Gambia Leads Global Youth Voice at COP30, Calls For Climate Justice

By Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang, Belem, Brazil

The Coordinator of L-COY Gambia, Kaddijatou Ceesay, has declared that children and young people are the voice of the future, representing billions whose fate is being decided at the ongoing COP30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil.

Speaking at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Ceesay delivered a powerful address on behalf of the Children and Youth Constituency, calling for urgent climate justice, a global ceasefire, and an end to armed conflicts.

“These negotiations aren’t just about today’s politics. They are about your legacy and our future. It is about the air, the forests, oceans, food, and clean water from the Congo Basin to the Amazon Rainforest,” she told world leaders. “We share our gratitude to the people of Amazonia who have stewarded these lands and fought back, and we stand with them as we continue to fight within these halls.”

Representing youth voices worldwide, Ceesay urged a full, fast, and fair phase-out of fossil fuels to usher in an era of climate justice and reparations. She called for an adaptation package that includes child- and youth-sensitive indicators, alongside a new Adaptation Finance commitment that triples the Glasgow Pledge and prioritizes grant-based funding for developing countries.

The Gambian youth advocate further called for the principles of a just transition to be translated into concrete mechanisms.

“We demand that COP30 operationalizes the UAE Dialogue, focusing on international cooperation around implementation, and finalizing the GST-2 modalities in line with what was agreed in Dubai,” she said.

She urged delegates to adopt a Just Transition Package grounded in labour and human rights, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), intergenerational equity, and the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).

Ceesay also called for the creation of a Nature Work Programme under COP30 to ensure that nature-based solutions are embedded into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to strengthen joint action across the Rio Conventions.

Marking three decades of global climate negotiations, she criticized the continued presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP meetings and called for a Conflict of Interest policy within the UNFCCC to promote accountability and reduce corporate influence.

She stressed that science must remain central to negotiations, rejecting false solutions and embedding carbon budgets and adaptation limits directly into negotiating texts.

Ceesay further urged governments to join the NDC Youth Clause Coalition, a global platform for intergenerational collaboration in implementing national climate action plans.

In conclusion, she called for an immediate global ceasefire and a halt to all armed conflicts, emphasizing that civilians, especially children, youth, and vulnerable communities, must be protected from the impacts of war and crisis.

“There can be no peace without justice, and there can be no climate justice without human rights,” she affirmed.

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   By Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang, Belem, Brazil The Coordinator of L-COY Gambia, Kaddijatou Ceesay, has declared that children and young…
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