Climate day of action to put wind in sails of Youth Delegation

Tomorrow, on the 350 International Day of Climate Action, the New Zealand Youth Delegation (NZYD) to Copenhagen will be collecting the voices of kiwi youth to present at the UN negotiations on climate change this December. The Delegation consists of 12 young New Zealanders who will be putting pressure on our Government and the UN to reach a strong global agreement.

The NZYD are taking their two sails (a spinnaker and a jib kindly donated by Team New Zealand) around the country to gather the voices and signatures of Kiwi youth. These will be used to help shape the message the delegates take with them to Copenhagen. The sails will be at the 350 events in Wellington and Dunedin tomorrow, and NZYD members will be at 350 events in the other main centres.

“ We're all very excited to be going to Copenhagen, and we feel a sense of responsibility to make sure kiwi youth get involved in the UN negotiations,” said Louis Chambers, a delegation from Dunedin.

“ A strong global agreement on climate change is needed in December to ensure our generation can continue to be as prosperous as previous generations.”

Chelsea Robinson, a delegate from Auckland said “We will be flat out before, during and after Copenhagen to lobby our Government, and Governments from around the world on climate change.

“ As part of this we will be participating in the Conference of the Youth with other youth delegations from around the world. Here we plan to develop a unified strategy before the UN sessions begin, giving us a greater chance of influencing the UN member states who remain greatly divided as to how to approach the issue.

“ As youth we have the strongest stake in preserving our future."

The Delegation's progress can be followed at www.youthdelegation.org.nz .

ENDS

© Scoop Media