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UK Youth Climate Coalition
AbbreviationUKYCC
FormationJune 2008[1]
TypeNon-profit company limited by guarantee[2]
PurposeYouth representation
Location
  • UK-wide
Region served
United Kingdom
Official language
English
Key people
Casper ter Kuile and Emma Biermann, Co-Founders[3]
AffiliationsActionAid, Amnesty International, British Youth Council, Diana Awards, Envision, Friends of the Earth, Liberal Youth, LJY Netzer, Made in Europe, Medsin, National Union of Students, Otesha Project, Oxfam, People & Planet, RSPB, Scottish Youth Parliament, Stop Climate Chaos, Unicef, The Woodcraft Folk, Young Scot[4]
Websitehttps://www.ukycc.com/

The UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC) is a non-profit youth organisation in the United Kingdom.[5][6][7] It is part of The Climate Coalition in the UK [8]

Formed in 2008, the mission of the organisation is to mobilise and empower young people to take positive action for global climate justice.[9][10] To achieve this, the UKYCC organises a series of projects, campaigns and events each year, including sending youth delegations to the United Nations Climate Negotiations.[11]

The organisation is supported by a coalition of non-governmental organisations.[12]

Organisation

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Formation

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In June 2008, the United Kingdom ambassadors to the World Wide Fund for Nature's Voyage for the Future programme, Emma Biermann and Casper ter Kuile,[13] returned from the Arctic to found the UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC) based on similar organisations such as the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and the Energy Action Coalition in the United States.[14]

By bringing together several youth organisations and a coalition of NGOs, the co-founders intended to unite the work of their partners.[15] Following this, the co-founders formed a coordinating team who worked on several projects, campaigns and events over the duration of the next year.

Governance and structure

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The UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC) is run by a team of young volunteers between the ages of 18 and 29.[9] The organisation is a registered private company limited by guarantee, with no share capital, which means it is run for non-profit purposes.[16]

The organisation is split into several working groups[9]

  • Systems Change - This group was developed out of the "Gas" working group, which focused on campaigning against the use and development of natural gas resources in the UK.[17]
  • COP - This group works internationally on climate justice issues. They spend the year training and engaging with a team of delegates at the yearly UNFCCC COP and Intersessionals.[11]
  • Community - This group aims to tackle climate change at a local level. They focus on capacity-building activities for communities, as well as local activism.[18]
  • Youth Strike - This group works to help support the UK Youth Strike 4 Climate movement.[19]
  • LCOY - The group in charge of organising the UK's first Local Conference of Youth. These are conferences organised by YOUNGO (the youth wing of the UNFCCC) to empower youth climate activism.[20]

These working groups are further supported by a Communications working group and an Operations working group which deal with key day-to-day aspects of the organisation.[21] There is also a board of trustees who support organisers.[22] The UKYCC is further supported by a coalition and works with several NGOs.[12]

Internationally, the coalition affiliates with the Youth Climate Movement, with sister organisations in America, Australia, Canada, China and India.[12] The UKYCC has also previously formed a partnership with the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change - Kenyan Chapter, with whom they share resources, experience and training.[23]

Funding

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The UKYCC advertises that its core funding comes mainly from donations from its supporters.[24] Projects have previously been funded by grants, eg, from the Youth Funding Network, and from in-kind support,[25][26] eg, Seventeen Events provided pro-bono support to the volunteers to ensure their Powershift event was sustainable.[27]

Activities

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2008

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In 2008, the UK Youth Climate Coalition undertook several activities. Some of their projects included:

  • Participating in the National Climate March organised by the Campaign against Climate Change, with a campaign called "Our time is now" to raise awareness of climate change amongst young people.[28]
  • Organising a youth delegation to the 2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference in partnership with the Otesha Project.[29] At the event, the delegation coordinated the 'Call Gordon' project, a viral telephone campaign asking then Prime Minister Gordon Brown to pursue a tougher agreement on climate change at the talks.
  • Supporting the Green Finger Project, an online viral campaign that aims to show how climate change affects everyone.[30] The project was initially the idea of Step it Up 2007, founded by Bill McKibben who went on to establish 350.org.

