Young people are increasingly being given a seat at the table in domestic and international climate policy, and therefore require appropriate capacity-building to ensure their interventions are cogent and relevant.
This programme was launched May 2023 to provide greater clarity on the negotiation tracks of the UNFCCC ahead of COP28. It brought together leading experts and young climate professionals and covered topics such as Climate Finance, Loss & Damage, Adaptation & Resilience and more.
This project is a collaboration between the Global Youth Coalition (GYC), a coalition of climate youth changemakers, and researchers at the University of Oxford (Oxford Net Zero, Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment). We received 10,000 applications for our first iteration of the programme, demonstrating the great need for effective youth capacity building programmes.
This year, with the generous support of the ClimateWorks Foundation, we are running our second iteration of the programme, which will run twice a week from 3 September – 1 October 2024, with a final reunion session on 1 November 2024.
The second iteration of the programme from builds and extends on the first broad overview of the UNFCCC system and negotiation tracks. Our 2024 programme focuses on the landscape of sub-state and non-state actor accountability as a vital feature of climate policy.
Why a focus on non-state actors?
- Sub-state and non-state actors, including cities, state and regional governments, businesses, financial institutions, civil society groups and more, have the power to enhance national ambition on climate change.
- Ambition and accountability for non-state actors has been an increasing focus of climate policy in recent years, e.g., the UN Secretary General’s appointment of a High Level Expert Group to create guidelines for credible non-state net-zero pledges, the Race to Zero Global Campaign, and business mobilisation movements such as the “Fossil to Clean” commitment by 260 businesses calling for fossil fuel phase out.
- However, non-state actor commitments can be misleading or confusing: initiatives like the Net Zero Tracker help to provide greater clarity on the quality of non-state actors’ climate commitments, but it is important to have a better literacy of credible climate action to be able to detect greenwashing.
This programme will help participants:
- Critically assess the legitimacy of non-state actor commitments.
- Understand how these fit into/complement state-level climate commitments.
- Situate interventions within the ‘wider-than-climate’ context, i.e., understanding how non-state actor. commitments impact water, biodiversity, and social justice.
Applicant Profile /Eligibility Criteria
- Age: 16-35.
- Demonstrated experience in leadership, climate advocacy / activism (e.g., campaigns, projects, community engagement).
- Knowledge of the UNFCCC process and key outcomes (e.g., following a specific negotiations stream).
- Demonstrated ability to advocate effectively for change (e.g., communication, persuasion, collaboration). Previous efforts in advocacy.
- Strong passion for climate action, climate diplomacy and a desire to make a difference.
- Clear reasons for joining the programme, clear future aspirations.
- Preference for applicants representing diverse regions and communities most impacted by climate change.
Time Commitment
10 sessions in total, 1.5 hours each.
The full session calendar, and further information about the programme can be found on our webpage, in our brochure (Word version for text-to-voice reading here). Our programme will teach you how to assess credible fossil fuel phase out commitments, understand a credible net zero target, situate yourself within the discussions of climate finance at COP29, and help you link with other like-minded participants.
Applications are open until 23:59 UTC on 10 August. You will receive a response from us by 5pm BST on 23 August.
For any technical problems or inquiries, please contact us at: youthclimatetraining@gmail.com
