AYCA 2025 Process and Addis Ababa Youth declaration and ACS 2 Mandated Events - The Youth Print. скачать в хорошем качестве

AYCA 2025 Process and Addis Ababa Youth declaration and ACS 2 Mandated Events - The Youth Print.

The second presentation session featured Ms.Ephrata Alemayehu (The Youth Print) and Ms.Beza Melaku, who provided an in-depth review of the Africa Youth Climate Assembly (AYCA 2025) process, the outcome Addis Ababa Youth Declaration, and the mandated and side events of the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS II). Ephrata explained that AYCA serves as the official youth platform for the African Climate Summit, offering young people a formal space to engage in continental climate governance. She highlighted that despite Africa contributing less than four percent of global emissions, the continent experiences disproportionate impacts due to limited adaptation capacities, weak early warning systems, and economic vulnerability. This underscored the urgency for youth participation in climate negotiations, as young people who constitute roughly 70 percent of Africa’s population are uniquely positioned to bring innovation, energy, and long-term commitment to climate solutions. Ephrata traced AYCA’s origins, regional coordination mechanisms, and its integration with institutions like the African Union, the AU Agenda 63, the Paris Agreement, and ACS, framing it as a continental youth movement rather than a one-time event. Ephrata further outlined the thematic priorities of the Addis Ababa Youth Declaration, including just transition, green jobs and skills, climate finance with dedicated youth funds, technology acceleration, nature-based solutions, sustainable cities, peace and security, and regional and global solidarity. She emphasized that AYCA’s achievements are not symbolic, they represent a structured platform to unify African youth voices, advocate for policy influence, and scale grassroots solutions to global impact. The Declaration, she noted, has been shared with key continental and international actors, including the African Union Commission, COP30 Youth Presidency, and European Union leadership, reinforcing youth as central contributors to Africa’s climate agenda. Building on this, Beza provided a detailed overview of ACS II’s structure, explaining the distinction between mandated and side events and their thematic focus areas. Mandated events were organized by the host country and the African Union, while side events were convened by approved partners. Beza highlighted those thematic areas prioritized showcasing African solutions for climate action and unlocking scalable climate finance. Across these, critical discussions ranged from nature-based solutions, the Great Green Wall, climate-induced peace and security, health-climate nexus, and equity and just transition, to climate finance, green jobs, clean energy, electric mobility, adaptation, monitoring, reporting, policy reform, and carbon markets. Collectively, these presentations illuminated the depth of youth engagement at ACS II, providing Ethiopian participants with a comprehensive understanding of continental priorities, youth-led contributions, and the actionable pathways necessary to align national strategies with the African climate agenda ahead of COP30. #AddisToBelem #AYCA2025 #YouthForClimateAction #ACSIIAddis #COP30Journey #ClimateLeadership #YouthInAction