Our Climate! Our Future! Youth Dialogues for COP23

The 2015 Paris Agreement provides a basis for a worldwide transformation towards low-emission and resilient societies. However, its successful implementation depends on efforts at all levels of governance which can only be achieved with public participation. Youth perspectives are crucial as their lives are especially affected by climate policy success and failures. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) invited young people between the ages of 16 and 25 to a climate change dialogue in the run-up to COP23, which will take place in Bonn under the Presidency of Fiji.

During dialogue events on 29 September 2017 in Bochum, Eberswalde, and Nuremberg, about 250 young people met to discuss climate issues. A delegation of participants and the project team jointly create a youth report with perspectives and recommendations in order to enrich climate policy in Germany with the vision of a younger generation. Furthermore, the delegation helps raise awareness of youth views among climate practitioners and decision-makers at the international climate conference (COP23) in Bonn.

The nexus Institute implements the project "Our Climate! Our Future!" together with zebralog, adelphi and Missions Publique. adelphi provides climate expertise for the process by elaborating the thematic concept and offering expert inputs during the dialogue events.