future COPs.