This February, Student Energy was delighted to represent our Theory of Change at GLOBEForum 24 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Between the 13th and 15th of the month, hundreds of climate-conscious change makers converged to forge new connections, strengthen existing bonds, and provide a space for keen intergenerational engagement on key climate issues.

This year’s forum theme was “The Future is Regenerative,” exemplifying the event’s commitment to youth empowerment and sustainability. GLOBE Series operates as part of Profoundry, a collective of like-minded sustainability and climate experts dedicated to helping organizations create positive sustainable change. The group, including Delphi, CBSR, and Leading Change, is collectively focused on achieving its vision: a more sustainable, prosperous, socially just future within a generation.

In GLOBE’s own words:

The world is rising to meet the immense social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time, and there are more opportunities to create value in the clean economy than ever before. It is no longer enough to simply reduce our environmental impact or repair the damage that has already been done.

We need to rethink what’s possible, reimagine our economy, and reach beyond sustainability to regeneration.

Student Energy was fortunate to have several members of our team in attendance: Danii Kehler representing SevenGen, Julie Boyce representing Student Energy Career Training, and Piper Stump representing our global Chapters program! Piper was eager to share her reflections and takeaways from her participation in GLOBEForum24 with the Student Energy community.

Left to right: Piper Stump, Danii Kehler, Julie Boyce.

Piper’s Key Takeaways

This past week I attended LCForum24 and GLOBEForum as one of over 120 young sustainability leaders in Leading Change’s 2024 delegation! 

This conference was an incredible opportunity to connect intergenerationally with sustainability leaders across Canada on key issues that we as a nation face such as achieving net-zero targets, building a regenerative future, and the importance of intersectional, equitable, and diverse inclusion. A few of my favorite takeaways from my time at the GLOBEForum include:

• Pattie Gonia’s not only inspiring message to use nature as a mentor in business and in leading us to a regenerative future (“nature’s leadership is circular”), but also by kicking the conference off with a brilliantly rain-themed drag performance (perhaps the most epic start to any conference I will ever attend?).

• Both Maya Colombani and Jane McDonald’s insight into corporate sustainability and the importance of transparent and humble communication of sustainability impact and goals within the private sector. Following the discussion of “greenhushing,” Maya spoke on the “right to fail”, and how publicly acknowledging missed targets is a crucial step in achieving sustainability targets. 

• Lastly, Kat Cadungog’s closing message, urging organizations to take imminent action was especially empowering. She called for groups to be willing to learn from mistakes and contribute meaningfully to our economy and communities by putting plans in action tomorrow. Taking incremental steps everyday is imperative to achieving our 2030 and 2050 climate and net zero goals. 

Piper and Pattie, The Canada Cleantech Leadership Pitch Panel, and Annabelle Liao of G7 Research Group with Julie Boyce.

There were so many takeaways from this event and I am having a hard time expressing only a few but I truly appreciate the authentic intergenerational collaboration facilitated by GLOBE and Leading Change and am delighted to have had this opportunity to meet so many wonderful changemakers from across the country. 

I will leave you with these absolutely fundamental quotes from Pattie Gonia:

 “That commitment to bridging differences leads to innovation and momentum that enables the climate and #sustainability movement to go forward, and really speaks to the importance of embedding that diversity as a core value of this movement.”

“Everyone has heard the phrase, this team is operating like a well-oiled machine – but how different does it feel to say, this team is thriving like a well-nurtured meadow?”

More to come…

Stay tuned, because we have more to share! Coming later this month, Julie Boyce, the Program Manager for Student Energy Career Training will share her insights on the GLOBEForum’s unique position as an intergenerational space for discussion and youth empowerment, as well as her noted areas of growth and opportunity for similar events in the future!

“Clean Cooking is a youth issue. 90% of the world’s youth live in regions with the lowest access to clean cooking. This disproportionately impacts youth education, employment, and health.” – Katja Lasseur, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana, at the Forum’s Opening Plenary

Youth are taking action – as entrepreneurs, activists, researchers, and more – to raise awareness and improve access to clean cooking solutions in their communities and countries, but often lack reliable access to youth-inclusive opportunities to participate as equitable stakeholders across the clean cooking ecosystem.

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

First-ever youth delegation at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

In October 2022, The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) partnered with Student Energy to support a delegation of 20 global youth to participate in the Clean Cooking Forum in Accra, Ghana.  

The Clean Cooking Forum is the sector’s flagship event, convening leading policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, donors, and other key partners working towards achieving clean cooking for all and accelerating progress toward global development and climate goals. The addition of a youth delegation to the Forum recognizes and celebrates the vital role of youth in realizing these ambitions.

The delegation included 20 diverse participants from 14 countries, identified through Student Energy and CCA’s youth networks.  Delegates from across Sub-Saharan Africa, where the lack of clean cooking is particularly pronounced,  made up 70% of the youth delegation, and more than 50% of delegates were women, acknowledging the gender equity dimensions of the issue.

Delegates not only had the opportunity to attend the Forum plenary and breakout sessions, innovation expo, and networking receptions, but many of the youth delegates participated as speakers, moderators, and exhibitors throughout the three-day event.  For example, the session, “Changemakers of Today: Youth Advancing Sustainable Action,” featured a panel of six young entrepreneurs and innovators discussing how they are tackling clean cooking challenges and the support youth need to scale their efforts.

“From where I stand, clean cooking is not just about food. It transcends the goings-on confined to the kitchen and spills into health, gender equality, economic gains and sustainable societies.”- Cherop Soy, Ecowarrior Kenya and Youth Delegate at the 2022 Clean Cooking Forum

Student Energy supported delegates with preparatory and interactive webinars focused on presentation and networking skills, and provided on-site support and a post-event debrief. Delegates were able to share their expertise through speaking engagements, engage in discussions about youth involvement in decision-making, and help spread the forum’s key messaging by taking on communication roles. The active involvement of young people at the forum led to greater ambition from stakeholders in collaborating with them on clean cooking initiatives.

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

Intergenerational Roundtable on Youth Engagement in Clean Cooking

On the final day of the Clean Cooking Forum, an Intergenerational Roundtable on Youth Engagement in Clean Cooking brought together eminent senior leaders from the clean cooking sector to engage in dialogue with the youth delegation and other youth attending the Forum. The Roundtable was designed to showcase the emerging talent of young changemakers to participate in clean cooking transitions, understand the challenges young people are encountering in the sector, and discuss how senior leaders can support youth-led change and create an enabling and inclusive environment for youth to acquire, develop and utilize their skills.

More than 15 youth participants were joined by senior leaders, including H.E. Samira Bauwmia, Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of Clean Cooking Alliance; Sheila Oparaocha, Director of the ENERGIA Network; and Mohan Das Manandhar, Chairperson at Sustainable Prosperity Initiative Nepal, in an interactive discussion facilitated by Jaff Marilyn Bongmo, a youth delegate from Cameroon. 

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

The lively dialogue explored why inclusive youth participation is vital for achieving universal access to clean cooking and the challenges youth currently face in having their voices heard, getting a seat at decision-making tables, and accessing opportunities for meaningful engagement.  

Participants discussed a variety of ways to increase intergenerational collaboration, empower youth leaders, and support education and capacity-building activities in the clean cooking sector.

“Clean Cooking is a youth issue. First and foremost young people need to be creative participants and at the center of solutions. Young people also benefit from clean cooking from access to health, education and employment opportunities.” – Helen Watts, Executive Director of Student Energy

Youth Delegation Calls to Action

Following the Forum, the Youth Delegation developed the following calls to action, which focus both on what youth themselves can do to effectively self-organize and increase momentum behind this cause, and what organizations and decision-makers should do to ensure that youth are meaningfully included across the clean cooking ecosystem:

