Baku [Azerbaijan], November 13 : As the climate crisis intensifies, 20 determined youth delegates from South Asia urged world leaders to take immediate steps to mitigate the effects of climate change on children and youth at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11 - 22.
Supported by UNICEF, the youth delegates from India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Baku advocated for the inclusion of children's needs in the COP 29 outcome document and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) 3.0 on Monday.
"Living in Balochistan in Pakistan, I've witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of climate change," said 14-year-old Zunaira Qayyum, a youth delegate from Pakistan. "Floods and heatwaves have become our new reality, affecting our lives and threatening our future. Climate change is a child rights crisis. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events jeopardize our health, education and well-being," Qayyum added.
Zunaira's award-winning research captured the impact of floods, triggered by climate change, on girls' education in Balochistan. She amplified the voices of countless girls affected by the crisis. Her insights are part of a wave of urgent calls on climate action from young people, ahead of COP 29. Several consultations with young people in India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan have resulted in strong recommendations for leaders on climate change.
Notably, according to UNICEF's 2021 Children's Climate Risk Index, children and young people in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan face 'extremely high risk' from climate-related threats. Millions of children across South Asia are exposed to hazardous air pollution and endure heatwaves every year. In July 2024, over 6 million children were at risk as deadly floods lashed South Asia.
In India, 250 youth climate champions, including 30 children, came together in September to develop the National Youth and Children Statement. They called for governments to place children and young people at the heart of climate action.
"The absence of snow in my hometown in the Himalayas has left our community with a deep sense of loss," said 23-year-old COP 29 youth delegate Manisha Arya, who contributed to the Statement. "Rising temperatures and unchecked development have led to landslides that make our lives increasingly precarious."
Growing up in a farming community affected by shifting rainfall and declining crop yields, 19-year-old Kartik Verma has reached over 5,000 children and youth through his 'Knowledge for Nature' initiative in India. "From a village without a civil society presence, I was lucky to be heard," said Kartik Verma, a Child Advisor to the United Nations Child Rights Committee. "But many voices remain unheard. I am attending COP 29 to be a voice for the voiceless."
In Maldives, one of the world's lowest-lying nations, 26 youth leaders voiced their concerns at the 'Youth Track to COP29' event in October. They urged global leaders to prioritise children's rights amidst rising sea levels, flooding and coral bleaching.
"The time to act on climate is running out. It is already too late for children and young people in Maldives. We simply cannot wait any longer," said 24-year-old delegate Fathimah Muhammad Ahmed from Maldives who participated in the event. "The beaches where my parents used to play have disappeared. I wonder whether my children will ever see my favourite places. We don't know if can live our lives in a country at the forefront of climate change."
Around 500 young people in Nepal issued a joint Youth Statement in August to ask decision-makers to act urgently on the climate crisis as it was 'now or never.' They requested the Government of Nepal to consider children and young people in both policy and actions, including the third generation of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0). They advocated for a dedicated mechanism to help children and young people to participate in the fight against climate change. Their mantra was: 'Nothing about us, without us.'
"If world leaders say we are the leaders of today--not just tomorrow--then why aren't we at the table now, shaping the ambitions for our future?" asked 24-year-old Bodh Maathura, UNICEF Sri Lanka Youth Advocate. "Young people must be recognised as partners in creating, implementing, and monitoring the NDCs."
During COP 29, the 20 youth delegates from South Asia stood as powerful advocates for their generation and called for integrating child and youth views in climate policy and giving them a seat at the decision-making table in all climate negotiations; including priorities of children and young people in the NDC 3.0 submissions; funding climate adaptation efforts that address children's and young people's vulnerabilities; reducing air pollution and use clean energy to protect children's health, and expanding training programmes to equip the next generation with skills for the future.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia said that they want the climate change is changing children's lives and that they want young people to raise their voices. "Climate change is reshaping children's lives every day. At COP 29, we want young people to raise their voices so that world leaders can take critical steps with and for them. UNICEF is urging COP 29 delegates to commit to bold climate action that addresses the immediate and long-term needs of children and youth. The time to act is now," Wijesekera said.