Delegate: Mr. Varney
8. Mr. Varney (Australia), speaking on behalf of Australian youth, said that young people from across Australia had seen their lives completely disrupted by unprecedented disasters due to climate change, and they were living in fear that brush fires, heat waves, and flooding caused by high sea levels would become common events. Not content to confine their energies to local initiatives, Australian youth had launched a vast campaign of youth action for the climate, demanding that world leaders conclude an ambitious, fair and binding agreement that would call, in particular, for a reduction of at least 40 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020.
9. Like young people in many other countries, young Australians wanted to make a useful contribution to society. To do so they had to overcome many obstacles, joining in community initiatives to establish equality among all young people and to facilitate intercultural relations so that they could speak with a single voice. They had been helped in this respect by the Government, which had organized a forum for all young people, including those who were excluded and homeless, and this had given them the hope of playing an influential role in their community. They were calling on world leaders to take energetic action to combat climate change and to bequeath to future generations a world worthy of them.
UN Doc.: A/C.3/64/SR.3
Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/64/SR.3, 17 November 2009, p. 3, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/australia-2009/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-194247-0.