1. Stakeholders in the clean cooking sector should proactively work to ensure that youth are equally represented at the table and have their core needs met, in able to meaningfully participate. 
2. Capacity building for youth does not end with providing skills training. Youth must also be provided with industry opportunities to use these skills and connect them to the market.
3. Stakeholders across the clean cooking ecosystem must recognize and work to remove barriers that limit the participation of youth, women, and marginalized communities, actively creating incentives and opportunities for inclusive engagement, training, and employment in the clean cooking sector.
4. Established leaders in the clean cooking sector should leverage the power of youth as changemakers and innovators: this can be particularly valuable in the form of mentorship, which is a two-way learning process.
5. There is no one way to contribute to clean cooking. Young people should seek actionable ways to participate in clean cooking, leaning into their unique skills and expertise – as entrepreneurs, engineers, storytellers, artists, and beyond.
6. Young people should collaborate to form a unified effort, which requires working at a grassroots level with students and other youth and being ready to present clearly defined, data-driven asks when they have seats at the decision-making table or a chance to speak directly with established leaders. 

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

Youth Insights Feature: Check out youth delegate Cherop Soy’s blog post “What Clean Cooking Isn’t” for more insights gathered by young people at the forum on clean cooking.

Conclusion: Clean cooking is a youth issue

The Clean Cooking Forum 2022, placed young changemakers at the forefront of the clean cooking dialogue, with youth and senior leaders aligned on the urgent need for action and the essential role young people will play in achieving universal access. 

“The places where the biggest gaps on clean cooking have the highest youth populations. Youth are on the ground and have the knowledge to bring”. –Akil Callendar, Youth Specialist at Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), at the Forum’s Youth Closing Plenary

CCA continues to recognize the vital role of youth in achieving universal access to clean cooking and has recently undertaken a youth consultation process and interactive webinar to inform its forthcoming youth engagement strategy.  

Student Energy is excited to continue working with CCA in 2023 and beyond in expanding the youth engagement agenda in clean cooking. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements and activities to help youth act and lead on clean cooking in their countries and communities.

About Clean Cooking Alliance

Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) works with a global network of partners to build an inclusive industry that makes clean cooking accessible to the three billion people who live each day without it. Established in 2010, CCA is driving consumer demand, mobilizing investment to build a pipeline of scalable businesses, and fostering an enabling environment that allows the sector to thrive.

Clean cooking transforms lives by improving health, protecting the climate and the environment, empowering women, and helping consumers save time and money.

About Student Energy

Student Energy is a global youth-led organization empowering young people to accelerate the sustainable energy transition through a variety of initiatives, including university-based Chapters, a digital Energy System Map that has reached over 13 million views, and the largest student-led energy conference in the world. Student Energy works with a network of 50,000 young people from over 120 countries to build the knowledge, skills, and networks they need to take action on energy.

Links to donate, petitions, and anti-racism resource guides can be found at the bottom of this post.

The widespread activism and collective organizing in the United States, Canada, and now globally over the past several days has brought racial injustice to the forefront of digital media and discourse. This movement is not new: Black activists and organizations, particularly young people, have been organizing for decades to dismantle and rebuild inherently racist and unjust legal, educational, and governance systems that give rise to police brutality and state violence. However, this moment calls for all organizations regardless of sector to learn, support and amplify movements led by Black activists, and to encourage their network to do the same.

While systemic racism and police violence in the United States may dominate news media coverage, we cannot ignore that systemic racism and state violence are prevalent in Canada as well. Ongoing violence against Black and Indigenous communities in Canada is something we must address even after this moment, even in spaces or situations where it may not be comfortable to do so.

In the energy industry and in the energy and climate advocacy space, there is an underlying, and often unnamed issue: While some organizations do advocate for justice and equity as an integral part of a sustainable energy future, there are countless others whose advocacy is limited only to technological and policy solutions to reduce emissions and achieve economic growth. These incomplete approaches aim to address the climate crisis without explicitly addressing the systemic racism and injustice present in the energy system, in the climate crisis, and in the environmental movement. As Student Energy’s vision is to empower young people to create an energy future that is both sustainable and equitable, it’s extremely important to start this conversation with our fellow organizations in the energy space.

