Youth Urge Governments to Involve Young People
Climate delegates at the Youth Climate Summit Qatar 2026 called for young people to help shape national positions before global climate talks.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Youth
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At a panel during the Youth Climate Summit Qatar 2026, youth climate delegates called on governments to involve young people in shaping national negotiating positions before global summits. The call came as Australia appointed Sally Higgins as its COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion.
Why it matters
Meaningful youth participation depends on access to information and opportunities to influence national positions before COP negotiations begin. The push highlights a growing emphasis on youth involvement in international climate policymaking.
The COP negotiations run for approximately 2 weeks each year, according to German COP30 Youth Delegate Areej Alsayed. Turkiye will host COP31 in Antalya, with Australia leading the negotiations.
The players
Sally Higgins
Sally Higgins was appointed Australia's COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion, serving as a bridge between communities and negotiating teams.
Areej Alsayed
Areej Alsayed served as German Youth Delegate for COP30 and spoke on the panel about involving young people in climate policymaking.
The details
Panelists at the summit, moderated by Neeshad Shafi of the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar, included HE Fahad al-Attiyah, Shane Flanagan, Hamed Nasser al-Thani and Areej Alsayed. Alsayed drew on her experience within Germany's COP delegation to argue for involving young representatives throughout policymaking, while Flanagan described Higgins as a bridge between communities and negotiating teams.
Timeline
2026: Youth Climate Summit Qatar held, where the panel took place.
COP31: Upcoming summit to be hosted by Turkiye in Antalya, with Australia leading negotiations.
Seasonal Patterns
Youth engagement is becoming a recurring feature of the annual COP cycle, with COP31 in Antalya the next round in the sequence. The call for pre-summit youth consultation builds on the existing COP delegation structure that already includes youth delegates such as Alsayed for COP30.
Young people seeking a role in climate policy can look for national delegation opportunities ahead of each COP round. The debate centers on whether national governments will open their negotiating preparations to youth input before the summit.
The takeaway
Early access to national negotiating processes is central to meaningful youth participation in climate policy. Readers following COP31 can track how governments respond to calls for pre-summit youth involvement.
Further reading
For more on how young people are shaping the conversation, explore Youth coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Gulf Times.
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Should governments involve young people in climate policy before international summits begin?