2009

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Working with the International Youth Movement, in particular, the European Youth Climate Movement to contribute to the "How old will you be in 2050?" campaign, launched at the United Nations Climate negotiations taking place in Bonn, Germany.[15]

Organising the Power Shift event in London.[31] This event was designed to provide training and support to young people to work within their local communities.[31]

Chairing a question-and-answer debate between a panel of government ministers and 80 young people.[32][33][34][35] The panel included former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband and Former Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office Baroness Glenys Kinnock.[36][37][38][39]

Participating in the Wave March, organised by coalition partner Stop Climate Chaos.[40] It is estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 individuals attended the march in London, in addition to over 7,000 participants in Glasgow.[41][42]

Participating in the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference.[5] in Copenhagen.[43] Darran Martin, one of the youth delegates, was reported to have cycled from the UK to the event.[44][45][46][47] The delegation recorded a series of documentaries around the conference.[48][49][50]

Organising a Day of Action as the UK Delivery partner for the Global Campaign for Climate Action, also recognised as "TckTckTck", including a flash dance outside the Houses of Parliament and projecting an image onto the House of Commons, with the slogan, "the World wants a real deal".[3][51][52]

2010

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Participating in the UK Youth Parliament with coalition partners Oxfam, Plan UK and UNICEF.[53]

Participating in the Department for Energy and Climate Change Youth Advisory Panel with partners People & Planet and Plan UK.[54][55]

Launching a viral video campaign called "Shake your money maker" to raise awareness of ethical banking amongst its supporters. The campaign ran with the slogan, "It might not come with a free popcorn machine, but an ethical bank account will sow the seeds for a cleaner, brighter future.".

Supporting the British Youth Council Manifesto and the Vote Global campaign during the General Elections.[56][57]

Launching the "Adopt an MP" project.[58]

2011

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Providing training to enable young Europeans to organise Power Shift conferences. Launching the "Push Europe" campaign.[59]

Participating in climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa.[60][61]

2012

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Launching the "Youth for Green Jobs" campaign.[62]

Participating in COP18 in Qatar.[62]

2013

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In response to Education Secretary Michael Gove's proposal to remove climate change from the Geography national curriculum for under 14s, the UK Youth Climate Coalition set up a petition calling for a policy change. As a result of the 70,000 signatures, this received the policy was dropped.[62]

The UK Youth Climate Coalition delegation to COP19 in Warsaw walked out a day early due to frustration at the lack of progress.[62]

2014

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Participating in COP20 in Lima, Peru.

Participating in the "Lima in Brussels" conference.[62]

2015

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Participating in COP21 in Paris. This included running workshops, joining human chain protests and in D12 (day of "red lines") actions.[62]

2016

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The abolition of the Department of Energy and Climate Change by Theresa May in 2016 led to direct actions around Westminster, as well as an email and letter campaign.[62]

Participating in COP22 in Marrakech.[62]

2017

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Organising a Roundtable of youth organisations at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Engaging in actions with the Coal Action Network in front of BEIS, highlighting coal air pollution and public opposition.[62]

Participating in COP23 in Bonn, Germany and holding a Gas side event.[62]

2018

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Working with Friends of the Earth on the "climate serious" campaign.[62]

Launching the Gas Campaign, which focused on opposing hydraulic fracking in the UK.[62]

Participating in COP24 in Poland. This included work with YOUNGO (the youth constituency at the UNFCCC), working on climate justice campaigns, and highlighting gender discussions and vested interests within COP.[62]

2019

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Participating in COP25 in Madrid.

2020

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Preparing for COP26. This, and other work, was delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

2021

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Participating in COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.

2022

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Participating in COP27 in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt.

2023

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Creating a podcast called From the Ground Up.[63] The first episodes were a series of interviews covering activism in Brazil and Malawi, disability justice and young people at COP.

