criticised the inadequate efforts of developed economies towards tackling the crisis and their failure to make good on the promise to deploy $100bn a year for poorer, vulnerable nations to assist them in slashing carbon emissions and adapting to rising global warming.
Therefore, the Commonwealth Secretariat has expressed its intention to give a voice to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) at the global summit, as well as to assist these countries in their own efforts to address the crisis, particularly through the empowerment of younger generations. Of the 2.5 billion citizens of the Commonwealth, 60 per cent are under the age of 35, and therefore, youth empowerment remains a key priority for the association.
“Small Island Developing States are facing some of the worst impacts of climate change. COP26, which has long been on the horizon, is now squarely in our sights. It is both a complex, layered, technical process and an intensely political negotiation,” Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said during a virtual consultations event focused on attracting sustainable finance for investment in youth.
“We will go to Glasgow with the determination to put the voices of SIDS at the heart of global dialogue. The Commonwealth Charter makes it clear that the future success of our family of nations rests with the continued commitment and contributions of young people,” she added.
Accordingly, the Commonwealth Secretariat has decided collaborate with to the University of Cambridge Research Centre of Resilience and Sustainable Development (CRSD) in launching phase two of the ‘Their Future, Our Action’ action-research project, which is aimed at guiding much-needed policy change to empower youth in SIDS.
According to Dr Nazia M Habib, Research Centre Director of the Centre of Resilience of Sustainable Development (CRSD), who also participated in the event, SIDS are already well aware that the youth are a critical asset and that climate change is having a significant impact on their future. “However, we found that there is little to no systematic connection of youth getting involved with the planning for the future. Youth and biodiversity are two untapped resources of SIDS that can benefit directly from improved climate finance support. Our research is providing evidence to make COP26 commitment into a reality,” she noted.
