Students from 14 local schools will take on the role of negotiating teams during the United Nations climate change conference (COP29) at a valuable youth climate summit.
The event on 19 November coincides with COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan with the backdrop of the council chambers in Cheltenham. Emulating the real-life conference – which run from 11 to 22 November – pupils from secondary schools across the area will generate joint proposals to speed up climate action and adaptation. As with leaders in Baku, they will look to set funding goals that reflect just how urgently extra support is needed around the world.
The young people will form teams representing a diverse mix of developing, emerging and developed countries attending COP29 – including Australia, Barbados, India, the Marshall Islands, UK, and USA as well as Azerbaijan. They will agree resolutions on key themes, putting forward policy positions using carefully chosen arguments in a conference debate that mirrors the UN negotiations and the drive for consensus.
The Mayor of Cheltenham, Councillor Paul Baker, will formally open the conference, welcoming the students to the centre of local decision making. Cheltenham Borough Council is hosting and supporting the event, which includes a grant from Cheltenham Community Pride. Organised by the charity InterClimate Network (ICN) working together with Cheltenham Education Partnership, this is a welcome return of the summit for Gloucestershire schools.
The second part of the conference brings the issues close to home so that young people can have a say about climate action in our area. In a ‘Local Action’ session, council teams and local organisations as well as schools will showcase their own work to reduce emissions and adapt to change. The summit aims to raise the profile of what’s already happening in schools and our local communities and plans to inspire even more ways to work together.
The young people will then be invited to put forward their questions to a panel made up of local decision makers. Councillor Iain Dobie, cabinet member for the climate emergency will join this Climate Question Time panel along with representatives from the council, business, the community and university.
Councillor Iain Dobie, cabinet member for the climate emergency, said: “It is becoming increasingly important year on year that schools and young people get involved and take up their role in the climate crisis. This conference is imperative to understand the issues facing our planet, and students are integral to the future of the climate and should be invited into climate discussions as such.”
Raechel Kelly at Planet Cheltenham said: “I’m delighted to be asked to take part in the conference again, where young people are given an insight into what the COP process is all about. It’s also great to highlight all the important work happening locally, which young people can get involved with.”
Michila Critchley, programme director at InterClimate Network, said: “With each passing year, the need for urgent global action steps up another notch. 2024 has seen some truly awful scenes around the world as people from USA to India, to our own local area try to cope with intense weather. COP29 will try to secure greater ambition for climate action, and then it’s all about money and the need to unlock new sources of funding to tackle and adapt to climate change.
“This conference allows secondary school students from across Gloucestershire to become immersed in these critical global negotiations as at the UN and importantly, means they can put our own decision-makers on the spot. What’s key is that everyone leaves at the end of the day inspired and informed about climate action in school and our community.
“ICN greatly appreciates the support of Cheltenham Borough Council and Cheltenham Community Pride, as well as Benefact Group for this event.”
