by Isabel Ovalle
The Conference of the Parties that is taking place in Doha these days is not only a chance for current world leaders to meet, it’s also an opportunity for tomorrow’s mandataries to gather and fight for their future.
Hundreds of youngsters from all over the world call for real and effective solutions to climate change and its consequences. They demand the parties to react before it’s too late.
The younger generations have come to Qatar to show they care and to raise awareness in the Arab world about an issue that is still new to many.
Among the youngest attendees is Carlos, an 18-year-old from Colombia. COP18 is his first climate change summit and definitely his first visit to Qatar, as well as to the Middle East. Sensitive the severe impact of global warming in his country, he got involved in the climate change movement.
In the halls of Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC), Carlos stated that Colombia is harshly affected by climate change, being one of the countries that has suffered more damages. This young expert explained that climate phenomena name ‘La Niña’ and ‘El Niño’, the girl and the boy in Spanish, forced Colombia to invest a big percentage of its gross domestic product to mitigate the costs.
On this basis, he joined other youngsters in Doha to supervise what negotiators are doing, interact with them, and participate. Carlos added that “we are protagonists of change; we are not only the future, but the present. We have to fix this degraded world and guarantee the future of humanity and the rest of living creatures”.
Marco Cadena, coordinator of Young friends of the Earth, arrived in Qatar to participate in the Conference of the Youth that gathered hundreds of people a few days before the UN summit. “Youth from around the world came here to express their frustration, we cannot allow distraction in the negotiations. The impact of climate change is happening now”, he added.
To draw attention these young activists walk around with red dots that represent people from all over the world affected by climate change. Ultimately, youngsters want to put face to the problem, in order for leaders to acknowledge the humanitarian costs of this issue.
Cadena wishes he could speak to negotiators face to face. “I would tell them to live up to their responsibility,” he added. To illustrate their point of view this group invites dignitaries to “connect the red dots, and guarantee equity and justice.”
Bella is another young activist, also 18-year-old and original from Taiwan. She flew for almost 20 hours because she can’t stop worrying about her future. Her country saw severe rains recently that forced her school to close down with floods that reached the second floor. Her family also suffered the damages of the unusual rains, given that her father lost his business. In this condition, she asks world leaders to “please stop bargaining and negotiating for our future, please save our world”.
