COP28 and the Ethiopian Youth: A Discussion About the Role of the Youth Delegates and the Progresses Made

As the final piece of the campaign/reporting we have been doing on UNFCCC’s of COP 28, we conducted a panel discussion this past Sunday by inviting three of the youth delegates of Ethiopia who participated on the event held in United Arab Emirates, Helina Teklu, founder of Ethiopian Women and Youth Climate Assembly (EWYCA) and CEO of Seed Balls Ethiopia; Jodahi Petros, Youth and Environmental Activator and Roaster of Experts for UNFCCC, and Yabtsega Getachew, Climate Justice Advocate and COP28 & COY 18 Delegate.

They represented their country on COP 28, which was held from Nov 30-Dec 12, 2023, and they joined us for the discussion to shade light on the importance of COP, the decisions made, the areas of involvement of the youth, the level of impact that we [the youth] can bring about and how. They also shared the experiences and strengths of youth delegates from other countries like Denmark and our neighbor Kenya.

Furthermore:

Jodahi mentioned that climate and environmental threat is the only challenge in this world where almost all country accepts the threat and is working on in collaboration with other nations, which makes it unique. On the other side, the lack of detailed implementation of decisions and the media coverage makes it vulnerable for critiques who deem it as an elaborate show.

Helina boldly pointed out that the influence of the youth who participate in such gatherings is minimal on the decisions made and policies adopted globally, specially Ethiopian delegates: “in a conference where the one-country-one vote rule is symbolic, it'll be too idealist of us to expect the youth voices to influence policy.” Hence, as a future leader of the country, she focuses on understanding the dynamics of world politics, building international network of youth, and finding opportunities for collaborations.

Yabtsega stressed the need for collaborative efforts to provide mentorship, capacity building programs to keep the delegates well informed and abled for the conferences.

One important question raised from the audience was that what they are currently doing or planning to do to create a situation where the youth can have an impactful role in these conferences and build their capacity in understanding global issues and negotiation as our fellow global youth… and all are in favor of collaborating to provide this support as the organizations they’re involved (Enfluencers, The Youth Print, and EWYCA).

We forward our sincere gratitude for our guests and audience for being part of our discussion. We urge all interested parties to join hands with us and make the youth capable of representing our nations interest and empower them to become better leaders.

The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) will be held in November 2024 in Azerbaijan, whose economy heavily relies on oil.

Sources: sdg.iisd.org/events/2024-un-climate-change-conference-unfccc-cop-29/ and usnews.com/news/best-countries/