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Just days after COP30 wrapped up in Belem, CIVICUS and the ENSURED project brought together researchers and a youth activist to discuss climate governance and youth participation.
Franziska Petri, a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven who co-authored ENSURED's reports on climate and biodiversity governance, brought an expert perspective on how these institutions actually function. Amandine Orsini from UC Louvain shared her findings on climate negotiations from over 200 interviews with youth activists. Additionally, Manal Bidar, a climate activist from Morocco – fresh from COP30 – provided an on-the-ground perspective on the realities of youth participation.
Initial Points
Franziska Petri started the conversation by presenting her findings from her ENSURED report: “Climate Negotiations Under Scrutiny: Is UNFCCC Decision-Making Up to the Challenge?”
The conversation then turned to a difficult question: With over 12,000 observers at COP30, is a bigger meeting – a so-called “mega COP” – actually better? Petri highlighted the challenges that come with scale, such as the high cost of accommodations for two weeks and visa restrictions. Bidar, on the other hand, argued that mega-COPs reflect the urgency of climate change. The real problem, Bidar noted, is the approximately 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists who attended the event with easy access to negotiations, while young people and civil society struggle to even get into the room.
Bidar suggested that the UNFCCC could enforce greater transparency and integrity, as those blocking climate action often receive a front row seat, while those pushing for it face severe restrictions.
As Petri explained, the UNFCCC operates by consensus among 196 countries, each holding the same veto power. As Petri put it, "If you need to convince everyone when deciding on dinner among five people, it's difficult. When you're among 190 – with some heavily reliant on fossil fuel exports – it's going to be a difficult moment." Small island states and other smaller countries often attend with two-person delegations attempting to follow multiple parallel meetings, while oil-rich nations bring dozens of negotiators.The result is that negotiations fall to the lowest common denominator, and the gap between grand statements and actual implementation remains wide.
The Impact of Youth
Orsini's research revealed that 99 percent of young people at COPs attend on a purely voluntary basis because they experienced environmental problems at home or learned about the crisis at school and decided they could not remain passive. Youth organisations, by extension, are committed to a genuine push for environmental justice and a liveable future.
Despite their dedication, many youth organisations face what Orsini called "youth-washing" – being invited for photo opportunities and social media visibility without having any real impact. Still, Bidar shared some genuine victories from COP30. Civil society successfully pushed for the Belem Action Mechanism, securing its adoption despite blocking attempts. The adaptation text now includes a reference to intergenerational equity for the first time.
Regardless of the challenges, young people will continue to show up at every level, organising and demanding better.
However, new "youth inclusion" initiatives like the COP Youth Climate Champion often backfire. Bidar noted that youth voices can be co-opted: for instance, at COP28's Youth Climate Forum, young people were forbidden from using the term "climate refugees"because it was deemed "too political" for the United Arab Emirates. As she put it: "You're using our name to push your own agenda, some of which we're not even on board with."
Potential for Change
The panelists shared several ideas for improving youth participation and strengthening the effectiveness and robustness of the UNFCCC, including:
- Streamlining COP agendas to avoid renegotiating the same issues every year;
- Improving host-country agreements so that accommodation remains affordable;
- Providing funding earlier so that participants can plan their travel; and
- Increasing transparency around fossil-fuel lobbyists’ participation.
On the EU's role, Petri emphasised the need for domestic ambition and coalition-building internationally, especially given the leadership vacuum created by Trump's return. However, she noted concerns that the EU’s climate ambition is waning.
Throughout the discussion, it became clear that youth frustrations extend beyond climate alone. Bidar described it as a"multilateralism crisis everywhere" – with rising far-right movements, shrinking civic space, and countries refusing to cooperate. Some are now turning to alternative processes, like the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, co-hosted by the Netherlands and Colombia. When confidence in the UNFCCC falters, parallel processes begin to emerge.
Regardless of these challenges, young people will continue to show up at every level, organising and demanding better. As Orsini noted from her research perspective, "Small wins is already a lot in global politics." The question is whether these small wins will be enough to save the planet.
Missed the webinar? Watch the recording:
About the ENSURED Webinars
In Conversation with Civil Society is a year-long webinar series exploring how global governance institutions can become more effective, robust, and democratic. Each session brings together ENSURED researchers, policymakers and civil society leaders to discuss practical reform pathways across seven key policy areas. Through a conversational format, the series connects ENSURED’s research with the experience of civil society actors, identifying political opportunities for institutional change and highlighting where advocacy can have the greatest impact — especially across fragmented governance landscapes and persistent North–South divides.
The webinar series is coordinated and facilitated by CIVICUS.
Photo: Harrison Moore / Unsplash (CC BY-NC 2.0)
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