Day 6 of COP25

It's the final day of week 1 at COP25! EmpoderaClima was only able to attend the first week of COP, and although it was quite an intensive week for human rights and gender in the climate negotiations, week 2 will be equally important, as Gender Day of COP is on December 10 (Tuesday of the second week).

On this Saturday of COP, EmpoderaClima followed some more of the gender negotiations and youth actions, but we also did something very fun outside of the COP space - we attended the Cumbre Social por el Clima, or the Social People's Climate Summit, in Madrid.

YOUNGO Press Conference

The youth constituency of the UNFCCC, YOUNGO, held a press conference today, in which each of the YOUNGO working group leaders updated the press on their work during the first week of COP. This included the working group for Agriculture, ACE (Action for Climate Empowerment), Health, Conflict of Interest, and Adaptation.

YOUNGO Focal Point for the Global South, Chiagozie, moderated the press conference, and in his introductory speech, he stated that “we [youth] are not just striking; we are also providing recommendations and drafting policy” - a powerful statement about the role of youth at a global conference such as COP25.

GAP Negotations

The negotiations for the updated Gender Action Plan of the UNFCCC are in full swing, and EmpoderaClima was able to sit in the negotiation room today and listen to the discussion. The country delegates are still debating on many of the terms of the GAP, but it is looking positive for the outcome of this year's COP! You can read more about the new and updated GAP in our review, available on the COP25 tab.

Cumbre Social por el Clima

At the Cumbre Social por el Clima, we went to a verty special event hosted by the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International), entitled "Frontline Women Protecting and Defending Rights, Land, Communities, and Climate".

WECAN International has been a great inspiration for EmpoderaClima, and our Founder interviewed for their social media page earlier this week, which you can check out here.

At the event, the room was packed with powerful women, including gender and climate activists, as well as inspiring indigenous women from the Global South, including Brazil and Ecuador. Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder of WECAN International, highlighted the challenges to include more indigenous women at COPs, such as the length of the conference and the locations – which are usually far from their homes.

The talk also touched on the importance of the North-South bridge; the Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action in Canada, Erica Tchekwie Deranger, made a pledge for a stronger alliance: “I want to work with my sisters from the South to overcome this colonization process”, she said.

Nature was a topic emphasized throughout the entire afternoon. Daiara Tukano, young indigenous woman from the Brazilian Amazon, strongly stated that “we belong to the land, the land does not belong to us”.

The event ended with singing and everyone holding hands – a powerful ending to an inspiring day (and week!) of COP25 in Madrid.

That's it for our last day at COP25 and for our daily recaps! This was a challenging yet rewarding experience for us, and we hope you enjoyed following the global climate negotiations in Madrid with us.