Youth Ambassadors to Keep Pushing for Change After UN Climate Conference

A delegation of Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) Youth Ambassadors attended the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, held October 31–November 12. The group included Jerome Foster II, Xiye Bastida, Kevin J. Patel, Lilly Platt, and Aeshnina “Nina” Azzahra. The youth were there to call on world leaders to take action on plastics and fossil fuels to solve the climate crisis.

Plastic is a major contributor to climate change. 99% of plastic is made from fossil fuels, so more single-use plastic means more fossil fuel extraction, production, and greenhouse gas emissions—and more serious impacts to our health and planet.

PPC Youth Ambassadors join youth climate activists from around the world at COP26 in November 2021. Back row, left to right: Indy Howeth, Vic Barrett, Elijah McKenzie Jackson, Kevin J. Patel, Jerome Foster II, and Gregor E D Sharp. Front row, left to right Alexandra Villaseñor, Xiye Bastida, Ayisha Siddiqa, and Leah Thomas.

The PPC youth had 10 calls to action for world leaders at COP26:

READ THE 10 CALL TO ACTIONS HERE

In addition, they supported the broader climate demands by youth leaders at COP26:

  1. Divest from all fossil fuel investments, reinvest in green energy, and ensure a just transition led by workers and impacted communities.
  2. Center climate justice in all key policy decisions.
  3. Stop all open pipelines and oil extraction initiatives from Line 3 in the US to Cambo in Scotland.
  4. Hold large corporations accountable for their actions that contribute directly to the climate crisis.
  5. Create policies to protect activists’ rights to peaceful protest and safeguard democracy around the world.
  6. Remove the economic, political, and social influence of fossil fuel companies from key international climate meetings.

Youth activists broadly reported they did not feel heard at COP 26 and expressed frustration at the heavy presence of fossil fuel lobbyists. And even though COP26 may not have delivered what we need to stave off a dangerous level of climate change, our youth are not stopping their efforts. In 2022, youth activists from around the world plan to gather in Paris, where the historic Agreement was signed, to create a roadmap for countering the massive injustices happening around the world from plastic pollution and the environmental health and climate crises.

At PPC, we think it’s critical to support and uplift youth voices in our efforts to solve plastic pollution and the climate crisis, and will keep doing all we can to safeguard their, and all of our, futures.

Guest blog by: Eva Geierstanger and Amber Chen, Plastic Pollution Coalition Youth Ambassadors

As youth, we may only be 18% of the population today, but we are 100% of the future. The decisions made at this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) must be crafted to not only prepare for the future, but to improve the state of the world right now. We are the voices of youth and we ask to be heard.

SIGN PETITION

Dear COP26 leaders, we ask you to take these 10 actions:

1. ELIMINATE NON-ESSENTIAL SINGLE-USE PLASTIC 
We must move to systems of reusable, refillable, and package-free products. This means that fossil fuel and petrochemical permits must be suspended and legislation addressing plastic should be passed. For example, the UN Global Plastic Treaty, which addresses the plastic crisis at every point of the plastic’s lifecycle, should be passed to regulate waste management, eliminate toxic substances, and develop solutions that acknowledge plastic’s role in global warming.

2. INVEST IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
COP26 must establish clear investment goals to build a truly resilient circular system in which waste is reduced and reused in an ethical manner that prioritizes workers. Waste and pollution must be reduced AT THE SOURCE, products must be reused multiple times rather than used once, and when possible materials should be recycled back into the earth. 

3. FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE 
COP26 must focus on environmental justice issues. World leaders must acknowledge the negative impact that fossil fuel and plastic production have on BIPOC communities and ensure that their needs are addressed. At every point of plastic’s lifecycle, the safety and health of BIPOC and low-income communities must be a priority at COP26. In addition, plastic waste exportation to other, poorer countries must end.

4. ALLOCATE RESOURCES FOR CLIMATE ACTION
Richer countries must fund poorer countries and give them the space and resources to take climate action. COP26 must acknowledge that poorer countries bear the consequences of the waste and pollution caused primarily by richer countries. 

5. ADDRESS HUMAN EXPOSURE TO TOXIC CHEMICALS
COP26 must address the exposure to environmental toxins in plastics and regulate the use of toxins in manufacturing that hurt the health, especially the reproductive health, of all people. 

6. EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON THE IMPACTS OF PLASTIC – FROM PRODUCTION TO DISPOSAL 
World leaders must enact widespread education to bring truth to the public about plastic production, plastic pollution, the importance of fossil fuel divestment, clean green energy, and regenerative agriculture systems. Companies must remain transparent about their level of sustainability. 

7. ADDRESS THE POLLUTION OF WATER SOURCES BY FOSSIL FUEL AND PETROCHEMICAL COMPANIES
Fracking and Cracking fossil fuels, and releasing  microplastics, microfibers and chemicals, harm our water sources. COP26 must address the safety of the world’s water.

8. ADDRESS THE POLLUTION OF AIR BY FOSSIL FUEL AND PETROCHEMICAL COMPANIES
We must measurably reduce air pollution. This will be accomplished WHEN we STOP burning fossil fuels and plastics to produce energy, chemicals, oil, and plastics. 

9. PROVIDE EQUITABLE, DEMOCRATIC RECOURSE FOR COMMUNITIES MOST AFFECTED BY PLASTIC POLLUTION
Leaders must also Commit to reforming and improving DEMOCRACY for all. Communities affected by plastic pollution need access to advocate for themselves and their communities.

10. TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO END THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Our 10th call to action for COP26: World leaders must take action not just for our future, but for our NOW. As Francois Hollande, the past president of France, says, “We must act urgently and do everything we can to give younger generations a future!”

We must approach the climate crisis on an intergenerational basis. Experienced people must work collaboratively with Younger people so that EVERYONE may live in a fossil fuel-free and plastic-free world. 

Support the world’s youth ambassador calls to action for world leaders at COP26. Sign here.

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