Young women’s demands for leaders at COP26 — Assembly

Girls from Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the UAE and Uganda share the climate actions they hope leaders take at COP26.

This week world leaders convene in Glasgow, Scotland at the COP26 summit to discuss their plans to address the climate crisis. The conference marks a turning point: For leaders to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, global emissions must halve by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. If governments don’t take swift action at COP26, this benchmark will be out of reach and our planet will suffer irreversible damage.

Young women like you already know that educating girls is one of the most powerful strategies to fight climate change — and mandating climate education for every student is key to tackling the root causes of this crisis. Ahead of COP26, young women around the world shared with us how leaders can improve climate education and their ideas for building a greener, fairer future.

“Leaders should ensure that climate classes are taught by experts so that students learn the science behind the climate crisis and understand its root causes. This means investing money in climate change education so schools have the resources and training they need to deliver quality climate education. With this kind of climate education, students will have the knowledge to be able to come up with their own solutions to the crisis. Schools should encourage students to come up with these ideas and governments should set up websites for students to send in their proposals and then governments should fund the best ones.”

— Giada, 14, Italy

“At the COP26 conference, leaders need to consider small town schools and how they can change to benefit the community. Small town schools are so important in the fight against climate change, yet they are often left out of conversations about climate action and education. There is no reason why small schools and towns can't contribute just because they are smaller, less heard and not as popular. I hope leaders invite a number of people from small communities and the younger generation — who are not politically based — to COP26 this year, that way they could contribute their ideas which leaders might not have thought of. Decision-makers around the world could then invest and improve small town schools by making a list of ideas from small town school students then putting those ideas into action. For example, I think we should have a simple water saving design in schools. At the lunch tables we should grow any source of green produce on the roofs, and collect rainwater to use to water the plants. That way we could have an easier way of getting produce for the school canteen while saving water.”

— Medha, 11, Australia

“We want to see [COP26 leaders] take meaningful action on climate education to ensure that people understand and address the impacts of the climate crisis, empowering them with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to be agents of change. We’re calling on leaders convening in Glasgow to take the following steps: Make climate education mandatory in schools — either as a separate subject or as a transversal theme in the school curriculum, improve the quality of climate education, fund school constructions that reflect environmental principles, support the work of different climate activists and organizations fighting for climate education and ensure girls in the countries most affected by climate change are able to go to school. If decision-makers hadn’t ignored climate education to date, then millions more students would be prepared to mitigate (and help their families mitigate) these situations.”

— Joan and Clare, 20 and 22, Uganda

“In my school and moreover in my circle a lot of people care about climate change and want to help it, but they cannot. Everyone’s basic mentality is that ‘save the world from climate change,’ but how do we exactly tackle that? We have almost no resources and guidance when it comes to fighting climate change. At COP26, leaders must take action to provide young people with access to all of the vital things which could help us take climate action — like providing opportunities for us to communicate with international climate organizations who can help us implement our ideas and solutions in full effect. It should be the government’s responsibility to make sure young people know where to go and who to ask for help when we want to take climate action.”

— Misha, 17, UAE

“At COP26, world leaders must implement measures to have an efficient administration of natural resources and the use of strict and regulatory policies for companies that use natural resources excessively but do not take a responsibility to protect the environment. In Mexico, much attention is still needed in environmental care. We continue to use cars excessively, we do not take care of water because nobody talks about the great damage that is generated when it is neglected and we do not have enough education on the subject, which from my point of view is just as important as knowing math and geography. I would like to see serious measures implemented at COP26 to educate young people so that they can create the change that the older people do not want to make.”

— Margarita, 22, Mexico

“I believe that climate change education is a hands-on experience and should be our top priority. I hope the leaders at COP26 discuss plans to appoint district-based environmental studies teachers/officers who could on a weekly basis organise trips for different schools in the district to conservation sites nearby to engage in activities such as beach and lake clean up, planting trees and gardening. Schools should also engage their students in gardening and planting on school grounds. This way they could make significant contributions to the prevention of climate change.”

— Kirthana, 18, Malaysia

"At the COP26 conference, leaders must take action to make climate education compulsory from primary school to university. I think one of the goals of education is to prepare children for living in the world around them. Today, we all know that climate issues are a priority, so schools must make children aware of our negative impacts on the planet. But these measures must go even further and teach children actions and lifestyle habits to fight against global warming and the loss of biodiversity, and above all to live with respect for nature. Finally, to have a real impact, climate education must be incorporated into all subjects at school and in all university courses — not treated as a subject separate from others. In all daily activities and in each profession, we can and must reduce our impact on the environment."

— Fanette, 22, France

“Climate education in my community is more or less not there. In school we used to learn about the circumstances of what we as a community were doing to disrupt ecosystems, yet there was never a conversation about how we could improve our thinking to a more eco-friendly society. I think that the most important base to spread the knowledge of climate education is by instilling the information that is not provided to the communities of our country and to get political authorities to speak out and spread the message. At the COP26 conference, leaders need to use social media platforms to make a difference and state the importance of climate education on a global stance. They need to educate themselves on the science of climate change and make climate education a compulsory subject in schools — not just in private schools but in public schools too — which will spread awareness on a vast scale.”

— Sareen, 14, Pakistan

“At COP26, leaders must recognize climate change as an issue of the present and not of the future. When I was a girl, I dreamed of improving my country. Now I only dream of having enough days to finish my university. The few decisions made by governments about climate change have made me rethink my dreams and goals, because I don't know if I will have enough time to fulfill them. One of the decisions that disappointed me the most this year was the reduction of national funds for natural disasters. I live in a city that is prone to floods so it affects us directly. It hurts me that the government acts as if climate change is a future problem when climate change is happening today. That is why I would like world leaders to start putting climate change as their number one priority. I would also like them to start recognizing young people as political subjects and making their voice count as a political act. We are one of the most affected populations and those that are least allowed access to decision-making spaces. Young people deserve more than being invited to a photo or a diploma. Their voice counts a lot.”

— María José, 17, Mexico

“At COP26, world leaders must take the following actions for the benefit of the environment:

1. Pass the petition on the Inclusion of SDGs in Educational Curriculums Globally into law so young people can be aware of the climate crisis and brainstorm innovative and sustainable ideas and practices to tackle global warming.

2. Ban ecocide. Vegetations can’t run for their lives in times of danger, and leaders need to listen to their cries for help and protect their well-being.

3. Renew their commitment — as stated in the Paris Agreement — to limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

4. Make climate decisions that are racially just and protect the lives of climate activists on the front lines of the movement, who are risking their safety to fight for the planet every single day.”

— De Nsentip Twins (Uforo and Eduek), 19, Nigeria