Declaration of Mock COP26 - We, the delegates of the youth-led Mock COP26, drawn from 140 countries of the world, meeting between 19 November 2020 and 1 December 2020, consider that:
1.a. Governments around the world are failing to meet their legal and moral obligations to tackle the climate and ecological crisis, despite the increasing urgency and projected scale of the crisis;....
Unbelievably, despite Government and councils across the UK declaring a Climate Emergency and pledging to decrease CO2 levels, West Cumbria council has approved the mining of coal at Woodhouse colliery near Whitehaven, the first deep coal mine in England for 30 years.
There has been considerable opposition to this, led by many local campaign groups and individuals including 16 year old Isabella Bridgeman. Isabella played a big part in gathering support and protesting against this mining project. She targeted members of the council and encouraged the local community to respond to the public consultation. Their fight is ongoing and awaits a final decision. Friends of the Earth (FoE) explain how this project “will release an extraordinary volume of greenhouse gas emissions over its 50 year lifespan”. FoE are highlighting the issue of new mining developments. Another, in Druridge Bay, has been rejected. Government Minister Robert Jenrick refused planning permission then as "not environmentally acceptable".
Read more: Young Climate Activist Isabella Bridgeman and others
There is a lot of debate around how much we should tell children about climate change. Some people think that if they know too much it will steal their childhood. However a recent survey of child psychiatrists discovered that nearly half their patients were anxious about climate change.
The problem is that if we don’t teach children about the issues facing our planet they will still hear about them anyway. From the news, overheard conversations, at school in the playground, etc. Finding out like this, very often out of context, can be very stressful and make children even more fearful. And children NEED to know about climate change. It is their future at stake.
When asked, nearly 70% of children said they wanted to learn more about climate change at school. The problem is that many schools are not doing this, with the majority of teachers saying they are not equipped with the skills to deliver it, as it is such a sensitive subject in many ways. There is obviously a need for training and development here. When children do receive good education on climate change, they are often the ones who go home and tell their parents and in turn begin to change the way their families live. There are lots of examples of youngsters doing just this. If children have the knowledge it empowers them to take action.
Read more: Helping Children and Young People Deal with Eco-anxiety
Many of you will remember the fires we experienced here in the Staffordshire Moorlands a couple of years ago. Frightening and destructive though they were, they could not compare to the extensive fires experienced across Australia, and parts of Europe which devastated thousands of miles across these countries. Portugal has recently been badly hit by fires with smoke and temperatures reaching unbearable levels.
Six young people, who have lived through these record breaking heatwaves and unprecedented forest fires in their country, have experienced the deadly consequences that climate change has already brought. They, with the help of Youth for Climate Justice and Global Action Legal Network are taking thirty three European countries to Court. These young activists are:-