(NAN)
UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed says the UN “belongs” to the younger generation and countries must ensure they participate in decisions on environmental protection and climate action.
Mohammed said this on Tuesday while concluding her two-day visit to the Central American country of Costa Rica.
Mohammed, who spoke with young environmental and climate activists, urged them to connect the climate negotiations with what is happening in the world.
“We have to fight for the strengthening of democracy and participate in the votes because ultimately democracy is also climate action.”
During their exchange, the activists expressed concerns over the impacts of climate change on the most excluded populations.
They assured the UN’s chief that young people were increasingly raising their voices and mobilising more to demand that countries comply with international agreements.
“We must be more ambitious, move faster for the environment and the climate, but we also need the world to recognise, value and give the space that young people deserved in climate negotiations,” said Sara Cognuck, one of the young environmental leaders.
Mohammed urged young people to strengthen how they organise around issues and to identify ways to fund their causes, to ensure that their voices, as well as their actions, reached every corner of the globe.
For the UN, climate change is the defining issue of our time and it figured prominently in her discussions with Costa Rican officials, civil society groups and others.
On Monday, Mohammed met with President Carlos Alvarado and Vice President Epsy Campbell to identify and promote joint cooperation on environmental protection, climate mitigation and adaption and also the financing for development that developing countries required.
They also examined how to strengthen actions to serve the most vulnerable populations, such as people of African descent, women, indigenous peoples, migrants, asylum seekers, children and adolescents.
The deputy secretary general’s visit also highlighted Costa Rica’s leadership in mobilising development finance for middle-income countries and achieving debt relief, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The crisis is putting global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at risk.
Mohammed stressed the need for urgent action and ambition.
“We need to go to scale with solutions and overcome the obstacles that lie ahead. The UN is committed to accompanying Costa Rica on this journey to fulfil the promise of the SDGs,” she said.
Mohammed also discussed Costa Rica’s proposal for a COVID-19 Economic Relief Fund (CFE) and similar initiatives to expand fiscal space there and in other middle-income countries, for green, inclusive and resilient recovery.
Talks also covered innovative financing tools, including so-called “blue” and “green” bonds, and aligning investments in strategic sectors such as social protection and “green” jobs to bolster future resilience.
During her mission, Mohammed also held several meetings with government ministers and leaders from the Central Bank and in areas such as public finance and the private sector, to support the country in its efforts to achieve the SDGs.
Mohammed also planted a tree, inaugurating the UN Garden at the park, and thus affirming commitment to young people and vulnerable communities in Costa Rica and around the world.