High-level Roundtable on Children, Youth and Climate Action
Date: 18 November
Time and location: 16:30 – 18:00, Mugham (Special Event Room 2), Blue Zone
Background:
This high-level, multi-stakeholder roundtable, convened by the COP 29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion, the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan, in partnership with UNICEF, aims to advance discussions on mainstreaming children and youth within the UNFCCC process. The roundtable will bring together Ministers, representatives of Parties, UNFCCC constituted bodies, UN organizations, civil society, and members of children and youth organizations to highlight successful practices and ongoing initiatives related to human development (education, health, and social protection) and explore entry points for further integration of the needs and perspectives of children and youth in the UNFCCC process.
Children and youth are disproportionately impacted by climate change through disruptions in education, health risks, and livelihood challenges, which compromise their physiological and human development capacities. For instance, every year, climate change affects the education of nearly 40 million children through displacement and constrained access to school, especially following climate-induced disasters, and this number continues to increase. These effects also amplify existing gender inequalities. For example, adolescent girls and young women are at increased risk of gender-based violence and exploitation during climate crises.
The Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience emphasizes the importance of education, health, social protection, and jobs and skills in ensuring the well-being of individuals and empowering children and youth to contribute meaningfully to addressing the climate crisis. Therefore, this roundtable will, among other elements, elaborate on the Baku Guiding Principles of Human Development for Climate Resilience, which the COP 29 Presidency will announce on 18 November.
The roundtable will also explore how elements of human development – particularly responses to the disproportionate impacts of climate change on children and their perspectives – can be effectively integrated into the UNFCCC process. This follows the first-ever mandated expert dialogue on children and climate change, convened by the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) in response to the outcomes of the first global stocktake. Additionally, the role of the Presidency Youth Climate Champion in supporting these efforts in the coming years will be discussed.
Key partners:
- COP29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion
- Ministry of Youth and Sport of Azerbaijan
- State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan
- UNICEF
Expected outcomes:
- Enhance understanding and identification of potential entry points at COP29 and future sessions for integrating the needs and perspectives of children and youth within the UNFCCC process.
- Parties and non-Party stakeholders present ways to support advancing the COP29 Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience for children and youth, including within the UNFCCC process.
Proposed agenda:
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Time
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Session
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16:30 – 16:40
(10 min)
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Welcoming remarks and introduction to the Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience
- Leyla Hasanova, COP29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion
- Francisco Vera, UNICEF Child Climate Advocate
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16:40 – 16:45
(5 min)
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Setting the Scene - Reflections from the Expert Dialogue on Children and Climate Change
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16:45 – 16:50
(5 min)
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Why investing in human development for climate resilience means investing in children and youth
- Kitty van der Heijden, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF
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16:50 – 17:45
(55 min)
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Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable
Co-moderators:
- Leyla Hasanova, COP29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion
- Mariam Allam, Sharm Adaptation Agenda Lead, UN Climate Change High-level Champions
Panelists:
- H.E Mr. Farid Gayibov, Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan
- Bahar Muradova, Chairperson, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan
- H.E. Wan-sup Kim, Minister of Environment, Republic of Korea
- Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe, Director-General/CEO of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) and Head of the Secretariat, Nigeria
- Sara González, Technical Director, National Council for Climate Change of the Dominican Republic
- Aysin Turpanci, Head of Climate Negotiations & International Policies, Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Türkiye
- Ambassador Diann Black-Layne, Co-Chair of the Standing Committee on Climate Finance
- Graeme Reed, Vice Co-Chair of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform
- Amelia Turk, YOUNGO
- Michael Sherraden, George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor Director, Center for Social Development, Washington University
- Dr. Revati Phalkey, Global Director of Health and Nutrition, Save the Children International and Associate Professor in Global Health (Hon), University of Heidelberg, Germany
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17:45-17:50
(5 min)
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Questions from audience
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17:50 – 17:55
(5 min)
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Summary of discussion
- Mariam Allam, Sharm Adaptation Agenda Lead, UN Climate Change High-level Champions
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17:55 - 18:00
(5 min)
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Final remarks
- Jala Ibrahimova, COP29 Action Agenda co-lead
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Next steps:
- Moderators script (UNFCCC/UNICEF)
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Speaker:
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Question:
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Status:
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H.E Mr. Farid Gayibov, Minister of Youth and Sports in Azerbaijan
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Could you tell us more about the work you’ve been doing on human development for climate resilience, specifically regarding the integration of children and youth? What are the ministry’s main priorities in this area?
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Shared question and agenda
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Bahar Muradova, Chairperson, The State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan
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Could you share some successful practices the committee has implemented to support children and youth within the human development agenda? In your view, what more could be done at the national level?
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Shared question and agenda
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H.E. Wan-sup Kim, Minister of Environment, Republic of Korea
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What best practices have you implemented to ensure that children and youth are adequately prepared and meaningfully engaged in climate policy and implementation processes?
(Speaking to the engagement in the Net zero process)
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Shared question and agenda
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Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe, Director-General/CEO of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) and Head of the Secretariat, Nigeria
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Could you tell us more about the systemic challenges that your government, including the National Youth Climate Council, faces in responding to the disproportionate impacts of climate change on children and youth, and in addressing their perspectives on climate-responsive education and skills building?
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Shared question and agenda
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Sara González, Technical Director, National Council for Climate Change of the Dominican Republic
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Could you tell us about how these principles of human development are connected to the wellbeing and climate resilience of young children and their families in the Dominican Republic?
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Shared question and agenda
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Transition into the technical discussion
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Ms. Aysin Turpanci, Head of Climate Negotiations & International Policies, Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Türkiye
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You moderated the expert dialogue on children and climate change during the SB60 session, mandated by the first Global Stocktake. Could you reflect on some of the key recommendations from this dialogue, particularly regarding the integration of responses to children’s needs and perspectives in climate policy and action within the UNFCCC process and at the national level?
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Shared question and agenda
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Ambassador Diann Black-Layne, Co-Chair of the Standing Committee on Climate Finance
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What entry points do you see for work related to children and youth, particularly within the mandate and upcoming activities of the Standing Committee on Finance?
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Shared question and agenda
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Graeme Reed, Vice Co-Chair of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform
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What entry points do you see for work related to children and youth, particularly within the mandate and upcoming activities of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform?
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Shared question and agenda
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Amelia Turk, YOUNGO
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What are the entry points within the UNFCCC process and required action by different stakeholders to integrate the needs and perspectives of children and youth?
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Shared question and agenda
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Michael Sherraden, George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor Director, Center for Social Development, Washington University
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How can academia and research entities support child rights within the human development agenda by generating impactful data and creating feedback loops to track best practices and lessons learned?
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Shared question and agenda
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Dr. Revati Phalkey, Global Director Health and Nutrition, Save the Children International and Associate Professor in Global Health (Hon), University of Heidelberg, Germany
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What can we learn from non-state actors addressing critical issues affecting children within the human development agenda, and how can we integrate their perspectives into climate action efforts?
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Shared question and agenda
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