Indian Youth Have Arrived at Last!

As I opened the door to the pre-COP Conference of Youth for my friends and collegues–fellow crusaders in this fight against the global climate crisis–my heart raced faster.  One year ago to the day, I had arrived with the US youth delegation to the 13th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP 13) held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007.  With no other perceieved outlet to attend the landmark netgotiations, little did I know that the journey would come back full circle to me returning not as the sole Indian youth but one that arrived with a dynamic team of youth climate leaders in the first ever Indian youth delegation at a UN climate conference!  And what a journey it has been.  Since its inception in March 2008 the Indian Youth Climate Network has grown by leaps and bounds and not only provided the platform for youth and young professionals within India to express their views and come together in the search for solutions but now connected India with the world and vice versa in an attempt to bring a fresh face to this perspective.

The Indian youth delegation is pumped and ready.  They will leave no stone unturned, no questions unanswered, and with deep resolve claim their rightful place at this international forum to show the world that young India–the real India–has arrived at last to determine its own future.  Nine individuals from across the nation have come together to put together policy perspectives on some key issues being debated at the conference including the Clean Development Mechanism, Technology Transfer, Deforestation, Adaptation, and of course, engaging rapidly industrializing economies in the dialog in order to break the climate deadlock.

Not only have the youth emmersed themselves heavily in the group of international youth convening at the conference, but they are also readying to make two of their own to be a part of the official government of India delegation as youth representatives a move which is landmark in its implications and sends a powerful signal to the world that it is indeed showing leadership by engaging its next generation of climate leadership.  These youth will not only be learning from the process by sitting with their government representatives, but they hope to give inputs on policies bring the voice of youth to their own government delegation.  No, nothing like this has ever been done before.  But the times require bold measures and such a move by the government is welcomed by the Indian Youth Climate Network, the body that has organized this program.

The days ahead will be long and arduous.  It is expected that the labrynth process of the negotiations will make one loose all sense of urgency on the issue.  But this is an opportunity for them to learn–a chance to prepare to take on the mamoth task of representing the views of a constituency who has much to loose (48% of the world is “youth” and 700 million people in India qualify as “youth” ) and whose voice is so urgently required to shed light on the most contentious issue of global climate equity.

Stay tuned for more Dispatches from Poznan.  The Indian Youth are setting the bar high!