See also

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The Climate Coalition

References

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  1. ^ "Who are we?". Our Time is Now. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  2. ^ "UK Youth Climate Coalition". Taking IT Global. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  3. ^ a b "UK Youth Climate Coalition Annual Review 2009" (PDF). UK Youth Climate Coalition. Retrieved 29 May 2010. [dead link]
  4. ^ "The Coalition". UK Youth Climate Coalition. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Profile: Guppi Bola". Lancet Student. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  6. ^ "The consequences of tomorrow, today". Department of Energy and Climate Change. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  7. ^ "UKYCC Members | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  8. ^ ‘’Climate Coalition’’ website
  9. ^ a b c "ABOUT US | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. ^ "UKYCC The First 10 Years". Issuu. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  11. ^ a b "COP | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  12. ^ a b c "Coalition | Home | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  13. ^ Warwick University website
  14. ^ "Climate change Young Ambassadors". WWF. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  15. ^ a b "UKYCC The First 5 Years". Issuu. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  16. ^ "UK Youth Climate Coalition". Companies House. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Systems Change | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Community | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Youth Strike 4 Climate | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  20. ^ "LCOY | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Operations & Comms | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  22. ^ "UKYCC Trustees | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Youth Delegate to Copenhagen". NE Combined Transport Activists Roundtable. 30 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  24. ^ "DONATE | UK Youth Climate Coalition". UKYCC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Nov 25 event raised over £6,000!". The Youth Funding Network. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  26. ^ "Youth groups bending the ear of business at COP15". Reuters. 11 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  27. ^ "Doing it for the kids - Power Shift 09". Event Magazine. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  28. ^ "National Climate March 2008". Campaign against Climate Change. 6 December 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  29. ^ "Using bike-powered theatre to communicate climate change". The Ecologist. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  30. ^ "About GreenFinger". My Green Finger. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  31. ^ a b "Power Shift: Global youth climate movement comes of age". The Guardian. London. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  32. ^ "PM tells young people climate deal is achievable". Number 10. 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  33. ^ "Question Time for young people". Oxfam. Archived from the original on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  34. ^ "Gordon Brown answers young people's questions on climate change". The Guardian. London. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  35. ^ "Climate change 'greatest challenge'". London: Channel 4 News. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  36. ^ "Gordon Brown answers young people's questions on climate change". London: Natural History Museum. 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  37. ^ "Climate change 'greatest challenge'". London: Daily Star. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  38. ^ "Climate change 'greatest challenge'". London: Daily Express. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  39. ^ "Climate change 'greatest challenge'". Glasgow: Herald Scotland. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  40. ^ "The Wave floods into London in show of rising clamour for climate action in Copenhagen". Journalism.co.uk. 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  41. ^ "50,000 fill London's streets for The Wave ahead of Copenhagen". Airport Watch. 5 December 2009. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  42. ^ "Climate change protests ahead of Copenhagen summit". BBC News. 5 December 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  43. ^ "UK Youth Climate Coalition meet DECC negotiators". Department of Energy and Climate Change. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  44. ^ "How to travel to Copenhagen without a massive carbon footprint". The Guardian. London. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  45. ^ "Green warrior off to Copenhagen climate change summit". Hounslow Guardian. 14 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  46. ^ "Liverpool University graduate is cycling to help save planet". Liverpool Echo. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  47. ^ "Climate campaigners blast council's decision". This is Derbyshire. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  48. ^ "We're Not Done Yet". Yes! Magazine. Yes Magazine. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  49. ^ "Young Blood". Do the Green Thing. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  50. ^ "UKYCC Films". Northern Ireland Environmental Link. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  51. ^ "Glow-in-the-dark dancers demand climate justice". UK Youth Climate Coalition. 12 December 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  52. ^ "Join the Youth Climate Coalition in a worldwide call for a Real Deal at Copenhagen!". Greenpeace. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  53. ^ "'Climate Revolution' as young people fight climate change". UK Youth Parliament. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  54. ^ "People & Planet joins DECC's pilot Youth Advisory Panel on Climate Change". People & Planet. 15 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  55. ^ "Government department pilots YAP equivalent". Plan UK. 15 February 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  56. ^ "Manifesto Supporters". British Youth Council. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  57. ^ "Endorsing organisations". Vote Global. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  58. ^ "Young climate campaigners adopt an MP". The Guardian. London. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  59. ^ "What is Power Shift Europe?". Power Shift Europe. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  60. ^ "Climate Conversations - Getting young people heard at U.N. climate talks". Trust. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  61. ^ "Matt and Cat head off to UN climate talks". Malvern Gazette. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  62. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "UKYCC The First 10 Years". Issuu. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  63. ^ From The Ground Up podcast
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