Birmingham uni expert welcomes youth climate voices at COP27
COP27 is taking place in Egypt until 18 November
For the first time ever, children and young people will have an official voice at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference.
UN climate summits are held every year, for governments to agree steps to limit global temperature rises.
COP27 is the 27th annual UN meeting on climate, which is taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh until 18 November.
And this year, sees the introduction of the Children and Youth Pavilion at the conference, which will enable young people to hold discussions and policy briefings.
Professor Peter Kraftl, expert in children’s geographies at the University of Birmingham, said: “This is a long-overdue advance. More than ever before, children across the globe must find ways to adapt to and live well with multiple forms of uncertainty – and climate change is one of their most pressing concerns.
“However, we need to think beyond simply listening to children's voices (and partitioning children in a separate pavilion) to imagine what genuine collaboration might look like.
"In particular, that will mean finding ways to move beyond the short-termism that often permeates debates about human responses to climate change, with a view to longer-term notions of intergenerational – and even inter-species justice.”