The world’s oceans and coastal areas are home to a rich biodiversity and key ecosystems that are vital for human lives, wellbeing, and livelihoods. Fisheries, shipping, tourism, and coastal industries provide employment for hundreds of millions of people around the globe and are key contributors to the economies of many countries. Oceans and blue carbon ecosystems are crucial for climate change mitigation, provide a wide range of ecosystem services, and are the foundation for a blue economy and sustainable development. With increasing global warming and climate change, small island developing states (SIDS), other island nations, and coastal populations in particular are vulnerable to different impacts including sea level rise, ocean warming and acidification, more intense and severe storms and floods, coastal erosion, and salinity intrusion. The COVID-19 pandemic can further affect ocean-based economies and exacerbate underlying socioeconomic vulnerabilities. The commemoration of World Oceans Day 2021 under the theme ‘The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods’ as well as the coinciding launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development have been pivotal in advancing discussions on oceans, livelihoods related to marine ecosystems, and restoration and conservation. In addressing the impacts of climate change and sustainable development needs, it is important to engage diverse stakeholders and scale up ambition on different levels and sectors, especially in the context of raising awareness and developing innovative solutions. Youth are a key stakeholder group and also an important constituency under the UNFCCC process, which is focused on for example through the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) work under Article 6 of the UNFCCC and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement. ACE sets out an overarching goal to empower society, including youth, to engage in climate action through education, training, public participation, public awareness, public access to information, and international cooperation. To better facilitate youth engagement, youth should be recognized and included in the Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement and National Adaptation Plans to make climate action more inclusive, participatory, and multi-stakeholder driven. SLYCAN Trust works with youth and other key stakeholders to identify gaps and needs for enhancing youth engagement in climate processes, including NDCs and NAPs. This series of discussions is organised to empower youth, build capacities, and engage youth in a multi-stakeholder dialogue that leads to the development of a draft strategy for youth engagement in climate action.
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