The Maldivian Special Envoy for Climate Change Sabra Ibrahim Noordeen has said young people need to have more seats at the policymaking tables. She made the remarks while delivering closing remarks at the pre-COP26 buzz event hosted by the Maldives in partnership with the United Nations (UN) in the Maldives.
Speaking at the event, Climate Change Envoy affirmed the need for young people to have seats at policymaking tables, in essence, to institutionalise having young people at the heart of climate action and decision-making.
The event titled "Our Climate, Our Present, Our Future - A SIDS Perspective" was hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology (MECCT) in collaboration with the UN in the Maldives, notably UNDP and the UNICEF in the Maldives. The event centred upon fostering partnerships and aimed at providing young people with an opportunity to make their voices heard on the road of the Maldives to climate resilience.
Speaking at the event, Sabra praised the important work carried out by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, in incorporating climate change into the national curriculum. In her remarks, Sabra underlined the importance of listening to young people express their frustrations, anxieties, demands and solutions about their future in a heating world. She stressed that at the core of these demands is the need for greater urgency and ambition in cutting carbon emissions, access to resources and funding for adaptation, and ensuring just transitions and that these demands should be heard, especially in the lead up to COP26.
Comparing carbon emissions from the Maldives to the global context, she stated that a radical shift to renewable energy will provide the country with the opportunity to build the resilience needed in the coming decades.