In a few days, hundreds of young people from all over the world will travel to Montreal to attend the 15e Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Carrying the voice of the younger generations, of our communities and sometimes even of our countries, these young people are preparing to witness the negotiations that will take place within the walls of the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
Many feel the crushing weight of the stakes. After all, the height of commitments by negotiators from different countries will set the tone for the next decade in terms of global nature protection. The fate of thousands of species on the verge of extinction or on the brink of extinction depends on these decisions.
It’s as if we were stuck in a car and the person driving us was driving us at breakneck speed towards a precipice. We hope that the voice of passengers who politely ask to slow down will be heard.
But what if we decide to grab the wheel? What if we refused to wait to be the generation with decision-making power? To be of voting age to act? To be invited to enter political life?
COP15 presents a golden opportunity to build, not just imagine, that future.
Among the 2030 targets that governments will need to negotiate as part of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, one in particular has caught the attention of youth organizers and other civil society interest groups.
Goal 21, which has not yet been adopted, aims to “ensure that indigenous peoples and local communities, respecting their rights to lands, territories and resources, as well as women, girls and young people participate fully, equitably, effectively and in a gender-sensitive way in decision-making [et à l’accès à la justice] in terms of biodiversity, [tout en renforçant l’engagement de toutes les parties prenantes concernées] “. (Brackets are used to highlight items that will be discussed at COP15.)
If its most generous interpretation is accepted in December, Target 21 would oblige all CBD countries to ensure youth participation in national environmental decision-making. The target would require nations to offer young people (and indigenous peoples, local communities and women) a seat at the table — or, in other words, a hand on the wheel.
In practice, what would that look like?
Addressing the democratic deficit of young people in environmental decision-making can be done in several ways.
One that is gaining popularity among young organizers in Quebec is the creation of a permanent youth committee on the climate at the National Assembly, a committee representing the regions of Quebec and members of the First Nations and Inuit of Quebec, which would act as a reference entity upstream of the decisions that will be taken by the Council of Ministers and the departments and agencies of the Government of Quebec concerning any project having an impact on the environment, in particular with regard to the positive and negative impacts of these projects on young people and future generations.
If this avenue seems remote, the National Assembly of Quebec has, in fact, already voted unanimously in favor of examining a committee of this type.
The victory was won last April, following the coalition work of youth delegates from Génération climat Montréal and the Future Generations Delegation (supported by Oxfam-Québec and L’Écothèque) and months after previous delegates proposed the idea for the first time to Quebec leaders in Glasgow during COP26.
Two weeks ago, the delegations met again in the framework of a youth consultation, asking young people to express their vision on the form that this possible permanent youth advisory committee on the climate should take. Youth participate, are motivated, are politicized and are ready to make their voices heard.
Now, the movement is ready to move from the review phase to the creation phase. COP15 presents the ideal opportunity for Quebec to align itself with the cross-partisan consensus, to design the targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework here in Quebec, and to give young Quebecers the means to participate fully, equitably and effectively in decision-making about climate and the survival of biodiversity.
*Generation Climate Montreal is a project of the YMCAs of Quebec that seeks to amplify the diverse voices and interests of young Montrealers at international environmental summits.