COY19 and COP29: Insights from Pooja Tilvawala

In the past few months, you may have heard the words COY and COP frequently in the news. What do they mean?

The Conference of Youth (COY) is the biggest and most substantial youth conference related to the multilateral United Nations (UN) climate processes. It is the official gathering of members of the Children and Youth Constituency (YOUNGO) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for all interested youth and it happens a couple of days before the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) at the same location. COY serves as a space for capacity building and policy training, in order to prepare young people for their participation at COP. It also brings together all collected inputs, which feed directly into the climate negotiations via the official global youth policy paper. COY empowers youth and formally brings their voices to the UNFCCC processes to shape the intergovernmental climate change policies. The four major components of COY are:

1. Policy Document;
2. Capacity Building;
3. Skill-building Workshops; and
4. Cultural Exchange.

The Conference of Parties (COP) refers to the UNFCCC international meeting focusing on climate. COP is the main decision-making body of the UNFCCC.

For the last 30 years, people from around the world have attended these conferences as negotiators, researches, business representatives, constituency members, country delegates, and more. I have had the privilege of attending the COY and COP annual conferences since COY16 and COP26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom in 2021. My roles throughout the years have varied. For COY16, I was one of two USA Country Coordinators, summarizing policy recommendations of US youth voices across many topics and presenting those to US and other policymakers for consideration. For COY17, I created content and ran a session about green skills and jobs. For COY18 and COY19, I ran a few sessions on meaningful youth engagement and culture-based climate solutions, created content, and provided logistical support to youth.

In my first and second years of COP, I attended as a YOUNGO member and then a Climate Generation delegate, supporting Working Groups focused on Action for Climate Empowerment and Loss and Damage, while learning what COP is and how I could make the most of my participation. In my third year I supported Globally’s Emerging Leaders for Climate Action program and participated in the Loss & Damage Working Group, and advised The New Generation Fellowhip by Loss & Damage Collaboration. In addition, I co-founded the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion to advance policy initiatives supporting culture-based climate solutions and minimize emissions of the entertainment industry. Together with partners, we hosted over 135 events across two weeks. Each year, I have supported youth with accessing badges, free and affordable housing, and media and speaking engagements, and ran WhatsApp channels for information sharing and community building.

This year I created content during COY, and during the Conference of Parties 29 (COP29), I played a supporting role. I helped a few thousand youth navigate the conference and make the most of their time there in their different roles, ranging from negotiator to researcher to COP first-timers. This support consisted of matching youth to badges to access the blue zone where negotiations take place and where countries and entities across sectors host pavilions with daily programming covering the key themes of COP and other priority topics. We also helped youth find affordable and free housing options in Baku given the spike in housing prices in every host city, matched youth with media and speaking opportunities, and hosted events to build community amongst international youth and share insights on topics such as climate mental health.

This is just a bit of insight into my roles at COY and COP since October 2021, and it may sound intimidating or overwhelming, but really, it is to demonstrate that starting somewhere is the key to getting involved in the international policy landscape and having the courage to learn as you go is the way to improve your participation. I joined YOUNGO in 2019 and heavily leaned on the expertise of more experienced peers to learn what the UNFCCC is, how it operates, and ways to follow negotiations and contribute my voice to decision-making processes. Having the support of the YOUNGO community and others, has allowed me to feel less alone and better understand and navigate the COP processes. If you are new to COP and want to learn more and get involved, I recommend connecting with the following communities and opportunities. Please note this is a short list, and there are numerous other opportunities for youth participation.

• YOUNGO, the Official Children and Youth Constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Operación COP for Latin America, with Climate Reality
• Youth Negotiators Academy
• Global Youth Coalition x Oxford Net Zero Global Youth Climate Training Programme
• Climate Tracker Journalism Fellowship
• Global Centre for Climate Mobility
• Sustainable Ocean Alliance
• Care About Climate
• Climate Generation

As for the outcomes at this year’s COP, after two weeks and running over by 34 hours, there were some tremendous losses, and some wins.

• Loss: Developed countries agreed to channel at least $300 billion/year into developing countries by 2035 to support their climate efforts, however this new climate-finance goal is far less than the $1.3 trillion/year asked for collectively by developing countries. The gap between $300 billion and $1.3 trillion is meant to come from a range of sources including private finance and taxes on cryptocurrency, so it will be important to watch this matter closely. This funding is a starting point, and I hope more finance will follow.
• Loss: Countries were unable to reach an agreement on how the outcomes of 2023’s global stocktake, including a key pledge to transition away from fossil fuels, should be taken forward, and instead have pushed the decision to COP30.
• Win: Nearly 10 years after the Paris Agreement was signed, countries finally managed to find agreement on the remaining sections of Article 6 on carbon markets. Read more here.
• Win: Indonesia, the 8th biggest emitter of CO2, unexpectedly pledged a complete phase out.  
• Win: Mexico was the last G20 country to not commit to net zero, but did during COP29.  
• Win: The UK and the EU joined 30 nations in an agreement to slash emissions further, specifically targeting methane emissions.  
• Win: China announced the opening of the largest wind farm in the world.
• Win: Some NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) announced: UK pledged a reduction of 81% against 1990 levels by 2035. Brazil announced a 59-67% reduction against 2005 levels.
• Win: There were more youth policy training programs and media training programs than last year.
• Win: Campaigners have become more vocal, taking stances with unignorable strength and solidarity. This impacted the atmosphere of COP by reminding decision makers of the severity and weight of their decisions.

What has been unwavering is the demonstrated commitment and leadership by us youth – this has been a beacon of hope, showing progress is still possible. And each year, we shape the atmosphere of COP, with our signs and outfits and voices, pulling emotion out from within to get our points across. We build needed pressure inside and also connect with media outlets to build pressure outside, and draw others in. We understand what is at stake and are taking action to achieve a better world that we know is possible, for people and the planet. I will continue to be an active youth in the international climate movement because over the years, I have seen the impact my peers and I have had in our communities and the ways we have mobilized people to bring their action from local to global and back to local, and it has made a difference. The hope is that our leaders whose decisions have wider-scale impact will learn from us and hear us and make the decisions we need them to make.

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- Pooja Tilvawala