Island Innovation Daily COP26 Bulletin: Elevating the Voice of Young People

According to the famous quote attributed to the 19th century Native American leader, Chief Seattle, “we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” But unless urgent action is taken, we will not be leaving much of a home for future generations.

COP26 comes at a critical moment of the climate crisis. The main focus of the today’s Presidency Programme at COP26 is elevating the voice of young people and demonstrating the critical role of public empowerment and education in climate action.

Eight Pacific Young Climate Leaders shared their experiences of climate resilience and activism in an inaugural dialogue with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Mr Henry Puna on 21 October. They called for transformational leadership and for young people to be included in the decision-making process as well as take ownership of the decisions that have impact on them and our communities.

Today, COP delegates will focus on the unique and critical challenges that children face as a result of the climate crisis, and also explore the role played by education to inspire effective public action to combat climate change.

It is clear that now is the time to act, and to realise that protecting our planet and protecting our children are two things that go hand in hand. By raising awareness, implementing meaningful change, and ensuring that we are all educated regarding what we can do to mitigate climate change, we can shape a better world for future generations.

Key themes for COP26

News and key insights

DID YOU MISS THE “IN CONVERSATION” SESSION YESTERDAY?

The main topic for this discussion was the finalisation and introduction of a Resilience Scorecard. The Scorecard is also on the island agenda at COP26 in Glasgow, as a resilience tool that can be utilised by countries around the world.

The panelists for this session were: The Hon. Walter Roban, Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs of the Government of Bermuda, Rick Warner, Chair of Coastal8, and Kimberly Lewis, AEG Fellow, Program Manager, Energy Efficiency at Con Edison. This regionally transformative conversation will be moderated by Audrey Joachim, Director of Operations and Growth of Island Innovation.

You can watch the session below:

NEXT WEEK: Caribbean Sustainability and Prosperity: Climate Finance as a Driver for Climate Action

In partnership with The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator

Wednesday 10 November – 10:00am EST, 15:00 GMT
Duration: 1.5 hours

There are a wide range of opportunities for sustainable development projects in the Caribbean region – but for them to be successful there needs to be greater access to finance. What projects are being unveiled in the region, and where can they source funding to support their vision? The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator seeks to unlock financing for sustainable solutions in a bid to create the world’s first climate-smart zone. With climate adaptation and mitigation funding for island and developing nations set to be a core topic at COP26, now is the time to move towards action for the region.

Today’s Island-related events