This year countries will be presenting new renewed Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement. CAN EECCA believes young people should be actively involved in its creation, however, nott all countries in our region are talking to young leaders and including them in the work on these strategic documents.
Last year our Board member Iryna Ponedelnik from Green Network (Belarus) organised the EaP Youth Climate Leadership School within Regional EaP Civil Society Fellowship, supported by EaP Civil Society Facility. Her Project also included online training about NDC for 16 youth climate leaders from 6 EaP countries. As a result, six young people organised 6 national round tables and wrote 6 youth statements on current NDCs in those countries. In this article we share links for those statements and some insides from the work of six EaP young leaders.
Artak Araqelyan from Armenia: “Participating in the EaP Youth Climate Leadership School was an invaluable experience for me because I went deep into NDC in my country and did my own research to understand the Paris Agreement and other regulations about it. It highlighted the urgent environmental challenges our country faces, especially the lack of youth representation in policy making. The project demonstrated that engaging young people is crucial for fostering innovative solutions and ensuring their voices are included in national decision-making processes, such as NDCs. I truly believe that such initiatives are essential to empower the next generation and build a sustainable future.”
You can read the Armenian Youth NDC Statement in Armenian and English here
Darya Shkarupina from Belarus: “The experience was excellent. We held a roundtable discussion with a diverse group of participants, not necessarily with an environmental background. This made the conversations lively and engaging, with unexpected comments and remarks. I believe that such events are essential—not only for generating ideas but also for spreading them and encouraging people to think about issues they may not have considered before. The main challenges in the region and in Belarus are related to the lack of inclusivity in the development of environmental laws and procedures. It would be great if there were more consultations with ordinary people and NGOs, but we all understand why this is not happening yet. We plan to publish the final document and send it to government authorities, but I don’t know the timeline yet.”
You can read the Belarusian Youth NDC Statement in Belarusian and English here
Ayan Shamchiyeva from Azerbaijan: “There is definitely a need for such work to engage young people in the future. Unfortunately, NDCs are not widely known in Azerbaijan, particularly among young people and even those involved in environmental management/policy. This lack of awareness made it challenging to gather participants and meaningful feedback, as many were hearing about the topic for the first time during the sharing discussion process. Engaging young people is crucial to raise awareness, build their capacity to participate in climate action, and ensure they have a voice in shaping inclusive and effective policies for the future. Still, the few young people involved showed a strong interest in more transparent, inclusive policies and clear ways to participate in the future.”
You can read the Azerbaijani Youth NDC Statement in Azerbaijani and English here
Irina Belous from Moldova: “It was a great experience to discover young people that have a solid and active position regarding the environment. It was surprising to see them engaged in a debate with different opinions. We were happy to see a great amount of ideas coming from the participants and we included them in the document. I am sure that if we would organize more events like that, everytime we would have a room full of participants discussing brilliant ideas.”
You can read the Moldovan Youth NDC Statement in Moldovan and English here
Salome Noniashvili from Georgia: “Raising awareness about NDCs and other climate related policies is essential for our region. Climate change is a challenge we all have to overcome and youth participation is extremely important. Youth is the future and if we are working towards creating a sustainable future, we have to involve youngsters in the process. During this project I found out how limited youngsters’ knowledge was about NDCs and I also learned a lot. With the experience and knowledge given by EaP Youth Climate Leadership school, I managed to make a little change in the community”
You can read the Georgian Youth NDC Statement in English
Led by a diverse team of young experts from EaP countries, the project not only fostered solidarity and dialogue on climate action but also created valuable analytical work for youth to use in their advocacy. By empowering youth as agents of change, this initiative strengthens climate governance and lays the foundation for future projects in the region.
