Clamour for youth @COP30

The need for collective action, education and young voices at the top table of global climate negotiations has never been more urgent.

Protests of indigenous people have profoundly influenced the mood here in Belém, where I’ve been attending COP30 as Head of Education for Cambridge Zero, the University’s major climate change initiative.

In a COP where the global narrative beforehand questioned what could actually be achieved -- the United States is largely absent and many delegates wear “not funded by fossil fuels” badges -- it feels like there’s a renewed focus on collective action and who these negotiations are really for.

"Those who believe in the power of collective action need to build coalitions of the willing—nations, regions, cities, local communities and businesses committed to accelerating change," Cambridge Pro-Vice-Chancellor Bhaskar Vira tells us in a COP30 special article for the Diplomatic Courier

Certainly, the warmth of our Brazilian hosts has imbued this year's Conference Of the Parties (COP) with an atmospheric sense of possibility, even as delegates walk past armed security on their way into a newly renovated conference centre on the edge of the Amazon.

In terms of the negotiations themselves, COPs are routinely labelled as “decisive” or “crucial”. In this case, the hyperbole is deserved, Cambridge climate talks expert Dr Joanna Depledge said.

“There is also a reservoir of respect across the board for the Brazilian hosts, who have played it well so far. If anyone can pull it off, it is Brazil," Dr Depledge says in this analysis posted on LinkedIn.

Funding and education

Education is a fundamental part of the jigsaw for driving action on climate, yet currently less than half of national curricula include mention of climate change.

Cambridge Faculty of Education Professor Pauline Rose has said that Education must be central to achieving climate justice.

"Holding those responsible for the climate crisis accountable requires prioritising education policy reform in the Global South," Rose said.

"Such reform should elevate local and indigenous knowledge, centre the perspectives of teachers and students, and tackle the connections between conflict and climate.”

In the Belém rooms I was in, I heard educationalists talking about the need to call for greater ambition for education funding in climate finance talks. Funding mechanisms need to be developed that can be activated instantaneously when disasters occur.

Research in Ethiopia has shown that when flooding disrupts education, the impact on life outcomes can last for up to 20 years. As the weather worsens and disasters become more frequent, plans need to be made for disruption.

At COP, this led to questioning why education ministers don’t routinely attend, given both the catalytic impact of education in addressing the crisis and the destructive impacts of climate change on education.

Green Skills

"Green skills" were also under discussion in side events across COP and are fundamental in driving a transition to a sustainable world. In 2025, only about 17% of the global workforce possessed green skills and from 2023 to 2024, global demand for green talent grew twice as quickly as supply.

As industry moves away from fuel sources like coal, oil and gas, it needs to ensure that it has a workforce with the skills to do these jobs. The Sustainable Business Green Jobs and Skills Working Group at COP identified three priorities to achieving this:

1) Financing a human-centred transition;

2) Developing the green and digital skills of the current workforce;

3) Qualifying the future workforce.

In a youth dialogue on green skills hosted by the Spanish Green Growth Group, many young people were also asking what a green job really is, whether we need to be talking about green skills across all sectors instead of just green jobs, and how they can know whether these jobs are greenwashing or meaningful attempts at transition.

First year Cambridge Engineering student, Sienna Bassi, attending her first COP, spoke on a panel on “Green Futures across the Commonwealth” and noted that “Companies and organisations giving opportunities and funding towards youth and education is an important investment for the future as well as now.”

Mis and disinformation and Climate Education

The challenges raised by mis and disinformation were raised repeatedly in rooms across COP with the Brazil COP30 Presidency bringing this topic to the centre of the dialogue.

Accurate, accessible and science-based information is the foundation for effective climate action. Mis and disinformation undermine progress towards the 2015 Paris agreement.

UNESCO, the Government of Brazil and the UN established the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change in November 2024. The UK was amongst the founding countries. COP30 Action Agenda Objective 30 is focussed on information integrity.  

Cambridge University Press and Assessment Global Director of Climate Education Christine Özden said that there is a huge opportunity for education to make its true contribution with curricula that contains up-to-date knowledge and contemporary framing.

"Building skills including digital and media literacy and critical thinking, communication and research capabilities will all support this,” Özden said.

There were 10 events at COP30 on this topic, including one run by CUP&A focused on “Navigating misinformation – developing climate literacy and skills through education systems”, where the key takeaways were the need to build broad cross-sector alliances on both the problem and solutions and to build capacity to address the challenges.

Young people & hope

At COP30 I talked to 24 young climate leaders from all over the world, who will feature in the ActNowFilm project.

From negotiating on behalf of the Small Island Developing States, to conserving Mongolian grasslands, to Data Centre sustainability, they each had a story to tell.

All were emphatic that the future is at stake and that they were here to advocate for that future. Demanding that they have a meaningful place in the rooms where their futures are decided, not a tokenistic one.

“Young people aren’t given a seat at the table not because they don’t have the competence, but because they don’t have the power,” Portuguese climate activist Mariana Gomes said.

When I asked these young leaders about what gives them hope they told me that it’s measured hope, tied to action, that feels sustaining.

They talked about how in a world where the devastating impacts of climate change seem certain, that it is worth fighting for a less bad future, that every small percentage point less suffering is worth it. Finally, they talked about how the brilliance of their peers inspires them.

As I said goodbye to the last young leader I filmed, Axel Eriksson, member of the UN Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Group, it was already late in the evening.

As he hurried to yet another meeting through the huge and emptying halls, I found myself feeling inspired by the dedication and vision of these young people filled with hope in an uncertain and fearful world.