She Leads: COP29 Youth Declaration
This group of young climate change activists are committed to addressing the urgent challenges posed to girls and young women by climate change at COP29.
We are the She Leads Climate Cohort, a group of passionate girls and young women from East Africa (Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya), West Africa (Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia) and the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan), committed to addressing the urgent challenges posed to girls and young women by climate change.
With the She Leads Youth Declaration, we are representing the voices of many girls and young women from the She Leads countries.
It is time to act now!
“Whenever you cut trees, whenever you leak wastes, whenever you do constructions, whenever you burn fossils, whenever you spoil the lakes, remember us girls and children. We will
Ilham, 20, Ethiopia
keep on facing higher rates of violence, starvation, dropouts, displacement, miss
on opportunities and in the worst case be left to die.”
Because we witness daily that climate change is disproportionately affecting us, girls and young women and marginalised communities, exacerbating existing inequalities.
Despite contributing the least to climate change, girls and young women bear the brunt of its impacts facing increased risks of displacement & health, loss of education, early marriage and gender based violence.
As we approach the COP29 climate negotiations, it is our mission to advocate for inclusive and gender- and age- responsive climate finance and policies that empower and acknowledge us, girls and young women, as key stakeholders in climate action, climate finance, and climate policies.
Learn more:
Download the declaration:
She Leads Youth Declaration – English
984.34 kb
She Leads Youth Declaration – French
1.03 mb
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