Youth has a critical role in combating climate change, being the major stakeholder and a strong driver for action. The already 4th Youth Climate Conclave (YCC) has therefore been organized from 19-24 February 2023 to engage Indian youth in a positive and proactive way in science-based discussions on the most relevant climate change issues and to identify opportunities for youth and governments to drive joint action on fulfilling the climate change agenda.
The YCC is organized by the Delegation of the European Union to India, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) India, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and YuWaah, with the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as Nodal Ministry.
The YCC was attended by around 150 participants from all over India, in two age categories (10-18 years and 19-25 years). 24 of the participants were selected through a photo competition. This year their photos were exhibited in a professional YCC Photo Competition, which was kindly hosted complementary by the Italian Cultural Centre. The exhibition was inaugurated on 20th February and was inaugurated in the presence of H.E Mr Vincenzo de Luca, Ambassador of Italy to India, HE Mr Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India, Ms Dhuwarakha Sriram, Chief of Generation Unlimited (YuWaah), Youth Development and Partnerships, UNICEF and Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI. The title of the exhibition was #SmartChoices for a Sustainable Future. The exhibition also exhibited the top 3 winners of the earlier 3 YCCs.
The conclave included a visit to TERIgram – a barren and desolate land converted into a sustainable habitat by TERI, which now houses state-of-the-art facilities for developing green technologies, along with a residency called RETREAT (Resource-Efficient TERI Retreat for Environmental Awareness and Training), as well as a visit to the International Solar Alliance and the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE campus) in Gurugram. The youth participants had a chance to interact with Mr. Joshua Wycliffe, Chief Operating Officer of International Solar Alliance and to see innovative pilot scale initiatives on solar energy at the NISE campus.
The 4th edition of the YCC, which also coincides with India taking up the role of G20 presidency, consisted of capacity-building sessions, group discussions, technical sessions on climate action and role of youth. A debate competition was organized along with understanding youth priorities and actions for development of a ‘Youth Pledge’ in a participatory manner. The youth pledge was read out in the Youth Plenary on 24 February, at the World Sustainable Development Summit 2023.
Winners of the photography competition
Video recording of the youth plenary session at WSDS 2023.
Agenda for information
YCC 4th Edition website
Link to the YCC video
Youth pledge
Location on CECP website: https://www.cecp-eu.in/events/past-events/climate/climate-change-youth