As Copenhagen gets ready to receive world leaders and delegations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), from 07 to 18 December, a rather smaller – but nonetheless important – group of young people from 40 different countries has already started to debate about the future of our planet.

Organized by UNICEF and the City of Copenhagen, the Children’s Climate Forum began today at the capital’s City Hall with 160 children from countries as varied as China, Bangladesh, Kiribati and Nigeria.

The one-hour opening ceremony, enriched by musical performances and a lot of interaction between all participants, convened one main message: Future generations are indeed taking the issue of climate change seriously and intend to take action to continuously increase global awareness.

“We must not accept the way things are. We must stay and fight, even if the forces we are fighting are so great that they have powers to affect the winds, the waters, and the seasons. They are the forces of Climate Change. We created them ourselves, and now it is our responsibility to leash them,” said Countess Alexandra, Patroness of the UNICEF National Committee for Denmark and one of the invited speakers at the Forum.

“We may get discouraged by the magnitude of the problem. But it is so important not to lose hope. We must think positively, and we must encourage others to take positive action along with us,” she concluded.

Out and about

The day started early for the child delegates. At nine in the morning, in the main hall, a joint exhibition produced by them was put together depicting the main concerns and recommendations regarding the issue of climate change. The display, open to the general public, attracted a lot of curious eyes that happened to be passing by the City Hall area, based in the heart of Copenhagen.

“I expect us to be heard as one of the first countries to be affected by climate change. We want to be able to tell our children that we preserved the planet for them,” said 15-year-old Axam Maumoon, from the Maldivian delegation.

After setting up the exhibition, all children got together for the first time at the plenary hall, a charming room dated from September 1905. Facilitators and child delegates exchanged first impressions and ideas in a welcoming atmosphere, breaking out to prepare for the opening session, which started at one o’clock in the afternoon.

Once the initial remarks and speeches were finished, a Market Place started in the main hall, with all child delegates freely inviting each other to discuss climate issues related to their specific countries.

“Please ask your country to help us out. The Maldives will be very affected if the oceans start to rise,” asked Axam to 15-year-old Daniel Christensen, from the Danish delegation. “We’ll do our best to support you,” he replied.

Later in the afternoon, before the plenary session to discuss the main synergies between the Children’s Climate Forum and the upcoming COP15, all delegates broke into six groups of about 30 children each to talk about the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which celebrated 20 years last week.

The correlation between climate change and child rights was quite obvious for most of the youth delegates. If they are forced to live in an environmentally compromised planet, most children won’t be able to enjoy their lives, since threats to their health and mental well-being will increase.

“Climate change causes food and water shortage in my country. With nothing to drink, for example, many children don’t go to school because they need to search for water and have no time to study,” says 15-year-old Laurine Oyodah, from Kenya.

What children seem to see and understand so clearly is yet to be grasped by some adults, who insist in damaging the planet without any consideration for the future generations. However, given the commitment and willingness shown by the young delegates attending the Forum in Denmark, taking action to stop further harm to the environment will no longer be an option: it will become a vital need and a matter or survival.