Student Energy’s Theory of Change outlines our values as an organization, and these values are centered on listening to and empowering young people and embedding equity and climate justice as an integral part of the energy transition. Recognizing that we are often in spaces where we are one of few youth-led organizations represented, raising critical questions on justice and equity in relation to the energy transition and climate change is an important part of our daily work. Here are some immediate and long-term actions we are taking as an organization to ensure that we are also explicitly incorporating anti-racist principles and advocacy to the work that we do:

• We are researching and developing a framework to embed anti-racism and equity into how we design and collaborate on programs with our partners. This framework will serve to increase the accessibility of our programs to BIPOC youth, resourcing for BIPOC youth-led sustainable energy initiatives, and support youth-led work with direct impacts on human rights in energy such as universal access, health and safety, energy in disaster responses, anti-discrimination in energy, community and Indigenous rights, and the relationship between conflict and energy.

• We will be adding additional anti-racism resources to our Communicating Justice and Equity in the Energy Transition training that is a part of staff onboarding. This resource is an introduction to the concepts of energy and climate justice, and explores historical and ongoing inequity across all aspects of the global energy system. For a condensed introduction to energy justice, including a case study of anti-Blackness in the energy system, please see our social media resource here.

• The impacts of climate change, the economic downturn, and the long-term effects of COVID-19 will be disproportionately felt by BIPOC communities. As we are an organization based in Canada, we will be advocating for Canada’s climate plans and COVID-19 recovery efforts to address systemic racial and economic inequity and include plans on how the future clean economy will not just be sustainable, but equitable.

Read more about what it means to have a just recovery from COVID-19 here.

• We will continue to seek out, work with, compensate and recommend Black-led organizations, speakers, and service providers.
• We will hold space in the workplace far beyond the next several weeks to continue to learn together about what anti-racist advocacy looks like for Student Energy, for the global climate movement, and for our team as individuals.

Finally, we want to emphasize that Student Energy’s conversations on equity and anti-racism in the climate and energy space will continue well beyond this current moment. We are committed to ongoing learning as an organization, and taking action to address anti-Black, anti-Indigenous and other forms of racism in the climate and energy space. We are committed to addressing economic and power inequities for young people globally and at an intersectional level, whether that means reducing barriers to access leadership-development and educational opportunities, accessing decision-making spaces, or being better equipped to implement appropriate climate solutions for their communities.

—

If you are able to, one effective way to take action no matter where you are is by donating to support directly affected individuals, community organizations, and frontline organizers. On Instagram, we shared links to donate to the following organizations and fundraisers that are seeking donations at this time:

•       Black Lives Matter
•       NAACP Legal Defense Fund
•       Black Visions Collective
•       Reclaim the Block
•       Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
•       Justice for Regis GoFundMe

Please see the following lists for more organizations to support and ways to take action – these are continuously updated:

•       Support funds, anti-racism resource guides, petitions and ways to take action (includes Canada-focused actions)
•       Support bail funds and organizers
•       Support harmed Black-owned businesses

• What are the biggest obstacles to moving away from a fossil fuel-dependent energy system and achieving net zero emissions by 2050?
• Where do we stand now on the global energy transition?
• What skills should young people develop for their careers?
• What issues need more attention?

These are some of the questions we dove into on our webinar with Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University and formerly the CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. We’ve summarized some of our key learnings:

We’re not on track to meeting the goals of SDG7 by 2030. Here’s why:

840 million people still lack access to energy. This itself is likely an underestimate of the actual number, as it is self-reported by governments that have an incentive to show that more progress has been made than has actually taken place. In addition to those without energy, there are a billion more without access to reliable, affordable energy. Most of these communities are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia, so there is a real geopolitical risk of large parts of the world being left behind, as access to energy is critical for alleviating poverty, improving education and healthcare outcomes, and providing a foundation for economic development.

Energy demand is predicted to rise enormously, both due to rising income, and increased demands for heating and cooling in many parts of the world. As the climate crisis gives rise to record summer temperatures, thermal comfort will become a significant public health issue, and demand for air conditioning will rise. With over 80% of the world’s energy still supplied by fossil fuels, rising energy demand will also lead to rising emissions.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the clean energy transition.

Despite the sobering statistics on energy access and rising emissions, there is still meaningful progress being made, and more and more opportunities for young people to guide the transition to a just and sustainable energy future.

 The price of renewable energy continues to drop steeply, contributing to positive developments for electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and other emissions-intensive sectors.

While many governments continue to show weak political leadership, there are some promising signs: there is an increasing amount of ‘South-South’ finance mobilized towards decentralized energy infrastructure (for example, Indian investment in mini-grids across the Sahel), demonstrating an alternative to the risk-averse approach of development assistance from the Global North.

For young people who are driven to transform the energy system, there is an entirely new generation of energy jobs on the horizon. We’ll need public policy that embraces the need to build green infrastructure at the speed and scale needed to tackle climate change, and we’ll need a completely different systems analysis, encompassing centralized and decentralized energy, modern renewables, buildings and vehicles that store and give back power, and energy produced and consumed across political boundaries.

 We need an urgent shift to integrated energy planning.

It used to be that bringing energy to communities meant extending the central grid, but it is clear now that this is not the most effective solution in many cases. Many of those without energy access are living on the peripheries of fast-urbanizing cities with grids ill-equipped to handle an increasing electric load, and others are in rural and remote areas where extending the grid would be an expensive, resource-intensive undertaking. Still others might have access to a grid, but may not be able to afford to connect to it. For these reasons, integrated energy planning – figuring out where the grid should be the provider of power, and where it should be supplemented with off-grid and decentralized energy sources – should be prioritized by decision-makers, and young people seeking careers in the energy sector.

Integrated energy planning extends beyond cities and peri-urban areas, and might include trans-national and trans-continental energy planning. Problems with renewable energy and green infrastructure availability can in some cases be solved by working collaboratively across multiple jurisdictions, yet the energy security debate often limits this type of collaboration.

Decentralized energy empowers communities (particularly women within those communities), but it is a potential challenge to the political status quo.

Decentralized energy comes with many other benefits aside from providing energy access. It empowers communities to develop, own and govern energy infrastructure that is appropriate for their needs. Women tend to disproportionately bear the effects of energy poverty, from missing out on income-generating opportunities due to time spent collecting cooking fuels to experiencing severe health impacts from indoor air pollution. Access to decentralized energy could free up time, improve health outcomes, and allow greater involvement in energy governance for women.

However, the road to a more decentralized energy system won’t be easy. Incumbency, and locked-in utilities and infrastructure creates a natural bias against decentralized energy. Going up against entrenched energy ministries and institutional structures that are reluctant to lose central control of the energy system presents another major political and bureaucratic hurdle. In addition to the institutional barriers, development finance remains slow-moving and risk-averse, with only 1% of development assistance going into off-grid, decentralized energy.

Progress on energy efficiency is slowing down, even though conserving energy is the cheapest way to reduce emissions.

To meet the SDG7 goals on energy efficiency, the rate of improvement in energy efficiency needs to be over 3% annually – currently, it is only 1%, and slowing down. Considering that improving energy efficiency is the cheapest way to curb emissions, and an area that presents numerous new job opportunities, this is a major issue that needs more attention. Energy efficiency is often a hard sell for governments, industry, the financial sector and even the public, as there are deep social preferences for building new things and developing new technologies to tackle emerging problems, rather than valuing the cost and emissions savings from not doing things.

Another emerging dilemma over the next ten years will be attempts by the energy industry to offset their growing emissions with forestry and other natural climate solutions. While nature-based solutions are an integral part of addressing the climate crisis, offsets should be used as a last resort. Instead, emissions should be curbed directly at the source or not produced at all.

 Every month of the Student Energy Leaders Fellowship features a webinar with a leading energy expert. The Leaders Fellowship cohort can submit questions in advance and during the presentation, to guide the discussion.

 About Rachel Kyte

Recently named one of Time magazine’s 15 Women Leading the Fight Against Climate Change, Rachel Kyte is a trailblazing leader and expert in sustainable energy and energy access, and a long-time champion of young people. Formerly the CEO and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), Rachel is stepping into her new role as Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Rachel has also served as the World Bank Group’s VP and Special Envoy for Climate Change, leading the Bank Group’s efforts in campaigning for the Paris Agreement and mobilizing billions of dollars to support developing countries to address climate change. She was recently honoured by Queen Elizabeth’s 2020 New Year Honours list for her critical efforts combating climate change and serving in the field of sustainable energy.

