Global Clean Energy Action Forum:

• Meredith Adler, and SevenGen Council members Mihskakwan James Harper and Serena Mendizabal met with The Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister for Natural Resources Canada, to discuss youth-led action on clean energy in Canada, and to recognize the announcement of the Government of Canada’s $5.3M contribution to promote youth participation in the clean energy sector.
• Student Energy hosted an official side event at the GCEAF, “Mobilizing Youth for a Just Transition”, moderated by Shakti Ramkumar and featuring speakers Serena Mendizabal (SevenGen), Isabella Pfoser (Austrian Youth Climate Council), Yasemin Yavari (Danish Youth Climate Council), and Efrem Bycer (LinkedIn).

• Shakti moderated the final panel at the Creating the Energy Futures Forum Closing Plenary, featuring youth clean energy researchers and advocates who outlined technologies they are eager to see scale in the near future.
• Student Energy participated in a special side event, “From blindspot to hotspot”, with Shakti moderating audience engagement for a session on sustainable cooling organized by the Government of India, UNEP, Mission Innovation, the Cool Coalition, and Clean Cooling Collaborative, and featuring special guest Secretary John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, USA.

In addition to these events, we were thrilled to meet youth delegates from around the world who participated in the GCEAF.

New York Climate Week:

• We participated in a Youth Movement Building & Climate Justice Re-Granters meeting alongside climate justice activists and re-granting/funding organizations to explore the critical resourcing needs of youth climate justice activists
• Helen spoke at the UN Global Compact Private Sector Forum, alongside Ester Baiget, CEO of Novozymes, H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, President of IUCN, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Rebecca Miano, CEO of Kenya Electricity Generating Company

• Shakti attended the inaugural Youth Climate Leaders Luncheon, co-hosted by Ahmed Badr and Louise Mabulo, in partnership with We Are Family Foundation, SAP, Narratio, The Cacao Project, and Connect4Climate

In addition to these events, Helen and Shakti also participated in the Hub Live event, the Nest Summit, the Climate Forward Summit by the New York Times, and met with Student Energy’s alums and partners throughout the week during New York Climate Week.

The vision of the Global Youth Energy Outlook is to provide young people and decision-makers with a data-backed tool to work together toward a decarbonized energy system.

The Founding Partners act as important advisors to the GYEO’s youth leadership team, sharing best practices and insights on the Outlook’s methodology, two-phase research process, and communications strategy. Our partnerships with DNV and LeadIT are built from a shared goal of advancing intergenerational collaboration between young people and established leaders in government and the energy sector.

DNV

DNV is an independent expert in assurance and risk management, with expertise as a recognized advisor for the maritime industry, a technical advisor to the energy industry, and a provider of testing, certification, and advisory services to the full energy value chain. DNV has just released its latest Energy Transition Outlook (ETO), an independent model-based forecast of the world’s most likely energy future through to 2050. The ETO assesses industry sentiment, confidence, and priorities and outlines the emerging risks and opportunities of accelerating the transition to a low-carbon energy system.

“DNV forecasts a rapid energy transition unfolding in the space of a single generation from now. Young people today are therefore deeply invested in the future of the energy system and its impact on the planet. Through Student Energy the coming generation is not only justifiably requesting a representative seat at key decision-making tables but intend to also contribute with the latest science- and data-based thinking,” says Remi Eriksen, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of DNV. “That is why DNV, with our vision to be a trusted voice to tackle global transformations, is a proud founding partner of and scientific advisor to this important global movement.”

DNV is acting as an expert advisor to Student Energy throughout the methodology, research, and analysis phases of the Global Youth Energy Outlook. Student Energy will also engage DNV to support the development of a communications strategy to raise the profile of the project during and after the report’s launch.

LeadIT

The Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) is an initiative launched by the Governments of Sweden and India with support from the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the UN Secretary General’s 2019 Climate Action Summit in New York.  LeadIT gathers countries and companies that are committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions from industry by 2050 by providing public policy support, sharing know-how, carrying out analysis, and facilitating public-private collaboration. The LeadIT Secretariat is hosted by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

“The collaborative efforts of LeadIT focus on ensuring industry sectors contribute to a green, inclusive and resilient future. We are supporting the Outlook as a Founding Partner because it is a great opportunity to give young people a voice in the debate on how to transition our industries, economies and societies,” says GökVe Mete, Head of Secretariat for the Leadership Group of Industry Transition. “In particular, the Global Youth Energy Outlook will give us a clear indication of the changes that the industrial workforce of tomorrow wants and expects from industry today.”

Industry accounts for roughly 30% of global CO2 emissions. Recognizing that transitioning this sector will be a crucial part of the global energy transition, Student Energy is partnering with LeadIT to facilitate a series of Regional Dialogues focused on industry transition. Young people’s insights from these dialogues will act as a basis for key recommendations for the Industry Transition section of the Outlook, and will feed into input for the Minister’s High-level Dialogue at COP26 in Glasgow. At COP26, Student Energy has a series of engagement activities planned to launch the Global Youth Energy Outlook, and will collaborate with the Government of Sweden and the Government of India to highlight relevant findings from youth in both regions.