Over the past two decades, young people have shifted from being observers at the UN Climate Conferences to active voices shaping global climate policy. The United Nations Conference of the Parties, known as COP, is an annual event under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, where nations assess their progress on climate goals. The first COP meeting occurred in 1995, following the adoption of the UNFCCC in 1992. Since then, youth activists and organisations have consistently lobbied for greater youth involvement and decision-making in COP for several reasons listed below.

First, young people are the generation that will face the consequences of global warming; thus, involving them in discussions allows them to gain knowledge, skills, and experience in policymaking and understanding how to address climate change, which helps develop current and future leaders capable of tackling climate challenges effectively. Moreover, young people bring new ideas and innovative solutions, as history has shown, and are more likely to adopt and promote sustainable technologies, practices, and behaviours, while challenging traditional approaches. Their activism raises awareness and builds public pressure for stronger climate action. Throughout history, youth-led protests have resulted in significant legal and policy changes worldwide. 

In 2009, COP15 was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, where approximately 1500 young people participated. Some joined national delegations, especially from the UK, Canada, Denmark, and the Philippines, gaining direct access to negotiation rooms, while others participated as observers through YOUNGO (the official UNFCCC youth constituency), youth NGOs, and civil society groups. A major achievement that year was that this was the first COP where YOUNGO participated formally after being recognised as an official constituency. Throughout the years, young people, through collaboration with NGOs, universities, and climate change coalitions, drafted a proposal for formal youth engagement and submitted statements to the UNFCCC Secretariat, emphasizing the importance of an official day dedicated to youth and future generations, which led to “Youth Day” being officially part of the thematic days in COP 21, Paris 2015, a day where young people could present their demands, meeting ministers and high representatives of different countries. 

COP 26 in Glasgow (UK) marked the highest youth participation recorded for that period, including about 3,000 accredited youth delegates inside the official COP venue. During these days of the conference, different initiatives were happening inside and outside the venue, such as youth protests, panel discussions, movies, showing the work that young people have done in their countries, and side events where the voices of young people could be heard. Another key milestone happened during COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, 2022, where, for the first time, it included the first-ever Children and Youth Pavilion, a place where young people could lead and organise the whole pavilion, including panels, activities, and hosting. 

Therefore, as we can see throughout the years, youth have had a big impact on COP and they have been constantly lobbying for their involvement, where they have influenced the inclusion of key ideas such as intergenerational equity (acknowledged in the Paris Agreement preamble), education, and youth empowerment under ACE, loss and damage, and climate justice frameworks,  first voiced strongly by youth movements.  However, as COP30 is about to take place in Belém, Brazil, from 6-21 November 2025, youth still face some challenges and barriers when it comes to COP participation, such as limited formal power or access to negotiation tables, where many times young people and youth NGOs have lobbied for more formal power for youth and to not participate only symbolically, but rather as decision-makers at the tables, and be meaningfully involved in the conference. This year, youth are mobilising in action-oriented ways. The “COP30 Youth Task Force” has already done activities (like planting saplings) and is building momentum for youth-led climate action in the run-up to COP30, and youth articulations of policy demands are being prepared. For example, the youth communiqué to COP30 calls for an urgent scale-up of adaptation finance. Youth in Bonn have asked for more meaningful inclusion in climate decision-making, and they have come up with key recommendations such as:  

• Permanent and binding governance, with youth councils operating at both national and local levels.
• Structured financing for youth-led climate action.
• Accessible and translated materials, with language appropriate to different age groups and realities.
• Ongoing, regionalised training, focused on capacity-building and climate literacy.
• Intersectional inclusion, respecting the diversity of experiences among youth.

These are just some of the initiatives young people are taking to make their voices heard and have an impact in the context of climate change. The will of young people to be more involved in Climate Change conversations is a story that shows resilience, determination, and passion for a better future; therefore is essential for the countries to involve young people in their agenda, where they can learn from one another for a better present and secure future.