FM for engaging youth power globally on climate front

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday called upon all to engage youths in climate adaptation issues globally saying they are the future.

"We have to engage youth power. We have to engage them everywhere," he said at the inaugural session of first ever virtual climate summit, Climate:Red..

The Foreign Minister laid emphasis on joint efforts to address the challenges on climate fronts.

"We have to create a global public awareness campaign. Single country can't manage it. We have to work together in partnership and collaboration," said the Foreign Minister.

Climate:Red, a two-day fully virtual and truly global climate change summit, brought youth champions, activists, indigenous leaders, scientists and government ministers together for 30 hours of innovation, ideas, and action to tackle the climate emergency.

The summit has been organised by the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies to mobilise support for climate action, and encourage the sharing of ideas and experiences.

The event will run for 30 consecutive hours to allow people in all time zones to get involved, and is open for everyone to join.

IFRC President Francesco Rocca said, "While the world's attention has been turned to COVID-19, the climate crisis continues to unfold. Climate change is already a humanitarian crisis, and the scale of the suffering it causes will only get worse."

 "The Red Cross and Red Crescent are committed to massively scaling up our climate action, and this summit will mobilize our global network to meet those commitments. Climate:Red is also an opportunity to engage with and inspire an enormous network of change agents."

Climate:Red has a crowdsourced programme with around 200 sessions and speakers. In addition to leadership, staff and volunteers from the Red Cross and Red Crescent network, the summit will feature leading scientists, government ministers, CEOs, youth champions, climate activists and people in remote communities driving climate change initiatives every day.

High-level speakers include The Prince of Wales; Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland; Honorable Casten N. Nemra, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of the Marshall Islands; Michael Köhler, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operation (DG ECHO); Krista Mikkonen, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Finland and many others.

The vast range of sessions also demonstrate the diverse, cross-cutting and far-reaching nature of Red Cross and Red Crescent climate work.

There will be a roundtable discussion with indigenous leaders from around the world, messages from young Red Cross and Red Crescent climate champions, an ignite talk about the role of art in raising awareness about climate change in Sudan, and a variety of interactive panels, workshops, virtual games and live podcasts.

During the event, the shortlisted candidates of the Climate:Red innovation competition will pitch their ideas and new ventures to address climate change in the Innovation Pitch Tent open on Thursday.

The audience can vote for their favourite, and competition winners will receive funding to help implement their ideas.

The full schedule with all speakers and sessions is available for registered attendees in climate.red.

The summit is open to all members of the public, and all of the main stage sessions at climate.red will be available in English, French, Arabic and Spanish.

IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said: "We always envisaged Climate:Red summit as our first fully virtual global event, and I hope as many people as possible will take the opportunity to join the summit across its 30 hours of ideas and inspiration.

"Climate change affects us all, no matter who we are or where we're living. We need to talk to each other, and support each other, if we are to rise to the many challenges and overcome them. Climate:Red will help us do this by creating a space for learning, sharing, exploring and strategizing on how we can scale up our climate action."