The Paris Agreement is a done deal. Despite its foreseeable shortcomings, it is a global climate agreement that will shape transformational pathways of change for our economies and societies in the next decades and beyond. Every young individual around the world should read this text, or learn more about it from the excellent reviews that are already available online (one of my favorites here).
Personally, I am glad and honored to have spoken in a few side events at COP21 this past week to highlight issue of biodiversity conservation within the new climate change regime and to promote the active involvement of youth in the implementation of the climate agenda. I was also extremely pleased to attend the Global Landscapes Forum on December 5-6, which highlighted the many linkages that exist between ecosystems and climate change and showed the importance of building broad coalitions of governments, business, and civil society to address the challenges that landscapes are facing everywhere on our planet.
As the Project Leader for Solutions Initiatives at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth, I have come in contact with many young people from around the world whose brilliant and tireless work on climate change only awaits to be recognized and supported by institutions, experts, and investors at all relevant levels. In 2016, we will continue to streamline such work in every forum and to help them implement and scale their transformative ideas and solutions.
