Climate Change and COP28 Youth Advisory Group

Working partner: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)

About

The advisory group provides advice to the working partner on:

ways to increase engagement and participation of young people in the UNFCC and its COPs
how to build awareness of the annual COP process
grow the number of young people contributing to climate COP meetings.

DCCEEW will work with the advisory group on Australia’s bid to co-host COP31 with the Pacific.

Members

Thomas (he/him)

17 years old, from Queensland

Thomas Honor is a 17 year old student studying Year 12 at Nambour State College. He hopes to gain some insight to what the outcome/agenda will be with regards to COP28. He hopes to study an Environmental Science degree at university and wants to provide some input and insight into what will assist young people to engage with COP28.

Chris (she/her)

17 years old, from Australian Capital Territory

Within the digital sphere, Chris’ upbringing has been marked by environmental struggle and response, watching drought, fires, floods, and tropical storms sweep the globe with little means to respond appropriately. As a member of the COP28 Youth Advisory Group, Chris hopes to bring a fresh perspective to the important issues facing Australian communities and contribute to shaping policies that reflect the needs and aspirations of young people, and advocate for a brighter future for those to come after herself.

Maheen (she/her)

18 years old, from Australian Capital Territory

Maheen is a Year 12 student with an interest in climate change. Through the advisory group, she hopes to have the opportunity to learn, grow and strive toward educating others and working with her peers to find solutions to an ongoing issue that is continuing to grow.

Emily (she/her)

18 years old, from Victoria

Emily is an 18-year-old from Melbourne who has just commenced a double degree at Monash University, Law/Politics, Philosophy and Economics. As someone who is deeply concerned about improving adaptation and mitigation efforts to tackle climate change, she aims to represent the ideas and interests of young people who stand to be impacted the most.

Andrew (he/him)

25 years old, from Western Australia

After graduating school in 2015, Andrew joined the Australian Defence Force where he completed 2.5 years of full-time service before starting an undergraduate degree. Last year Andrew was the Curtin University World Bank/IMF Global Voices Scholar and is currently writing a policy paper focusing on tools to reduce the vulnerability of Government debt and increase sustainable long term economic growth. Andrew is currently in his final year of a Master of Finance and working at an investment bank that specializes in the resources sector and helping to drive green energy transition in Australia through green financing and initiating projects to reduce carbon pollution. He hopes that participating in this advisory group will enable him to contribute to the green energy transition from more than one avenue.

Jakob (he/him)

18 years old, from New South Wales

Jake wants to give country kids a voice. He feels that young people in the country are an unheard group as a lot of young people can’t vote are a smaller part of the population compared with older people in regional and rural communities. He wants to represent country kids in Canberra.

Ella (she/her)

17 years old, from South Australia

Ella is a 17-year-old, who attends a high school in South Australia. She is a positive student who appreciates leadership and enjoys sharing her opinions with others. Ella is passionate about working with likeminded people to brainstorm solutions to all challenges we face. She is inspired by those who speak up, believe in themselves, and work hard to create positive change.

Bodhi (he/him)