Seal a Strong Climate Deal, Young
People Urge World Leaders
DAEJEON,
South Korea,
August 20, 2009 (ENS) – "We now need more actions and less talking"
on climate change, 700 young people from around the world declared today at the
2009 Tunza Children and Youth Conference on the
Environment in Daejeon.
The
declaration was finalized and adopted by people from 10 to 24 years of age
gathered here as part of the global Seal the Deal! campaign spearheaded by UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to rouse political will
and public support for a comprehensive global climate agreement to limit
greenhouse gas emissions after the current Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of
2021.
"We
are the generation of tomorrow. The decisions that are made today will define
our future and the world we have to live in," said youth delegate,
23-year-old Anne Walraven from the
Their
climate change statement, "Listen to Our Voices: The Future Needs Strong
Vision and Leadership," comes four months before the critical climate
talks in Copenhagen in December, and just four weeks ahead of the High-Level
Summit on Climate Change convened by the UN secretary-general in September in
New York City.
The
secretary-general said, "This global youth and children gathering under
the Seal the Deal! campaign is the largest
international gathering of young people this year advocating for climate change
action. Their voices will and must be heard because they will inherit the
outcomes of our actions."
Eight
weeks of online discussions among young people across the planet shaped the
declaration that was finalized at a Global Town Hall today in Daejeon.
During
the Town Hall meeting, the hundreds of Daejeon
participants were joined by over 200 young people in 15 cities around the
world, including
"It
is very important to include the voice of children and youth in every
environmental decision. It is our request to all politicians that they please
take this statement into consideration in
The Tunza declaration calls on world leaders to, "Agree on
a more fair, just and action oriented post-Kyoto agreement adopted and
implemented by all countries."
The
young delegates support "strict laws and enforcement against those who
pollute and degrade the environment, coupled with education and incentives to
protect the environment."
They
urge world leaders to, "Develop and implement clearly defined carbon
action plans and climate response strategies, which can be monitored and
reviewed by an independent multi-national climate facility."
The
declaration calls for renewable energy, affordable energy efficient products,
fewer private cars, more public and pedestrian transport systems, mandatory
environmental education, strategic environmental conflict resolution,
sustainable food production, and green industry, as well as carbon and
ecological footprint information displayed on product labels.
The Tunaz conference delegates view themselves as
representatives of the world's three billion young people. They pledged to
stage large rallies across 100 capitals to urge global leaders to take action
on climate change under the banner of the Seal the Deal! campaign.
They
also will send a personal letter with a copy the declaration to governments in
over 100 capitals around the world. to each of the
world leaders, from U.S. President Barack Obama to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, urging them to
"Seal a meaningful Deal on climate change" at
While
in Daejeon, UNEP's Steiner
said
Under
a new partnership with the east Asian nation, UNEP has
reviewed the
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