For years, Canada has enjoyed a vibrant civil society, including the important contribution of many youth-led environmental organisations and projects focused on peer-level and community solutions to climate change.  Until recently, however, many of these inspiring initiatives remained disconnected from one another. It was not until 2005, with the UN Montréal Climate Change Conference (COP-11/CMP-1)1 that collective youth leadership around climate change in Canada was fully initiated. Important linkages were made with similar initiatives and youth leaders around the world. From Montréal, where scores of young Canadians participated in the first International Youth Delegation, came both the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition (CYCC, founded September 2006) and the Canadian Youth Delegation to the 2006 UN Climate Change Conference (CYD-Nairobi, COP-12/CMP-2; November 2006). Both initiatives established Canadian youth as leaders internationally and engaged many more back home, bringing the global public policy challenges surrounding climate change – and Canada’s role in them – into the spotlight in our Canadian communities.

Hosted by CYCC and building on the lessons learned from the youth delegations in Montréal and Nairobi, CYD-Bali (December 2007) represented another stride forward during a vital moment in the negotiations process. 32 Canadian youth delegates, in concert with nearly 200 other youth from around the world, engaged with policymakers, addressed international audiences and the media, reached out to other segments of global civil society, and, perhaps most critically, brought their stories – along with the critical issues at play – to audiences back home. As a result of such high public expectations, the meetings were able to achieve a compromise outcome, averting collapse.  Building on the momentum of success in Bali, CYD-Poznan tied together a powerful youth delegation, cross-Canada workshops, an online community and a domestic action campaign.

In 2009 the CYD-Copenhagen saw 35 young people travel to the international meetings to take part in communications, actions, and policy work.  Their work was couple to that of hundreds of young people back home in Canada who worked domestically as part of the Canadian Youth Delegation Home Team and the Climate Crews.

To learn more about the work of CYD-Copenhagen click here.

To learn about opportunities in 2010, including CYD-Cancun click here.