"Having lived in weather event-prone areas all my life, climate change is something our generation is going to live with for the rest of our lives. We are the “now” that needs to be part of the conversations and decisions surrounding this issue."
AUCKLAND, 16 September – Youth from across Aotearoa New Zealand will meet in the country’s largest city Auckland for Aotearoa Youth COP 2026 this weekend to focus on climate action ahead of an annual global climate summit, Save the Children said.
The COP31 Climate Summit focuses on turning Paris Agreement commitments into practical delivery and is scheduled to take place from 9-20 November in Türkiye with Australia leading formal negotiations. [1]
The Youth COP, hosted by Save the Children New Zealand as part of its Generation Hope youth programme, will bring together rangatahi - the te reo Māori word for young people [2] aged 14 to 20 - to learn more about climate change, connect with other young people, and explore how they can help shape the decisions affecting their future.
Generation Hope Ambassador Betty, 18, said the Youth COP will give young people an important opportunity to connect with others who care about climate action.
"Having lived in weather event-prone areas all my life, climate change is something our generation is going to live with for the rest of our lives. We are the “now” that needs to be part of the conversations and decisions surrounding this issue.
"Youth COP is a platform to turn our concerns about climate issues into practical action along with other young people."
This year’s Youth COP event will feature workshops covering different areas of climate action, guest speakers and a range of stalls where participants can learn more about organisations and opportunities to get involved.
Throughout the day, young people will be encouraged to share their own experiences while building their knowledge and developing skills in leadership, communication and advocacy to support their climate priorities.
A key focus of the weekend event will be the development of an Aotearoa Youth Climate Statement which will bring together the views and recommendations of young people taking part.
The statement will reflect the climate issues young people in New Zealand want leaders to prioritise and will be formally handed over to the New Zealand Government ahead of COP31 in Türkiye, helping ensure young people’s perspectives are part of wider climate discussions.
Matilde Angeltveit, Senior Advisor and Global Climate Advocacy Lead, Save the Children, said:
“We must put children who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis at the heart of decisions about the climate crisis and all governments need to start listening to children and what they have to say about the climate crisis now. There is no tomorrow for children or for anyone without world leadership that seriously puts into place solid climate solutions.
“While we’ve seen progress over several COPs there still hasn’t been a collective, binding decision that helps empower children and COP 31 must change that.
“What’s more, high-income countries and historical emitters must provide high-quality climate finance to lower-income countries, grounded in the principles of climate justice and child rights so that lower-income countries can be supported to pursue climate and development action.”
Save the Children is also calling for the urgent and equitable phase-out of both the production and consumption of fossil fuels.
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