Saoirse relishing global platform to further climate action aims

REPRESENTING Ireland as one of only two Europeans on a new Global Green Youth Forum has been described as “awesome” by an O’Briensbridge environmental activist.
Saoirse Exton, (15) has been chosen as one of 14 youth leaders on a C40 Global Youth and Mayors Forum, which will work together over the next year to shape how the vision of a Global Green New Deal can be made a reality in cities across the world.
The Global Youth and Mayors forum is part of C40’s Global Youth Initiative, announced by Mayor of Los Angeles and Chair of C40, Eric Garcetti, at the 2019 C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen.
Youth members were selected from each continent, with additional representation from continents with more than one billion people in order to ensure that the forum is representative of global youth and perspectives from across the world.
Having applied to C40 Team, she was selected to become a youth climate change leader.
“It was incredible and amazing to be chosen. I didn’t think I would be selected. Ireland is a quiet, small country.
“It is awesome to be representing Ireland on this world stage because we don’t have much of an international voice when it comes to youth. I hope young people can do something working together.
“As a white European, I don’t come into contact with people from different economic backgrounds, countries or hemispheres. I am only one of two Europeans and the other European is from France.
There are young people on the forum from Haiti, Korea and Africa.

We are thrilled to introduce the first-ever members of the C40 Global Youth & Mayors Forum 🎉 14 amazing young climate activists and 6 mayors from across the world have come together to shape a Global #GreenNewDeal that serves everyone, everywhere. https://t.co/5ulNRMNCg8 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/teIyxPO7sU

— C40 Cities (@c40cities) April 26, 2021

“The youth forum is really intercultural and that is something that C40 tries to achieve to give people from the global south more of a voice.
“Usually when it comes to international groups, the central European countries are usually very well represented like Sweden. Germany and also the United Kingdom.”
She pointed out people living in poorer countries in Africa are the ones who are most affected by the climate crisis, which has been caused by the global north.
This includes adverse impacts such as soil erosion, soil acidification of the sea, flooding, carbon emissions and air pollution.
Having spoken to a young person on the forum from Haiti about the impact of Covid-19, Saoirse was told that Covid-19 cases aren’t an issue yet, as poverty and hunger are much bigger problems.
The inaugural meeting of the youth leaders lasting about 90 minutes was held online and it is expected this will continue for the foreseeable future.
Issues concerning intergenerational climate action and how mayors could support climate activists in their own areas as well as involving them in the decision-making process were discussed at their youth leaders’ first meeting.
Renewable energy, carbon emissions, public transport and other environmental issues were considered during their discussion.
She said there was an urgent need for people to lobby their local Dail Deputy to strengthen the Climate Action Bill upholding the principles of Stop Climate Chaos and issues raised by Friends of the Earth.
“The Climate Action Bill is good, but it is not strong enough. It is not accountable. It is a lot better than the 2019 Climate Action Bill. People who are working in a fossil fuel plant have to be retrained so they can be redeployed into more sustainable employment.
“There needs to be a balance between letting people off and retraining them them to do what they have always done in a better way.
“Ireland has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 52% by 2050, which is unrealistic because the tipping point happens in 2030 when we can no longer stop the climate crisis from happening.
“We only have about nine years and need to take action right now.
“Relying on carbon capture technology is aspirational but it doesn’t really exist. Emissions from shipping and aviation are not taken into account for national emissions.”
She believes her participation on the global youth forum also gives her the opportunity to promote her work as a national Climate Ambassador and the Fridays for Future climate strikes by concerned students.
“The Global Green New Deal comes from an international stage, which has been agreed by different countries to uphold the new deal, so we can look forward to a sustainable future.”
Last year, she was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award as part of the national Climate Ambassador programme.
The Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh student started her year as a climate ambassador with training from An Taisce in Galway on January 25, 2020.
The Transition Year student participated in climate strikes outside local authority buildings in Limerick City every Friday since March 2019, apart from a break during Covid-19 lockdowns, and helped set up a climate hustings for the last General Election.
The climate strikes included marching from Arthur’s Quay car park to City Hall in Limerick.
In August 2019, she attended a meeting of global Fridays for Future activists in Switzerland to discuss climate-related issues, protest, have fun and make decisions about ongoing goals for Fridays For Future Europe.
That week-long adventure taught her about the power of global solidarity and standing with each other to change the world.
She is also the Equality Officer of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU), working to include intersectionality within the union, and throughout Ireland. She was also selected to be a COY16 Country Coordinator for an international event preceding COP26 in Glasgow, and is a fellow at Civics Unplugged, a United States-based organisation focused on changing the democratic system and by extension the world.
She believes that unity is the key to overcoming any crisis that affects the planet and that people can work together to create a world that’s better for everyone by recognising differences and similarities.

by Dan Danaher