Our mission at COP 25: Setting the stage for youth-led solutions

• Amplify the youth voice, and highlight young people’s leadership in transforming the energy system.
• Put the wheels in motion for an unprecedented level of global youth leadership and intergenerational collaboration at next year’s critical COP26. 
• Communicate progress on countries’ and non-state actors’ goals to decarbonize their energy systems, and their efforts to involve youth in that process.
• Advocate for stronger leadership from government and industry decision-makers in the energy sector to implement energy solutions that are just, equitable, in partnership with young people.

Context for COP 25

The world is not on track. But there is a crucial window of opportunity.

Throughout 2019, we’ve seen (and been a part of) the rapidly growing global youth movement calling for stronger climate action. Young people are not only sounding the alarm on the climate crisis, they are ready and driven to implement cross-cutting solutions to address the challenge at the pace it requires.

So it is all the more frustrating that as a global society, we are not yet on track to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions quickly enough to keep global heating to below 1.5C. The latest Emissions Gap report paints a devastating picture of where we are and where we’re going — toward a 3.2 degree warmer world if we don’t accelerate action now. UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierres noted today that we are set to produce more fossil fuels than is consistent with a 1.5 degree pathway. 

How can we change course?

”Countries must increase their NDC ambitions threefold to achieve the well below 2°C goal and more than fivefold to achieve the 1.5°C goal.” – Emissions Gap Report 2019

Next year, COP 26, will mark five years since the signing of the Paris Agreement, and parties will be expected to strengthen their NDCs, or Nationally Determined Contributions, which are the tangible efforts put forward by countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change. In order to bend the emissions curve downward, countries will need to drastically strengthen their NDCs, particularly in regards to transforming their energy systems. And we know this can’t be done without the active and meaningful engagement of young people around the world.

About Student Energy

Student Energy is on a mission to empower young people around the world to accelerate the sustainable energy transition, by building the important skills young people to take action, while mobilizing resources to support youth-led energy solutions. Our global network of 50,000 young people come from 150 countries, from all academic and professional backgrounds, with a shared goal to build their sustainable energy future.

December 2nd marks the start of COP 25, led by the Chilean Presidency, but held in Madrid, Spain. Student Energy has 4 team members on the ground this year, and we are closely following the negotiations, while advocating for meaningful youth inclusion and youth-led energy solutions to play a central role in countries’ efforts to tackle the climate crisis. The last-minute change in venue from Chile to Madrid has also left many young people unable to attend, so Student Energy is even more committed to amplify the youth voice at this year’s conference.

Our Mission at COP 25: Set the Stage for Youth-Led Solutions

• Amplify the youth voice, and highlight young people’s leadership in transforming the energy system.
• Put the wheels in motion for an unprecedented level of global youth leadership and intergenerational collaboration at next year’s critical COP26. 
• Communicate progress on countries’ and non-state actors’ goals to decarbonize their energy systems, and their efforts to involve youth in that process.
• Advocate for stronger leadership from government and industry decision-makers in the energy sector to implement energy solutions that are just, equitable, in partnership with young people.

We’ll be sharing what we’re seeing and learning, and how we’re taking action, on our social media. Join us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

CONTEXT FOR COP 25

The world is not on track. But there is a crucial window of opportunity.

Throughout 2019, we’ve seen (and been a part of) the rapidly growing global youth movement calling for stronger climate action. Young people are not only sounding the alarm on the climate crisis, they are ready and driven to implement cross-cutting solutions to address the challenge at the pace it requires.

So it is all the more frustrating that as a global society, we are not yet on track to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions quickly enough to keep global heating to below 1.5C. The latest Emissions Gap report paints a devastating picture of where we are and where we’re going — toward a 3.2 degree warmer world if we don’t accelerate action now. UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierres noted today that we are set to produce more fossil fuels than is consistent with a 1.5 degree pathway. 

