COPilot the Future: Youth Summit in the lead-up to COP31 @METU

Dear Ms. Higgins, Australian Presidency Youth Climate Champion,

Dear representatives of the COP31 Presidency and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change,

Dear Rector, 

Distinguished guests, colleagues, and above all, the young researchers, envoys and students who fill this hall,

I want to begin by stating what is unusual about this room. In a few weeks, the world's climate diplomacy will move to Antalya, for COP31, hosted here in Türkiye. And today, before the negotiators and the ministers arrive, this university has opened its doors to a different set of experts: the students, researchers and young entrepreneurs of METU, joined by Ms. Higgins, who has travelled from Australia to be here.

Sally, your being here today sends a clear message that the Youth Climate Champion’s role that your country pioneered is not a ceremonial one. It is an integral, living part of climate diplomacy. Türkiye and Australia, co-hosts of COP31, are committed to make this COP one that will focus on enhancing implementation of what has been before and what will be agreed at COP31. Bridging decisions with action. Turkiye and Australia are therefore committed to building that bridge together with the young generation.

We have organized today's dialogue around the Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems nexus - the WEFE nexus -, and I want to be honest about why. It is not an academic abstraction. It is the lived reality of both our countries. Australia experiences drought and marine degradation. Türkiye is confronted with water stress from the Mediterranean coast to the Anatolian plateau, and the pressure that places on food systems and energy choices. The WEFE nexus is simply the honest admission that these crises do not arrive one at a time. These environmental hazards are often interconnected, and so should be different actions to address them.

Today you will hear from METU's own researchers and Climate Envoys, from WFP and UNICEF, on how agrivoltaics, green livelihoods and youth-centred services turn the WEFE nexus from a diagnosis into a plan. 

Dear friends,

Climate action is fundamentally an issue of intergenerational justice.

The decisions we take today will shape the world in which young people will live tomorrow. At the same time, young people have something essential to contribute today: new ideas, new forms of leadership, new approaches to cooperation, and the determination to challenge the status quo.

Our Secretary-General, António Guterres, has been very clear on this point. He has said: “My generation has largely failed until now to preserve both justice in the world and to preserve the planet.” And he has challenged the younger generation to hold leaders accountable and to help ensure that we do not betray the future of humanity.

Your voice is important. Your generation will provide tomorrow’s leaders.

The United Nations in Türkiye is proud to be part of this dialogue and is committed to stand with you, from this hall to Antalya. Not to speak for you, but to make sure you are heard.

So, Sally, welcome to Türkiye. Dear Rector Yozgatlıgil, thank you for hosting us. And to the students in this room: the agenda is yours. Let's get to work.

Thank you.