Young people to meet Nordic climate and environment ministers

30.05.22 | News
Annika Strandhäll
Photographer
Martin Lerberg Fossum

The Swedish Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhäll.

What should be the role of the Nordic and Baltic countries in international climate work? Next week, representatives of young people from the Nordic and Baltic states will present their recommendations to the Nordic climate and environment ministers at a roundtable discussion in advance of the UN summit Stockholm+50.

Young people from the Nordic and Baltic countries will run the meeting the day before the summit.

They will present Nordic and Baltic Youth Policy Paper for Stockholm+50, which outlines young people’s recommendations and visions for international climate efforts, as well as the Baltic and Nordic regions’ responsibilities on the global stage.   

The Council of Swedish Youth Organisations (LSU) and the Swedish Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhäll, have arranged the meeting, but LSU drew up the agenda. LSU will also hold four roundtable sessions in which small groups will discuss the individual recommendations. The Nordic Council of Ministers supported the development of the Nordic-Baltic policy paper, and will be represented at the meeting by Secretary General Paula Lehtomäki.

Inviting young people to the table is a priority for the Nordic Council of Ministers

Paula Lehtomäki

Young people take the lead

“Inviting young people to the table and giving them opportunities for genuine dialogue and political influence are priorities for the Nordic Council of Ministers. This meeting is a really good example of that,” says Lehtomäki.  

Strandhäll also has high expectations for the meeting. 

“I think this is a very serious way of entering into dialogue with young people. We hold their future in our hands, so they too should have a role in developing climate policy,” the minister says.

The meeting will be held on 1 June and is not open to the public.

Youth involvement is a priority

Involving young people is a political priority for Nordic co-operation. Much of the work in this area is done by the Nordic Committee for Children and Young People (NORDBUK), which is the Nordic Council of Ministers’ advisory and coordinating body for issues and activities concerning children and young people. The various councils of ministers also coordinate a number of other activities.

Most recently, the environment and climate sector has provided financial support to the Stockholm + 50 Youth Task Force, which is responsible for facilitating youth engagement at all levels during the summit. The sector has provided financial and organisational support for establishing a network aimed at ensuring youth involvement in the development of ​a new UN biodiversity agreement. The ambition is that the various networking initiatives will ensure young people’s involvement in political processes, both in the Nordic Region and internationally, and strengthen Nordic youth networks in the long term.

Young people behind two policy papers

The recommendations in the Nordic-Baltic policy paper were drawn up in a process run by LSU, involving young people from across the Nordic and Baltic countries. This process ran in parallel to the Stockholm+50 Youth Task Force (YTF) working with a number of global youth organisations on the drafting of Global Youth Position Paper for Stockholm+50. The Nordic-Baltic policy paper should be seen as a supplement to the global document.

Official Nordic bodies are organising several events during Stockholm+50. Participate in our events either live or online, and meet researchers, youth representatives and politicians from all over the Nordic Region.