Presidency Youth Climate Champion

Meet the Presidency Youth Climate Champion

The role of the Presidency Youth Climate Champion (Decision 16/CP.28) (PYCC) under the UAE Consensus in 2023, aims to enhance and encourage the inclusive engagement of children and young people in climate decision-making and policy processes by utilising the unique position of each COP Presidency.

The PYCC areas of focus are:

Enhancing the inclusion, participation and representation of children and youth in climate policy and action through advocacy and awareness-raising.

Empowering young people to usefully contribute to decision-making on climate through capacity-building and education opportunities.

Elevating and amplifying the voices of children and youth on climate policy within the COP Presidency, UNFCCC and beyond.

Catalysing action by leveraging the COP to advance, resource and monitor youth-led climate action

Backstory

For many years, young people have advocated for their meaningful engagement in the UNFCCC processes. Since being extended constituency status in 2009, and formalised in 2011, YOUNGO, as the official children and youth constituency in the UNFCCC process, among other youth groups, have consistently advanced these priorities. However, Parties are increasingly recognizing the crucial role that young people play in addressing and responding to climate change. At COP 26 (Decision 18/CP.26), Parties acknowledged the growing interest and engagement of youth in climate action and the critical role of youth as agents of change and calling for further enhancement of youth participation in climate change processes and in unleashing the potential of Action for Climate Empowerment. The Glasgow Climate Pact (Decision 1/CP.26) urged Parties to ensure meaningful youth participation and representation in climate decision-making at the local, national and international levels. Following this, the COP27 Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan (Decision 1/CP.27) encouraged the inclusion of youth in Party delegations to UNFCCC.

COP27 also marked a significant step forward in youth inclusion with the creation of the COP Youth Envoy role, held by Dr. Omnia El Omrani, to enhance youth engagement in the COP, and the establishment of the Children and Youth Pavilion. The COP28 Presidency demonstrated their commitment to children and youth inclusion by appointing H.E. Shamma Al Mazrui as their Youth Climate Champion, a high-level position within the COP Presidency senior leadership, with an office mandated to enhance youth inclusion across the COP processes.

At COP 28, recognizing the opportunity for future COP Presidencies, Parties decided to establish the role of the PYCC, between the ages of 18 and 35 to be appointed to act on behalf of the COP Presidency to facilitate the engagement of meaningful, inclusive engagement of children and youth in climate action, including within the UNFCCC process. The UAE Consensus institutionalizes this Presidency Youth Climate Champion role under the UNFCCC process so that each COP Presidency will have a dedicated advocate for young people within the Presidency leadership, acting as a bridge to decision makers.

COP 29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion (2024 – 2025)

Ms. Hasanova is the Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Organization, and has previously worked as Head of the Secretariat of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Organization and Program Coordinator at the Institute for Development and Diplomacy at ADA University. She holds a master’s degree in public administration and graduated from the United National System Staff College (UNSSC) and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). In her role as COP29 Youth Climate Champion, Ms. Hasanova will amplify the voices of youth-led and youth-focused organizations to ensure that they are mainstreamed into climate diplomacy and the COP process. She will also work with YOUNGO, the official children and youth constituency of the UNFCCC, to empower children and youth and promote youth participation in climate action.

COP 29 website

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Leyla Hasanova - PYCC Presidency Youth Climate Champion

Credit: PYCC

Leyla Hasanova is the Youth Climate Champion for COP29 Azerbaijan

Upcoming events and engagements

Information will be added soon

Past events and engagements

COP29 PYCC Conversation with Young Negotiators in Party Delegations - 11 Nov

Youth-led Climate Forums (13 - 18 Nov)

Declaration on Future Generations - 14 Nov

Advancing Progress on the Global Framework on Children, Youth, Peace and Climate Security - 15 Nov

Closing the Climate Finance Gap: Investing in Climate Action for Children - 16 Nov

COP29 PYCC Conversation with Youth in UNFCCC Constituencies - 16 Nov

Youth Dialogues: Inclusive Intergenerational Climate Finance - 18 Nov

High-level roundtable on Children, Youth and Climate Action - 18 Nov

COP29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion: Voices of Tomorrow - Children at COP29 - 19 Nov

Delivering Climate Change Education: The Critical Role of Youth and Educators - 19 Nov

COP 28 Presidency Youth Climate Champion (2023 - 2024)

H.E. Shamma Al Mazrui, UAE Minister of Community Development, was the Presidency Youth Climate Champion for COP28 UAE. She was responsible for engaging with youth globally in the lead-up to, and during the COP28 negotiations. This included working with local and global stakeholders to provide capacity-building opportunities for youth, as well as mechanisms to fund youth innovations in the field. H.E. Al Mazrui was previously appointed as the Minister of State for Youth Affairs in February 2016 at the age of 22. In 2024, she severs as the President of the Board of Trustees of Zayed University; she is the Chairperson for Special Olympics UAE and is a Committee Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Council of NAFIS; a board member of Emirates Foundation and a Global Leadership Council member of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited; and she serves as a member of the Higher Committee of COP28, led by his Highness Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed.

COP28 Youth Climate Champion Outcomes Report

Youth Envoy to the COP27 President and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs

COP27 Climate Youth Envoy (2022 - 2023)

Dr Omnia El Omrani is a medical doctor and a climate and health policy fellow at Imperial College London. She was appointed as the Youth Envoy to the COP27 President and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and was then selected as the Health Envoy for COP28. In 2024, she serves as the co-lead to the Equity Group of the Lancet Commission on Prevention of Viral Spillover. In addition, she also serves on two other Lancet Commissions on Sustainable Healthcare and Global Governance on Health, and Our Common Air Commission on Air Pollution. She was selected as Apolitical's 50 Gender Equality Gamechangers in 2024 and Fast Company ME recognized her as one of the 35 Most Creative People in Business in 2023. She was awarded the 2023 Women of the Future, 50 Rising Stars in ESG. She has more than 8 years of experience working on climate change and health, has published 26 research papers and delivered over 120 hours of climate training in 15 countries.