We are an association of young people who are committed to ambitious and sustainable climate protection with the aim of preserving a world worth living for present and future generations. For us, four aspects are fundamental to this.
- Our goal is climate justice in the intergenerational and global sense. This means that we are committed to a livable world for the people who have caused the least of climate change and who are and will be most exposed to the consequences: people of future generations and people from the global south.
- In our work, we focus on youth. Young people under 30 make up 50% of the world’s population, but only a fraction of international political representatives are under 30 years of age.
- It is also important for us to take the Global Big Picture, i.e. to take a global perspective, to represent it and to remember it. The climate crisis does not stop at national borders. Unlike nationalism and protectionism, we are committed to global cooperation between different actors. Networking and going hand in hand with partners worldwide is of great importance to us. We always see the climate crisis and the global climate movement in all its complexity and diversity.
- Last but not least, science is non-negotiable. The latest scientific findings are fundamental to our work. We are not only building our work on the basis of these findings, but we are also condemning the increasing decoupling of political decisions from scientific facts.
Our work nationally and internationally
As a climate delegation, we see ourselves as a hinge between the demands of the street and the processes of politics in order to obtain permanent effective measures and structures. In doing so, we supplement the debate with a global perspective and, among other things, call for Germany’s global responsibility.
The central part of our association is therefore the work at international level. At the climate conferences of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the so called Conference of the Parties (COP), and the corresponding interim negotiations (SBs), we carry the voice of young people into the negotiating rooms year after year. In 2008 we were present for the first time as a youth delegation at a COP in Poznan, Poland. Since then, we have acquired several years of expertise and experience in the field of international climate policy. Every year, some of our members go to the climate conferences and interim negotiations of the UNFCCC (more on this here).
But we are also active beyond the negotiations. We work on projects (more on this here), establish contacts with decision-makers and decision-makers, network with other youth and climate organisations and other stakeholders. Much of our work is done online. Our members are spread all over Germany. That’s why we use digital platforms to coordinate our collaboration. Twice a month, all members meet for videoconference. A five-member board of directors keeps track.