COP25 and COY15 have been a journey of empowerment and hope. It was my first time attending an international climate negotiation. I had the precious opportunity through Carbon Care Innolab, an NGO based in Hong Kong with the mission of promoting youth participation in international climate policy making. Through joining COY (Conference of Youth), I began my engagement with the official UN youth constituency YOUNGO. I was involved in Finance and Market, Loss and Damage Work Groups, sat in bilateral meetings with high-level leaders and negotiators, including UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa. The most rewarding experience was delivering an opening remark on behalf of YOUNGO at the COP25 Presidency’s Open Dialogue. The remark calls for incorporating citizen science, indigenous and traditional knowledge into policy making. The slogan for UN Climate Change Conference of Youth this year is hashtag #WeAreAction. From activism to agenda intervention and outcome delivery, youth is seen everywhere at COP25 We are witnessing the change, as Greta Thunberg said, “Change is coming, whether you like it or not” Youth produced this video with Connect4Climate, which was screened at the Action Hub on Young and Future Generations Day at COP25.

As part of the Environmental Change Institute, our group of Oxford ECM (Environmental Change and Management) students at COP set up a climate interactive at the IPCC pavilion, which displays SPM.1, an interactive version of the first figure in “Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C”. The figure demonstrates to the public the probability of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C given cumulative CO2 emissions.

Despite the discouraging outcome of COP among parties, this experience made me realize the power of youth is able to make a substantial difference and deliver a message of hope. In the future, I hope to engage more in youth advocacy, coordinating regional networks of youths in Asia on ambitious climate action.

 

As UN Secretary General António Guterres spoke on achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 at the closing ceremony of Conference of Youth, “Our message must be not a message of despair, but a message of hope. Things can be done, the resources exist, what is still missing is political will, that is where youth initiative is extremely important.” I wish to share this stream of hope to youths in Hong Kong and everywhere else in the world, just as the youth movement that Greta is leading. I remember clearly one day networking with two professionals from Germany, they started asking about the situation in Hong Kong and I fell into powerlessness. Dr. Christiane Textor and Dirk Hoffmann shared with me how their grandparents have been through the painful world wars. Now the two big fight of this century are the fights for climate and democracy, as how the wars eventually ended, they are confident that we will reach resolution one day. Be it the fight for climate justice, the battle for democracy and freedom, we, future stewards of this planet, stand as one. In the time of civil unrest in Hong Kong, I published an article on Master Insight, local media in Hong Kong calling for youth to stand up for climate justice. Greta Thunberg being elected as Time Person of the Year was a disappointment to a lot of peaceful protestors in Hong Kong, but we can see Greta as a wider representation of the youth movement, endorsing the power of youth for climate change, for democracy, for equality and for wellbeing.

Acknowledgement

First and foremost, thank you Carbon Care Innolab and Carbon Care Asia for granting me the observer badge to attend the conference, there could not be a better opportunity to learn about climate negotiation and advocacy, putting what I have been learning at Oxford into practice. Thank you Albert and Chan Yau for their guidance along the way, as well as colleagues from the team including John, Alissa, Fiona, Tina, Thea and Maggie. Special shoutout to the media team helping to publish my articles on media outlets including Master Insight and Stand News so I could share the experience and knowledge with a wider audience! I am grateful for Crystal’s advice while planning my schedule, on how to make the most of out the experience.

I must also thank Oxford for all support, my School of Geography and the Environment, teachers and classmates! It was a great opportunity to help at the IPCC pavilion for the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 degrees of warming SPM.1 interactive set up under my ECI supervisor Professor Myles Allen with assistance from Heather and Ian. It was also a blast meeting up with our lecturer Dr. Lisa Schipper in the UNFCCC Resilience Lab! Thanks to the Oxford Net-Zero Network, in which Dora provided so much support for me and made possible an alumni gathering during COP! Huge thank you to Brook for sharing her abundant COP experience – I followed your advice to chat with negotiators and it really worked out! Thank you my buddies Pris, Alvin, Tania, Aruna, Calder, Claire, Colin, Farron, Philippe, Hannah and all others for their accompany and care throughout, would not have made it through without you all!

Last but not least, I am very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of YOUNGO. Thank you for the trust of Yugratna, Chiagozie Udeh, Nick Nuttall, Maria Horne, Peter Abraham Fukuda Loewi, Domenico Vito in delivering the COP25 Presidency’s Open Dialogue on Scientific Communication on behalf of YOUNGO. It was a fabulous experience working with passionate youth from around the world. I have learnt so much from each and everyone of you at COP and COY, thank you for showing me youth matters and we can bring influence at the international policy making level.