SEOUL, Republic of Korea; September 13, 2021 – Today, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Embassy of Italy in Korea, and the British Embassy in Seoul co-hosted an event to discuss the Role of Youth in Climate Action. The aim of the event was to provide a platform for leading youth climate activists and experts from GGGI, the UK, and Italy to build a dialogue on the role of youth in raising climate ambitions.
GGGI Director-General, Dr. Frank Rijsberman, delivered the opening remarks of the event sharing, “It [the climate crisis] has come incredibly close. So close that now we’re talking about a decade which might be the last chance for humanity to avoid really serious consequences for future generations. This is an urgent issue for everybody – for politicians, all the way to the public at large, and finding a better way to have young voices actively engaged in that discussion is a critical element.”
Following the opening remarks, Mr. Nigel Topping, COP26 Climate Action Champion, delivered a speech on the Expectation for Youth4Climate. “We are one generation. If you look at the context of climate change, it’s happening over decades and centuries and will last for decades and centuries. We are the generation that’s alive today with the chance and responsibility to fix it,” emphasized Mr. Nigel Topping.
The event also featured a presentation from Mr. Roberto Rizzo, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Italy in Korea, to share greater information about the upcoming Youth4Climate in Milan. “The process that we’re going to face, decarbonization, carbon neutrality 2050, is a long, expensive, complicated process. It’s not an easy step that we have to face. We need you to raise your voices together with us and help us and help politicians to change the way of thinking,” highlighted Mr. Roberto Rizzo.
Following this presentation, Ms. Guyree Lee, Youth4Climate Korea Representative, delivered a presentation detailing the main expectations from delegates for the Youth4Climate event. She shared that the youth delegates will work together to make proposals for ministers attending pre-COP26 & COP26, gain insight into the climate agenda on the international scale, and raise their voices to push for climate change ambitions.
The event concluded with a presentation about Youth Political Participation from Mr. Min Kim, Youth Representative from BigWave, and a panel discussion moderated by Ingvild Solvang, GGGI Deputy Director and Head of Climate Action and Inclusive Development.
Watch the full recording here.