CliMates: youth in the international debate about environment

Sustainable development has a lot to deal with Humanity’s future. In this regard, new generations are main stakeholders in the debate on environment. As a matter of fact, youngsters and their opinions about development are seldom directly taken into account by governance all around the world. Hopefully things will change for the better in the future since an international students think tank, called CliMates, was created in 2011 to share the new generations’ view on environmental and development issues.

CliMates started in 2011 and its central organization committee is based in Paris with many local committees located in every country members are from. CliMates now gathers up about 170 students from 35 different countries in the world. Members of CliMates have a special definition for their organization which they call a “think-and-do-tank”. Doing and not just thinking seems to be the heart of that project since CliMates is a network for young scientists as much a lobby with an aim to take part in international negotiations to push solutions forwards.

With help of a few experts in development and environmental science like Nobel Prize Jean Jouzel and IPCC member Rik Leemans, students from all around the world turned CliMates into a real international organisation in less than a year. This achievement is welcome news in the world of international politics since it gives youngsters a voice in a debate that affects them more than any other.

CliMates held its first international conference in October 2012. On that occasion the think tank illustrated its originality by publishing the CliMates Call for Action. The document promotes a politically neutral approach, an attachment to innovation and academic research along with local actions. In a way CliMates sent a clear signal that climate change and environmental development are not simply a theoretical argument for the new generation but major concerns that must be address with pragmatism. Members of CliMates want those questions to be raised and tackle and they hope to be part of it.

Some of those members took part in the negotiations during the Rio Earth Summit in 2012. Their CliMates Call for Action was taken up to Doha’s summit in November 2012. Within a few years, CliMates has become recognized as a creative force in international negotiation. Within CliMates, students can do much by marshalling collective thoughts and using their network. They might not make it to the IPCC yet, but they surely aim at playing a greater part in the international debates in the future.