Institute of Development Studies

Children Voice their Views at Bali Climate Conference (COP13)

IDS at the Bali Climate Conference (COP13)

Joanna Glyde – 10 December 2007

A group of young environmental campaigners from the UK, Sweden, Indonesia and the Philippines is in Bali to lobby world leaders at the UN climate change conference. They represent a new international research programme called Children in a Changing Climate (CCC), of which IDS is lead partner.

The four teenagers, all winners of national competitions, are hoping to raise awareness of how climate change and other environmental issues are affecting their lives and call for action from political leaders to prevent future catastrophe. The children are in Bali claiming their right to a voice within these negotiations.

‘Children need to have a voice in the fight against global warming and we can do much to help educate our community’ says Hezel Candelario, 15, from Masbate Island in the Philippines. A youth leader and head of a local youth organisation (PAYCO), Hezel and her colleagues are campaigning against the pollution, illegal fishing and pesticide use which are harming the environment in Masbate.

The four young people will be calling on their country delegates to listen to the views of children and prioritise negotiating for their needs – given that today’s children are the ones who face the consequences of decisions made during this conference and beyond.

’The decisions made in Bali will affect me more than those actually making the decisions,’ says Hanna Sundwall, 16, from Stockholm in Sweden. A green campaigner in her home country, Hanna wants politicians to give young people a chance to influence the climate debate.

‘Seeing how other countries plan to include the voices of children and young people in their plans to tackle climate change will be exciting,’ says Thomas Bielby, 16, from Middlesborough. and a member of the National Children’s Bureau (NCB). He won the NCB’s climate change competition with his DVD on climate change and how adults, schools, young people and the government can all work together to fight it.

All the children have been involved in projects in their own countries, designed to raise awareness, and do something practical to cope with climate change.

Eni Andri Yani, 17, is a student at Sudirman Kedung Jati Senior High School in central Java, Indonesia. She has carried out research into illegal logging that has caused massive destruction of the local tropical rain forest. ‘Deforestation has led to landslides and affected the water supply. We have to learn to respect and care for our environment before it is too late.’

‘We can help prepare for the uncertainty of tomorrow by getting today’s young people engaged in understanding the risks and using their voices to influence others,’ says Tom Mitchell, research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies. ’Our research shows that children have a unique perspective on the challenges posed by climate change. The decisions made in Bali on providing financial assistance to developing countries to adapt to climate change will be vital given the impacts climate change is likely to have on the futures of children across the developing world.’

The visit represents the first stage to enabling children and young people to claim their right to a voice within the climate change negotiations in the build up to the crucial Copenhagen climate conference in 2009.

Joanna Glyde is a Communication Officer at the Institute of Development Studies