COP18 for Dummies

COP18 is the 18th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They meet annually to assess progress in dealing with climate change.

There are now 195 parties to the convention taking part in climate change negotiations. All parties to the UNFCCC are represented at the COP. During the conference, they review the implementation of the convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts. They furthermore take decisions to promote the effective implementation of the convention.

As part of the International Year of Youth, the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting on youth on 25 and 26 July 2011. The high-level meeting will have as its overarching theme “Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding”.

In this context, the UN Programme on Youth invites all Youth-led organisations to provide ideas in the context of the theme of the year as well as the youth and their well-being, youth and the global economy including social development, and youth participation.
The ideas and views will be presented to Member States as they produce a draft of the outcome document in the coming weeks.  

Please send your written inputs via e‐mail with the subject line “High-level Meeting- inputs” to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it no later than May 15, 2011.

More information in the attachement.

The World Youth Report focus on youth and climate change, and is intended to highlight the important role young people play in addressing climate change, and to offer suggestions on how young people might be more effectively integrated as individuals and collective agents of change within the realm of climate change adaptation and mitigation.The Report is designated to assist youth and youth organizations in educating themselves and to become more actively involved in combating the threat of climate change. It is also meant to affirm the status of young people as key stakeholders in the fight against climate change. The publication comes at a time when efforts to address climate change are receiving unparalleled attention on the international arena, offering youth a unique opportunity for their voice to be heard in the debate.

More information and to read the report