UK Future Leaders Network COP27 Research Delegate

I am delighted to have been selected by the UK Future Leaders Network to attend COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, as a UK Youth Delegation research delegate.

I am incredibly grateful to UK FLN for this incredible opportunity to represent the youth generation on the global stage.

Unfortunately, this role is self-funded, and I do not have the financial capacity to fund travel to Egypt and for the accommodation and subsistence during my stay. I am therefore requesting funding to support my attendance to COP27 in Egypt as part of the UK FLN Youth Delegation.

The UK FLN has been formally admitted as an NGO (non-governmental) observer to UNFCCC meetings.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat is the UN entity tasked with supporting the global response to climate change. Each year, it hosts two to four negotiation sessions. The largest and most important is the Conference of Parties (COP).

The UK FLN select and support a U.K. youth delegation to attend the United Nations Framework for the Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP), to advocate for young people’s priorities in relation to climate change.

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) will be officially hosted by Egypt in the city of Sharm el Sheikh from the 6th to the 18th of November 2022.

International human rights treaties, laws, and conventions, for example the Convention on the Rights of the Child, protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups, and enable more people to have their voices heard and to participate in society. However, many are not fully implemented, respected, or widely understood, and democratic processes remain unrepresentative.

Moreover, the current youth generation are the last generation that can end anthropogenic climate change. Today’s youth are growing up in a world that is facing the reality of an intensifying climate crisis situation which they have been relatively unable to influence and impact.

Furthermore, young people and women are disproportionality affected by the impacts of climate change, yet they remain unrepresented within democratic processes, and therefore unable to influence and input to the decision making that ultimately defines our approach to global issues including climate change, and their wellbeing, safety and quality of life.

In addition to having a fundamental right to participate in the decision making processes that impact them, youth are also agents of change. Their engagement and empowerment in climate action and leadership is absolutely critical to enabling the sustainable solutions we require to combat climate change.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) puts climate action on the world stage and provides an opportunity to critically examine and consider our global approach.

The UK FLN COP27 research delegate position provides an incredible opportunity to ensure youth participation and leadership is recognized and respected as an integral part of this global approach.

I strongly believe that with my technical background in energy and climate, and my knowledge and experience working in energy policy, in addition to my interpersonal skills and the values that I strive to uphold, I can play a significant part in the UK FLN effort to promote, support and ensure youth participation and leadership at COP27.

Unfortunately, this role is self-funded, and I currently do not have the financial capacity to fund travel to Egypt and for the accommodation and subsistence during my stay.

UK FLN have estimated the cost of my attendance to COP27 in Egypt as £700. I have therefore set my GoFundMe page goal as this amount. However, this amount is an estimate, and the exact figure will not be known until nearer to the time once accommodation prices and flights are known.

If I do not meet the required funding amount to attend the conference, I will unfortunately not be able to attend. In this situation, I will donate the funds raised to UNICEF.

Moreover, if I raise funds in excess of the cost of attending the conference, I will donate the excess funds to UNICEF.

UNICEF works in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere. Across more than 190 countries and territories, they do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

https://www.unicef.org/about-unicef

UNICEF works with partners at global and local level to ensure that children can live in a safe and clean environment. Our actions are structured around four approaches:

https://www.unicef.org/environment-and-climate-change#makingchildren

Furthermore, UNICEF is one of the custodians of the Intergovernmental Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action, signed in 2019 at COP25 in Madrid. UNICEF works with governments to support the implementation of the declaration. All Member States of the United Nations are invited to sign.

https://www.unicef.org/environment-and-climate-change/climate-declaration

The UK Future Leaders Network (FLN) are a not-for-profit organisation aimed at discovering and developing the next generation of effective social, political, and economic leaders.

UK FLN want to create a new cohort of effective, ethical leaders by equipping young people with the leadership experience, skills and network they need to deliver positive change in the world.

The UK FLN provide the following:

Events

Opportunities

Training

Network