OVER 1,000 YOUTH DESCEND ON COPENHAGEN FOR UN CLIMATE TALKS

10 December is "Young and Future Generations Day"; Highlights Youth Call for Climate Action

COPENHAGEN -- Hundreds of youth from around the world will celebrate “Young and Future
Generations Day” with the UNFCCC at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference on
Thursday, December 10. More than 1,000 young people from over 100 countries are attending
the UN Climate Summit calling for bold climate leadership by their governments. Their
collective vision is to protect their future and the lives of future generations threatened by
climate change.

Organised in partnership between the YOUNGO (youth) constituency and the UNFCCC
secretariat, Youth and Future Generations Day seeks to send a powerful message of
intergenerational equity to COP15 delegates, as well as highlighting the vital role of youth as
both advocates for, and implementers of climate solutions. Highlights of the day will include an
Intergenerational Inquiry with Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, as well as the
launch of "Growing Together in a Changing Climate", a publication featuring efforts by youth
and the UN to engage young people on climate issues. Side events through the day will
showcase Youth and Student Movements' leadership on climate, the role of education, and
youth voices on deforestation and degradation (REDD).

“Today’s youth will live their lives with the decisions made in Copenhagen, and our
governments have a moral responsibility to deliver a fair, ambitious and binding deal”, said
Prisca Randriamampihavana, a 20 year old youth delegate from Madagascar. "We want to ask
world leaders, how old will you be in 2050?"

UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer adds that “Young people...have brought their
energy and creativity to the intergovernmental process, demanding concrete action from their
governments.”

The year 2009 has seen an explosion of youth climate advocacy, and the emergence of what
many youth in Copenhagen are calling the “International Youth Climate Movement,” joining
hundreds of youth organizations and climate advocates from around the world.
On 10 December, visit youth and youth organizations at the Youth Arcade and find out what
they are already doing to tackle climate change and how you can engage with them on
working towards solutions.