Students from seven local schools took on the role of negotiating teams during the United Nations climate change conference (COP29) at a youth climate summit organised and hosted by Herefordshire Council.
The event, held on Wednesday 4 December, emulated the real-life COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan which ran from 11 to 22 November. The pupils generated joint proposals to speed up climate action and adaptation, and set funding goals that reflect just how urgently extra support is needed around the world.
Cllr Elissa Swinglehurst, Cabinet Member for Environment, who formally opened the conference, said: “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing our species and our planet, which is why the council has a commitment to achieving a target of net zero carbon by 2030. The conference was a fantastic opportunity for people to get together and discuss ways we can each make a difference. It was encouraging to meet so many young people who are passionate about the issue and hear their valuable insights.
“We will only succeed in mitigating climate change by working together; and the spirit of open-mindedness and cooperation in the room was palpable.”
The young people formed teams representing a diverse mix of developing, emerging and developed countries attending COP29 - including Australia, Barbados, India, the Marshall Islands, UK and USA as well as Azerbaijan. They agreed resolutions on key themes, putting forward policy positions using carefully chosen arguments in a conference debate that mirrored the UN negotiations and the drive for consensus.
Organised by the charity InterClimate Network (ICN) working together with Herefordshire Council, the second part of the conference provided a welcome chance for young people to put forward their questions to a panel made up of local decision makers. Paul Walker, Chief Executive of Herefordshire Council, and Cllr Swinglehurst both joined this Climate Question Time panel along with representatives from other council departments.
With a focus on practical steps to tackle climate change and developing skills, council teams and local organisations shared their work with students in a Climate Action fayre. The summit helped to raise the profile of what’s already happening in schools and our local communities and plans to inspire even more ways to work together.
Michila Critchley, Programme Director at InterClimate Network, said: “With each passing year, the need for urgent global action steps up another notch. 2024 has seen some truly awful scenes around the world as people from USA to India, to our own local area try to cope with intense weather. COP29 aimed to secure greater ambition for climate action, and then it was all about money and the need to unlock new sources of funding to tackle and adapt to climate change.
“This summit allowed secondary school students from across the area to become immersed in these critical global negotiations as at the UN and importantly, meant they could put our own decision-makers on the spot. What’s key is that everyone left at the end of the day inspired and informed about climate action in school and our community.
“ICN greatly appreciates the support of Herefordshire Council for this event.”