Are you a young person who is passionate about the environment? Yes? Then have your say on the UN agreement on biodiversity!

For many people the IPBES report of May 2019 was a wake-up call. It showed that out of the planet’s eight million species of animals and plants, one million are at risk of extinction.

The reason for this is that humans are over-exploiting land and sea, creating pollution, and changing the climate.

The climate and biodiversity crises are acute. They are closely intertwined and must be addressed at the same time.

The Nordic countries have decided to support young people’s passion for the environment and to listen to their demands.

Nordic co-operation offers young people in the Nordic Region the resources, tools, venues, political dialogue, and opportunity to convey their recommendations to the Nordic governments for international negotiations on biodiversity.

In 2020 and 2021, negotiations are underway on a global agreement as part of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The final negotiations, which were to be held in Kunming, China in October 2020, have been deferred until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, preparations are continuing. 

There are several opportunities for young people in the Nordic Region to have their say on the new global agreement.

You can join forces with others and voice your demands to politicians in your country. You can also take part in a Nordic process in which young people come together across national borders to agree on joint recommendations and messages for negotiators.

When the countries of the world meet in 2021 to finalise the agreement that will put a stop to the loss of species and ecosystems, a Nordic youth delegation will have a seat at the negotiating table.

The youth delegation, with representatives from all the Nordic countries, will have the opportunity to present their recommendations to negotiators during a sitting meeting.

The key message of the youth delegation to negotiators is being formulated during 2020 and the spring of 2021 through a series of meetings around the Nordic Region.

Thanks to the support of Nordic co-operation, young people have convened for meetings in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Tórshavn and Stockholm in January, Reykjavik in February, Nuuk in September, and Kautokeino in December.

At the meetings, participants have taken a stand on a number of key issues ahead of the global agreement on biodiversity.

At the same time, young people from up and down the region will take part in digital demonstrations, meetings, and webinars, as well as write debate articles.

A Nordic subdivision of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network has been formed with the aim of mobilising more young people so that they can influence the updated agreement.

In advance of the UN negotiations, young people from across the Nordic Region must try to agree on common demands for the negotiators – a Nordic youth contribution in the form of a “position paper”.  

The movement is in full swing and your help is needed!

A Nordic Youth Biodiversity Summit was due to take place at UN City in Copenhagen on 28 and 29 March 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has also seen the postponement until 2021 of the COP14 meeting of all 196 signatory countries, which was due to take place in October in Kunming, China.

Nordic young people will instead develop their contribution to the negotiations by way of a digital process in the spring of 2021.

This process will consist of a survey of young Nordic people’s attitudes towards biodiversity, the designing of a draft, a consultation round involving youth organisations, and a digital town hall that will be open to everyone and where the draft will be reworked into a final “position paper”.

This will then be communicated to the UN system and the Nordic governments.

Get involved and take part in discussions on social media using the hashtags #biodiversity2020 and #naturecrisis 

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO ACT:

In the meantime, you can prepare by building up your knowledge and discussing your thoughts with others.

Nordic co-operation has produced ten facts about biodiversity in the Nordic Region which show how the ecological crisis is affecting the region and how this is linked to our living habits and consumption.

You can use these facts as a basis for debate and political dialogue. They’re available in English and five Nordic languages.

A toolkit for knowledge and influence has been developed by Nordic co-operation to help young people take part in the process.

The material summarises the latest research and contains a number of key issues that are of significance to the new global agreement on biodiversity.

The toolkit also contains a manual for workshops as well as an opportunity to submit views and messages for the negotiations. The toolkit has been developed in co-operation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). 

The toolkit is available to everyone free of charge, in English and all the Nordic languages.