This workshop aimed to empower youth climate leaders by exploring and unraveling some of the complex terminology used within the UNFCCC framework, to make it more easily accessible and understandable. Through an interactive discussion participants had the chance to identify ways to demystify some of the technical language frequently used. By exploring, discussing and bridging these gaps, this workshop demonstrated how to turn language barriers into stepping stones and routes for meaningful youth participation and action on climate change within the UNFCCC process. This session was delivered in collaboration with Cambridge Zero, ClimaTalk, Climate Words and The University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR).

Credit: Cambridge Zero	Credit: University of Bath
Credit: Clima talk	Credit: Climate Words sm

Background

Cambridge Zero and the University of Bath IPR have been working together to develop projects which empower and platform young people’s voices in international climate negotiations since collaborating in the production of ActNowFilm at COP26.  The most recent iteration of ActNowFilm featured conversations between youth climate leaders and leading international climate experts and was shown at COP28. The production of these films has led to the development of a strand of work which focuses on developing young people’s climate policy skills globally. To deliver this session focussed on decoding UNFCCC language we will be working with two youth-led organisations we already work with Climate Words and ClimaTalk. 

Cambridge Zero exists to maximise the University of Cambridge’s contribution towards achieving a resilient and sustainable zero-carbon world. Cambridge Zero is not just about developing greener technologies or a zero-carbon university. We are harnessing the full range and breadth of the Collegiate University’s capabilities, both in the UK and globally, to develop solutions that work for our lives, our society and our economy 

The Institute for Policy Research is a leading public policy research at the University of Bath. We aim to further the public good through research into issues of significant relevance to policy debate and decision-making, manage networks with the worlds of policy and practice, and increase public understanding of policy research through our public events and publications. We deliver activities for policymakers, researchers and practitioners to enable dual learning and original contributions to both research and practice. 

Objectives:  

Participants learned to

• decode commonly used UNFCCC language; and
• acknowledge when they don’t understand forms of language and aske for clarification.  

Structure

The interactive session used several modalities to engage the audience in the topic. We had a small panel of four facilitators driving the session. The session was largely composed of facilitated small group discussions, with intervening sections with presentation of slides. We also used the online tool Menti as part of an icebreaker section. 

Speakers

Amy Thompson - Head of Policy Programmes and Communications, Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath 

Pamela Elizarrarás Acitores - Co-founder, Climate Words

Emma Heiling - CE, ClimaTalk

Amy Munro-Faure - Head of Education and Student Engagement, Cambridge Zero, University of Cambridge (Moderator)