How can we change course?

“COUNTRIES MUST INCREASE THEIR NDC AMBITIONS THREEFOLD TO ACHIEVE THE WELL BELOW 2°C GOAL AND MORE THAN FIVEFOLD TO ACHIEVE THE 1.5°C GOAL.”

(Emissions Gap Report 2019)

Next year, COP 26, will mark five years since the signing of the Paris Agreement, and parties will be expected to strengthen their NDCs, or Nationally Determined Contributions, which are the tangible efforts put forward by countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change. In order to bend the emissions curve downward, countries will need to drastically strengthen their NDCs, particularly in regards to transforming their energy systems. And we know this can’t be done without the active and meaningful engagement of young people around the world.

About Student Energy

Student Energy is on a mission to empower young people around the world to accelerate the sustainable energy transition, by building the important skills young people to take action, while mobilizing resources to support youth-led energy solutions. Our global network of 50,000 young people come from 150 countries, from all academic and professional backgrounds, with a shared goal to create their sustainable energy future.

New York City, September 21^st – 23^rd 2019

This week, Student Energy is participating at the Youth and UN Climate Summit as a delivery partner of the Secretary-General’s Youth and Public Mobilization and Energy Transition Action Tracks. Student Energy is working with the UN Climate Action Summit team, Secretary-General’s Office of the Special Envoy on Youth, and other stakeholders to engage youth in the UN Climate Summit, Youth Summit and broader climate-energy activities during the week of September 21st. Follow along with us @studentenergy on Twitter and Instagram!

 Our Activities

• (September 21st) Student Energy is working with the UN Climate Action Summit Team, the Environmental Defense Fund, Mission 2020 and Mission Innovation to deliver the two-part event: Transformative Solutions: Next Generation Technology and the Youth Movement under the Energy Transition Action Track held at the United Nations Headquarters from 11:30 – 12:45, and 15:00-18:00.

• Two youth from Student Energy’s network are on the Summit’s youth working group, comprised of 30 young leaders from around the world who are providing direct input to the preparation of the Youth Summit agenda.

• (September 22nd) Student Energy is participating as one of 200 high-level energy stakeholders at the Energy Action Forum to: raise ambition, represent youth as a key stakeholder, and determine the optimal approaches to accelerating the sustainable energy transition.

• (September 23rd) OGCI Annual CEO and Stakeholders Dialogue: OGCI is convening a CEO stakeholder day to talk about how the oil and gas industry and scaling up action on climate. Student Energy is organizing and coaching a cohort of 25 youth to engage with the world’s largest energy companies as key stakeholders on the energy future, with the goal of having their voice influence the decisions made by large energy actors.

• (September 23rd) Student Energy will be participating at the UN Climate Action Summit to support initiatives under the Energy Transition, and Youth and Public Mobilization action areas. Student Energy’s priority at the UN Climate Action Summit is to highlight the pathways and initiatives underway that enable youth to influence political will across the globe.

• (September 24th) Student Energy will bring a youth delegation to participate in Sustainable Energy For All’s Seven for 7  event.

• Youth Roundtable with Sky Power Global: Student Energy is preparing a cohort of 15 young people to participate in a roundtable discussion with SkyPower Global, to discuss how youth play a role in the energy transition and what youth want from meaningful careers in energy.

• Digital engagement: Student Energy will be elevating discussions at the UN Climate Summit to our larger global audience, through social media channels, write-ups in collaboration with partners, informational webinars, and interviews with leaders working on the UN Climate Action Summit.

• Side Events at Climate Week NYC 2019: Student Energy will be on the ground attending side events led by government, the private sector and civil society – reach out to learn more or to share your event.

Following the inaugural Youth Leaders Forum at the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial and 4th Mission Innovation Ministerial, members of the young leaders delegation have created a position statement to synthesize their recommendations for the world’s energy leaders to accelerate the transition to a just and sustainable energy future.

The young leaders’ position statement presents five solutions, including diverse and inclusive climate action, and a call to CEM/MI member countries to meaningfully support youth engagement at future CEM/MI meetings.

Download the full statement here.