The role of Arab youth in COP27

The Climate Change Conference is the official meeting of the parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to assess the progress made in confronting climate change. The conference was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 6-18 November. The conference gatherers more than 196 countries, as well as the presidents and leaders of these countries. The conference aims at several goals:

Mitigation : It refers to how countries work to reduce their carbon emissions.
Adaption : Adapting to climate change and helping others to do so.
Financing the climate through which they face the losses and damages due to climate change

The participation of Arab youth in the Climate Conference (COP27) is minimal, which was reflected in their active role in the negotiations and other events during the conference. However, there was a participation and presence of Arab youth during the seventeenth youth conference COY 17, which was held between 3-6 November, that is, before the COP 27 starts.

The presence of Arab youth in the Climate Conference was not as required, because of the lack of support by Arab governments for the youth except three Arab governments, as the expenses of attending, participating, and playing an important role by youth cost sums of money that Arab youth cannot cover.

On the other hand, youth organizations and networks and civil society played a pivotal role in supporting the participation of Arab youth in the Climate Conference from various Arab countries. For example, the Arab Youth Sustainable Development Network supported many Arab youth to participate in the conference. (The role of Arab youth in climate action) by hosting Arab youth from Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Morocco, to talk about their effective role in climate action and their previous experiences, and how to mobilize and support the participation of Arab youth in climate action, as the young speakers emphasized the existence of a challenge confronts the Arab youth, which is the Arab governments’ neglect of the support and participation of the youth.

On the other hand, the youth called on the Arab countries and the State League to take advantage of the opportunities to hold the next COP28 climate conference in the Emirates, support and empower the youth to play their leadership roles, support them as climate negotiators, and involve them in the negotiations and in the meetings of the Arab group that take place daily during the climate conference. There was a prominent interaction from all groups of youth with different nationalities, and the necessity of activating the role of civil society institutions as well as activating the role of youth in their societies was emphasized.

Arab and other youth from different part of the world participating in the conference held a meeting with Shamma Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Youth Affairs – the United Arab Emirates. They urged the UAE to adopt the support and participation of Arab youth in the next conference, as she stated that the UAE will work to support Arab youth to have prominent role in COP28 climate conference.

As an expert and participant in climate conferences, I can say that there is an immense lack of participation of Arab youth in the COP negotiations compared to other regions of the world. On average, 10-30 youth from the MENA region attended previous COPs, with the exception of COP18 and COP22, which were held in Qatar and Morocco, respectively.

There are many reasons for the lack of participation and involvement of Arab youth in the international climate arena, such as lack of financial support from Arab governments, lack of advocacy and awareness of the importance of climate change, lack of youth participation in climate change mitigation and adaptation programs at the national level, as well as low rates of unemployment and conflict, which forces regional youth to focus on their daily needs rather than combating climate change.

Every year, YOUNGO, which is the official youth constituency for youth and children under the umbrella of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), organizes the Youth Forum for Climate Action (ACE) that brings together young delegates to give a chance to share best practices of empowerment for climate action, challenges and partnership opportunities according to Article 12 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Article 6 of the agreement by defining six elements to achieve the goals of empowerment and participation: education, training, public access to information, public awareness, public participation, and international cooperation on climate action. Collectively, these six are referred to as “Action for Climate Empowerment” – or “ACE”.

Many Arab youth were unable to participate in COP27 climate conference, because the official accreditation process for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through accredited NGOs does not allow everyone to participate. Meanwhile, some accredited youth organizations in the Middle East and North Africa region have been restricted to a small number of people under the quota set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sometimes allows only two people to participate, thus limiting the possibility of youth participation in the COP.

One of the most important reasons for the non-participation of Arab youth is the limited access to opportunities.

Their levels of civic participation are among the lowest in the world due to the fact that governments often banning public protests, even when they are peaceful. So few go to the streets and that media coverage, reporting, and attention are limited when it comes to climate.

In the end, despite these challenges, we found that the role and participation of Arab youth in COP27 is still limited due to the lack of support from Arab governments and encouraging youth to attend and participate actively in the climate conference as well as to work on capacity building to combat climate change in their country.

As the Middle East and North Africa region prepares to experience devastating climate impacts that could exacerbate existing tensions, it is fundamental to work to engage youth, and support Arab youth organizations to help them advocate for climate change in the Arab countries and support Arab youth by participating and playing an important role in the next climate conference that will be held in the region. As a result, youth will be able to work for the climate, which will be reflected through active participation in the development of programs and policies to mitigate the effects of climate change in their countries.