Yesterday, the International Youth delegations read a powerful statement to the high-level plenary in at the climate conference in Bali. Giving the UN climate conference’s closing statement, it was a defining moment. The incredble speakers were Anna Keenan from Australia, Karmila Parakkasi from Indonesia, Whit Jones from SustainUS in the United States, and Bambou Chieppa (a 13-year old girl). At 4 minutes, the statement was powerful and concise — and called for bold action.
I helped coordinate the drafting of the statement, and it was an amazing experience. Written together by the Indonesian, Japanese, American, Australian, Canadian, Belgian, and French youth delegations, it was a true international collaboration. I am so proud of the inclusive and consensus process we used — it’s inspiring how our international youth delegation puts aside differences and worked together.
On Friday, when Amanda, Whit, Karmila, and Bambou stood on stage — the room fell silent. This is what they said:
WHO WE ARE
I am Anna Keenan from Australia, Karmila Parakkasi from Indonesia, and Whit Jones from the United States of America. We speak today as part of the global youth climate movement. Half the world’s population is under 30, and will live with the decisions you make today.
STORIES OF HUMAN IMPACT
Just last week, a young woman from Kiribati told us about her plight. Her island is only 2 meters above sea level, and as the land gets washed away, so does her people’s livelihood and culture. I was filled with a deep sense of urgency, solidarity and perhaps most importantly, responsibility to speak and act. Her story moved me to tears and should move you to action.
How many stories do we need to hear before we wake up and take action? We have one climate, one future, and this is our last chance.
SCIENCE AND URGENCY
The science is clear. We call on you to acknowledge that climate change is not bounded by economics and politics, but by science. You can’t negotiate with the laws of physics and chemistry.
The targets currently being discussed are not even close to protecting our future. Our best science shows clearly that 450 ppm of CO2-equivalent gives us a 50% chance of avoiding catastrophic and irreversible feedbacks in the climate.
I have a coin here. The flip of this coin represents gambling with our future. What’s it going to be?
Our future is at stake. As climate change accelerates, and your decisions unfold, we will look back at this moment, this conference. History will judge whether you did enough to give us a planet worth living in.
OUR VISION
The time for excuses is over. We need you to acknowledge that solving climate change will require a just transition to eliminate fossil fuels within our lifetimes.
Developed countries must mitigate now and assist those without the same financial resources. Deforestation must be addressed with strong consideration for local and indigenous communities.
The climate emergency is our best and possibly last opportunity to create a global consciousness. We are inspired by those of you taking true leadership, both at home and internationally. We are ashamed of the so-called “leaders” who are delaying action in this UN process and who are actively compromising our future.
THE YOUTH ARE RISING
We cannot wait any longer. If you lead us on the wrong path, we have no time to find our way back and undo your decisions. The potential effects will be devastating and indiscriminant.
Youth around the world are rising to the challenge. As emerging leaders, we are mobilizing the public, building powerful movements, and forging international coalitions.
But all this won’t be enough without strong action from you. We have put our trust in you. We need a Bali Breakthrough — now.
CONCLUSION
As you make these decisions, take a moment to reflect on why you are here. Are you here as only a delegate? Or are you also here as a mom or dad, an aunt or uncle, a brother or sister? Are you here for us, your children?This is not a political choice – rather, a moral imperative, and a requirement for human life. We are already inheriting the consequences of your choices. The world is watching, the youth are rising. Join us.
POEM
Last week, Bambou Chieppa, a young student visited the COP, and upon her return to school she wrote a poem. She would like to share it with you now.
“It’s haunting me
A crowd of he’s and she’s
I’m not a hero
I’m not even a big show
Every time I look cameras
as flashing me in the eye.
It would surprise them if they knew
I was only a little girl who is scared
the world will die”
At the end of the speech, all the youth said in unison, “JOIN US.” It was a watershed moment. The room was moved to tears. The Germany, South Africa, and many other delegations were crying. The conference president, said “It’s difficult to continue with these proceedings after such a heartfelt intervention.”
I think this begins a new moment in our emerging global youth climate movement — where we call on all youth around the world to join us in building a climate movement so strong it cannot be ignored.
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Well said! I’m so glad to be ably represented by the real delegation to Bali! Thank you for speaking for us all.
That was a historic speech.
At 5:00 am, I don’t want to go to sleep for tense excitement and hope as to what might emerge in the next few hours. Today could be a turning point in history, and we could be the partial initiators of it. Let us all hope, and those of us with the power to do more than hope, do it.
May you have energy, wisdom, luck, and success, youth delegation! You are our voice!
Other than the fact that the Bali Summit provided nothing other than to agree to agree to further climate talks (and that’s all that it was), it provided absolutely no change in stopping the constantly increasing global pollution and the life-threatening build up of carbon dioxide, the world’s emerging problems (population explosion and its sustainability, famine and food shortage, energy resource depletion and increased energy demands, pandemics, climate change, global pollution and carbon dioxide saturation, dwindling water shortages for life etc, etc, etc), put together are immense. Indeed together, they are a recipe of nightmarish proportions that has never been seen before by humankind. But the greatest threat to human stability is the fact that people in high places do not realize that the time-span for solving these huge global problems has a finite period of time also. The writing is now on the wall I would say for all to see if they will only look and where humanity has to react without delay, but where, reaction to global problems takes decades to solve. Therefore the lead-time that we have now is the only thing that we have in our favour. Leave it for another 20-years and we shall not have the necessary lead-time to do anything about the really ‘big’ problems. This is what we really have to get over to our leaders, politicians and multinational industrialists, for it will affect them as much as it will affect you and me. Indeed, if they do not change quickly there self-preservation and vested interest thinking, we shall all end up with problems that are just unsolvable due to the time-served requirement to solve them and where time will literally run out on us all.
For only by people in high places realizing our dilemmas quickly now will be able to confront them and have enough time to solve them. It is no use therefore in pussy footing around until it is too late. For hesitancy and delay today is the greatest threat to the survival of humankind and where if we do not come to our senses quickly, in fifty-years time, the world will have become very similar to most probably how we can picture in our minds, a world very much like hell itself.
Dr David Hill
World Innovation Foundation
Bern. Switzerland
Moved to tears, back in the US. We’re going to have some good work to do together in these times ahead. Thank you for all you’ve done.
I am proud of you, your commitment and your energy. As a political activist and educator, I look upon the apathy I often see around me with some despair. That makes what you have done and are doing even more powerful. You give me hope, and I thank you for that. There’s a South African bushman saying that I think is really appropriate here: “We see you. We praise you. And we thank you.”
Val Innes, White Rock, BC.
I am SO PROUD of you all for what you have managed to do — come together, deliver a powerful statement, and seriously start to unite the global youth climate movement! This is only the beginning, we know…