The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Past Event
2023-12-05
COP28 Live Streaming Event
This year, astonishing Youth Delegates from our 4th Climate Advocacy Training for Youth (CATY) participated in the 2023 Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai, UAE. The conference is estimated to be receiving over 80,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, making history as the most participated conference ever since it was held. To encourage knowledge exchange and share our delegates’ experience from their first-person perspectives, we were delighted to hold this livestream event on 4th December 2023, through Zoom.
During the sharing, our delegates pointed out how vast the Dubai venue is; it felt like a small town to them. However, despite this being the most participated COP, our delegates also observed a lower level of youth participation compared to previous years. With our young people being the primary stakeholders of our planet both now and in the future, the United Nations has emphasized the importance of incorporating youth participation in climate negotiations, albeit in a position of less influence, it was disheartening to see their representation diminish at this COP. We remain hopeful for increased youth involvement in the next COP.
As our delegates have different focuses, they attended different events to learn more about the topic and were excited to share some very personal insights with our audience. One of our delegates, Kylie, focused on the gender issue, which is often overlooked in Hong Kong. She emphasized how women are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. Another delegate, Hugo, highlighted the significance of involving cities in addressing climate change, given the increasing difficulties of relying solely on states. These perspectives underscore the urgent need for Hong Kong to take proactive action in tackling the climate crisis.
Meanwhile, their learning and training are further enhanced by joining different working groups that focus on the Loss and Damage fund, Mitigation, and others. Joanne and Athena, two of our youth delegates, shared their experiences in participating in the YOUNGO working group. During their discussion, they talked about their active participation in a wide range of activities, including drafting position papers and organizing meetings with party negotiators. Through these experiences, they gained a valuable insight into the dynamics of climate negotiations.
Apart from the working groups, another youth delegate of ours, Lorraine, also shared her experience in organising an event and conducting climate negotiations during COP28, in which she discussed the climate injustice in Hong Kong, highlighting the plight of outdoor workers and people living in subdivided flats. Some could find it rather improbable that delegates from Hong Kong could also have a chance to be a part of the conversations, but in fact, we are all stakeholders in climate change matters, and our voices could also be heard in COP. Our delegates are showing how this is possible, and thus we should not give up on this climate journey
Lastly, in our Q&A session, thoughts on the phase out of fossil fuels, nuclear energy’s role in energy transition, and the importance of biodiversity were shared among our delegates and the audience. Most people at COP28 were shocked by the COP28 president's statement that there is "no science" behind the demands for a phase-out of fossil fuels, and they refused to accept the need to phase out fossil fuels. However, a few demonstrations against his statement have already taken place, showing the firm demand for the phase-out of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, one of our delegates, Thierry, shared an example from Japan, in which people who live close to Fukushima did not accept nuclear energy, whilst citizens from other locations have fewer discussions on this topic. Thus, it is vital to let people hear the voices of those who are impacted most directly, and with our delegates attending COP28 in person, joining these events and representing the voices of our city, they will be able to capture these stories back to us and let us learn more about the impacts of climate change in real life and across the globe.