The United Nations award-winning Nigerian, Noel Alumona, has called on world leaders to give youths a greater say on the issue of climate change.
Mr Alumona, who is the founder of Boys Champions (BC), advicated this while addressing United Nations Leaders and Youths on the topic “Climate Change and Youths Inclusion” to mark 2023 International Youth Day (IYD).
The IYD is an annual event celebrated every Aug. 12, to raise awareness and drive actions on issues affecting youths globally, with 2023 theme being “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World”.
In Alumona’s submission, the world faces interconnected crises emanating from climate changes. He also believes the challenges could be turned into an opportunity if leaders empowered young people with green skills and gave them the opportunities to address the challenges.
He said young people understood the problems better because their future was at stake as they were poised, with the sustainability, eco-skills and technology to solve these problems.
Alumona said, “As we approach the halfway point to 2030, the urgency to uphold the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has never been greater and recommitting to the SDGs is our best roadmap out of them.
“Failing to act decisively will lead to irreparable damage to our planet and in Nigeria where I come from.
“We are constantly seeing the devastating effects of climate change, from increasing floods and droughts to coastal erosion.
“These changes are having a profound impact on the lives of people, especially women and children, and young persons with disabilities. This is almost the same globally but there is hope.”
He explained that voices and actions of the youths were crucial in pushing for global efforts to mitigate against and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.
He gave these words of advice: “As a youth myself, I represent the voices of all the hundreds of young people in this room, and the 1.2 billion young people globally.
“And I would like to say that climate change is a crucial battle for us as young people because its impacts will shape our future.
“As we hone these green skills, we require all the support from our leaders.We cannot do this on our own because we have the skills but we do not have the systems.
“We do not also have the finances. And I am glad that our leaders are listening to us here today.
“And I would like to tell them to prioritise young people, their skills and potential.”
By way of circumventing these challenges, Alumona posited that it was essential to recognise the unique perspectives, ideas, and energy that young people brought to the table.
According to him, youths are tired of sitting down to talk but demand actions by actively engaging in shaping the policies and initiatives that affect their future.
“You can tap into our creativity, innovation, and passion, ultimately fostering inclusive societies and sustainable world.
“Our programs at Boys Champions are focused on young people and as a result, we always employ several innovative methods to make their learning experiential.
“To achieve this, leaders can organise eco-friendly innovation competitions or challenges that encourage youths to come up with creative solutions to environmental problems.
“Changing the world alone is difficult and draining, but together we can make it happen.
Present at the event were more than 1,000 young people from 103 countries and leaders of the United Nations.
