More than 100 young people gathered in Bangor, on Saturday 9 December, to hold a climate event to mark COP28, the annual meeting of world leader to address climate change, being held this month in Dubai.
As part of a Global Day of Action,the Bangor event was organised by North Wales Climate Action, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, and Extinction Rebellion Bangor.
The young people made placards and Christmas cards to MPs, followed by a march around Bangor with lively chants of ” We rise together for our future”. Carolyn Thomas Assembly Member joined and will deliver cards from the event to the Senedd with messages about young people’s calls for climate action.
COP28 is the annual United Nations meeting, this year in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates this December for world leaders to agree ways on how to limit long-term global temperature rises to no more than 1.5C, which is critical to limit the most severe impacts of climate change and for a liveable future on earth.
2023 has been the hottest year on record globally, and the UN has warned that rapid and radical changes to the way we live are needed to keep to this limit. COP28 is the 28th round of these annual climate negotiations. Despite this, there still hasn’t been an agreement from world leaders to phase out climate-wrecking fossil fuels.
The UAE is amongst the top oil-producing nations in the world, which is particularly controversial given that fossil fuels such as oil and gas are the main driver of climate change. The UAE state oil company aims to nearly double its output by 2027. Leaked documents reveal that the UAE intends to use COP28 as an opportunity to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 other countries. Young people are going to be facing the worst impacts of the climate and ecological crisis, and yet their voices are rarely heard.
At the Bangor event speakers from primary school children to university students read out their concerns and wishes about climate change, and the North Wales Africa Society speaker reminded us of climate related extreme weather abroad as well as at home. As one of the young speakers pointed out – we should never have got to a point that children have to worry about climate change as much as they clearly do.
The impact of climate change and extreme weather events are already being felt in North Wales as sea levels are expected to rise by 1.1m over the next century. 23,244 Gwynedd residents live within a flood risk area and flooding already costs the Welsh economy £200 million per year.
Heather Bolton, Councillor from Penygroes, said: “It’s very moving to listen to the speakers from the younger generation read out their thoughts, and hopes for the future. The corporations most responsible for the climate crisis keep posting record profits, paid for by us through our extortionate bills. Countries claiming to be ‘climate leaders’, including the UK, sign off plans to expand drilling for new oil and gas – damaging the climate and doing nothing to reduce the cost of living.”
Helen McGreary, from Menai Bridge, said: “While profits for fossil fuel companies continue to rise, normal people’s energy also bills rise. Meanwhile the poor countries of the world who did the least to cause climate change are bearing the worse of extreme weather. Oil companies profit while normal people at home and abroad pay the price. Temperatures are rising. Corporate profits are rising. Now we’re rising.”
