From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, and Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth have today published the report of the National Youth Assembly on Climate. This report is an integral part of the government’s National Dialogue on Climate Action and annual Climate Action Plan.
The report presents the National Youth Assembly on Climate’s recommendations for consideration to include in Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2023. The key recommendations from the Youth Assembly relate to the areas of transport, just transition, agriculture, circular economy and communication. Young delegates from the Assembly have requested the government to encourage more cycling, to improve public transport, to make sustainable transport affordable, to support farmers, and to ensure that food and clothes products are eco-labelled. Detailed recommendations for action within these areas are included in the report.
The Report of the National Youth Assembly on Climate provides a detailed record of the Assembly discussions, captures the views of young people from across Ireland and reflects the concerns of young people in relation to climate issues.
Minister Ryan, who convened the Assembly with Minister O’Gorman, welcomed the publication of the report:
“I have just come from COP27 where I heard from and met young people from across the world, including a 10-year-old from Ghana who spoke powerfully of the effect that climate change is having on her home. We have to put young people at the heart of climate action. Climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity and the voices and views of young people have to shape the future for all of us. At the National Youth Assembly on Climate last March, I also met young people who are calling for radical and immediate action from Government. They are eager to take on the challenge of realising a carbon neutral, green, clean, and sustainable future.”
Minister O’Gorman also welcomed the publication and the recommendations of the Assembly:
“Last year the government asked young people what they wanted us to include in the Climate Action Plan. Young people called for a youth assembly on climate. We listened, and set up the National Youth Assembly on Climate.
“Young people have led the way on calling for stronger, more urgent climate action. It is our role to listen and to act.
“The excellent, innovative and progressive suggestions contained in the first National Youth Assembly on Climate Report are now incorporated into our Climate Action Plan 2023, which I will have the pleasure of launching shortly, and will be realised in the actions and programmes we are delivering.”
Youth Delegates from the National Youth Assembly on Climate have said that:
“One act can be so small, but when multiplied by millions, it can change the world.
“How these concerns are tackled is what will affect the lives of young people in the future.
“Our input to what will be our future is vital to show that our concerns matter to the leaders of our country.”
The Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has established a National Youth Assembly of Ireland. The establishment of Youth Assemblies is a commitment in the Programme for Government 2020. The Assembly acts as a consultative forum for children and young people between the ages of 12 and 24 on issues that are important to them. It provides a systematic means of capturing the voices of young people in Ireland and feeding this directly into the development of government policy.
By hearing from young people, the National Youth Assembly of Ireland provides insight into some of the concerns facing young people, and assists Government in acting on the potential solutions that young people propose.
The Assembly meets up to four times a year on different issues including an annual meeting as the Youth Assembly on Climate. The Youth Assembly on Climate acts as a vehicle for dialogue and will develop recommendations from young people for inclusion in the government’s Climate Action Plan. The first Youth Assembly on Climate took place online on 2 March 2022.
During 2022, the National Youth Assembly of Ireland has convened a further two times. The Rural Youth Assembly met in July and the Youth Assembly on Artificial Intelligence met in October. Reports on these Assemblies will be published in due course.
The Assembly comprises 30 delegates (this has increased to 50 since the return to in-person events), nominated from established youth organisations, who sit for a term of 18 months. They are joined at each Assembly by up to 10 guest delegates who have a special interest in specific topics such as climate issues and rural development. The delegates range in ages from 12 to 24 years and come from all across Ireland.
Under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ireland is committed to giving children and young people a say in decision-making and a voice in decisions that affect their lives. The continued participation of young people in youth assemblies such as the Youth Assembly on Climate ensures that we can include the voice of children and young people in the development of both local and national services and policies.
Including the voice of the child in decision-making is a priority for DCEDIY and plays an important role in leading government efforts to ensure that children and young people have a voice in decisions that affect their lives.
DCEDIY’s National Participation Office works across local and national government to build, develop and sustain structures to enable the meaningful participation of children and young people in decision-making at local and national levels.
A fundamental element of the realisation of the ambitions of Climate Action Plan 2021 is the engagement and empowerment of everyone in society to co-create solutions that are relevant to them.
The NDCA is the key mechanism through which climate actions related to public engagement, participation, community action, networking and capacity-building activities are delivered in Ireland.
In 2021, a series of in-depth climate conversations took place which captured the views of over 3,800 people, including inputs from 100 young people from Comhairle na nÓg. These conversations identified areas where people are already making changes and where they feel they lack resources to pursue these changes.
The NDCA is led by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), with secretariat support provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The NDCA has three key objectives:
The National Youth Assembly on Climate represents a significant milestone in the NDCA programme.
This is the first major milestone in the year-long programme of activities involving young people which include:
As well as providing the delegates with information packs in advance of the Assembly, DCEDIY hosted an information and preparation session in February to help prepare them for the Assembly. At this session, delegates heard from the DECC along with the following guest speakers: