GCA Hybrid Youth Dialogue on Adaptation Action: Delivering on the Glasgow Climate Pact

Ahead of the landmark ‘African COP’ at Sharm El-Sheikh, GCA and the CEO’s Youth Advisory Panel convened the GCA Youth Dialogue on Adaptation Action: Delivering on the Glasgow Climate Pact. The hybrid Youth Dialogue brought together young people and global leaders to accelerate adaptation action and ensured youth’s perspectives and solutions are promoted to deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact and the adaptation agenda.

Participants of the two-day program followed keynote speeches by experts in the field of climate action and engage in intergenerational dialogues. In addition, the Youth Dialogue is a platform to exchange experiences in implementing adaptation solutions with young people from around the world.  

Objective 

By bringing young people’s views on adaptation to COP27, the GCA Youth Dialogue on Adaptation Action is contributing to the objectives of the Glasgow Sharm el-Sheikh Work Program. The GCA Youth Dialogue on Adaptation Action aimed to: 

• Facilitate the exchange of young people’s experiences in adaptation action, advocacy and policy-making from the around the world
• Accelerate adaptation action by showcasing youth-led climate-resilient solutions
• Promote the consideration of youth inputs in the review of the Global Goal on Adaptationby bringing together young leaders and decision-makers

Outcomes 

The Youth Dialogue built on seven regional Youth Adaptation Forums that took place around the world from Dakar to New York and San José, to help identify youth’s recommendations on accelerating the adaptation agenda.
 
In 2022, the African continent is taking center stage in the international climate arena. To amplify the voices of youth in international fora, the key recommendations will presented at the GCA’s Africa Adaptation Summit, COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt and other international fora.

Format

The event had a hybrid format with an in person gathering in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The working language for the in-person event was English. For participants joining online a livestream was available in English, Spanish, French and Arabic.

Livestream program*

*Timings in CEST

3 September

09:10 – 10:20 Welcome & Understanding Adaptation

• Welcoming online participants
• Mr. Mike Girling, Director of External Affairs, Global Center on Adaptation
• Mr. Neekhil Prasad, Research Candidate- UniSQ, GCA’s Youth Advisory Panel, Fiji
• Presentation by Dr. Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vásquez, GCA Senior Advisor, Africa
• Presentation by Prof. Saleemul Huq, Director International Centre for Climate Change and Development and former IPCC Lead Author

10:20 – 12:00 Youth Leadership for Adaptation Action

• Presentation by Ms. Adriana Valenzuela, GCA Thematic Lead for Youth Leadership & Education
• Panel Youth Shaping the Adaptation Agenda: From Regional Perspectives to Global Priorities. Presenting the outcomes of the GCA-led worldwide consultations with young people through a series of seven regional Youth Adaptation Forums

13:30 – 14:00 Inspirational remarks ‘Youth Driving the Adaptation Agenda’

• Mr. Desmond Alugnoa, Co-founder Green Africa Youth Organization and GCA’s Youth Advisory Panel, Ghana
• Ms. Emily Vernall, SHE Changes Climate and GCA’s Youth Advisory Panel, UK
• Mr. Xan Northcott, YOUNGO Focal Point Global North, UK
• Dr. Omnia El Omrani, Youth Envoy COP27 Presidency, Egypt

Keynote speech ‘The urgent need for adaptation acceleration’

• Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Chief Executive Officer, Global Center on Adaptation

14:00 – 14:45 Intergenerational Dialogue: Delivering on the Glasgow Climate Pact
Panelists:

• Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Chief Executive Officer, Global Center on Adaptation
• Ms. Nisreen Elsaim, Chair UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, Sudan
• Mr. Irfan Ullah, Founder Sustainability Week Pakistan and GCA’s Youth Advisory Panel, Pakistan
• Ms. Lydia Birtwistle-Sawyer, Head of Youth and Parliamentary Engagement, COP26 Presidency
• Ms. Paloma Noriega Jalil, UNFCCC Fellow, Mexico

4 September

12:45 Welcome  & Stocktaking Session of Day 1
13:00 – 13:45 Intergenerational Dialogue: Interlinkages between the Sustainable Development Goals and Adaptation Solutions & Jobs
Video Message ‘The Road to the UN 2023 Water Conference’ by H.E. Henk Ovink, Special Envoy on Water, the Netherlands and Host of UN 2023 Water Conference
Panelists:

• Ms. Joyce Mendez, Regional Focal Point for Latin America and the Caribbean of the SDG7 Youth Constituency and GCA’s Youth Advisory Panel, Brazil-Paraguay
• Ms. Roberta Ianna, Senior Advisor Ministry of Ecological Transition, Italy
• Mr. Weluzani Joseph Thole, Winner of the Youth Adapt Challenge 2022 (virtual)
• Ms. Edith Adera, Lead Coordinator, Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) and Regional Principal Officer, African Development Bank
• Mr. Niels van den Berge, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Easy Housing

16:00 – 16:30 High-Level Ceremony ‘On the road to the African COP’
Handover of Youth Proposals to Global Leaders

From Rotterdam to Sharm El-Sheikh to the UAE

• Dr. Omnia El Omrani, Youth Envoy COP27 Presidency, Egypt
• Ms. Shaemma Mebwana, Youth and Education Expert, United Arab Emirates

Leaders receiving the Youth Proposals and High Level Keynote Speech on Leadership for Climate Adaptation

• H.E. Ban Ki-moon, 8^th United Nations Secretary-General
• Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, CEO Global Center on Adaptation

Partners

The first Youth Dialogue on Adaptation Action: Delivering on the Glasgow Climate Pact was organized in collaboration with youth organizations, including the International Association of Students in Agriculture and related Sciences, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum.