Youth Cop

What is SUAD Youth COP?

The Youth COP is a mock negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP), organised by Université Paris Cité (France), Universidade Federal do Ceará (Brazil), and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), in partnership with YOUNGO and the UNFCCC.

The competition aims to provide students from around the world with the opportunity to experience climate negotiations through a simulation of the UNFCCC COP, while fostering their critical thinking and interpersonal skills, such as teamwork, compromise, and conflict resolution, as applied to climate change agreements. 

The outcome document developed by the participants will be presented at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

Who is it open to?

Students eligible to participate in the Youth COP must be enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree programme (higher or equal to the second year of study), Master’s, or PhD programme at a higher education institution offering degrees in fields related to international relations, international law, climate change, public policy, or any other relevant discipline. Candidates must not be older than 30 years of age at the time of application.

Team members will be required to provide proof of enrolment and a copy of a valid passport.

What will I gain if I participate?

Prizes and awards

The highest-ranked team in the competition, along with the delegate awarded Best Speaker, will receive sponsorship to attend COP29, which will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.

The awarded participants will be invited to take part in a panel at either the UNFCCC Conference of Youth (COY) or COP29, depending on schedule availability.

Honorary awards will be presented to the top individual competitors, as determined by the Organising Committee. These awards do not include sponsorship to attend COP29.

All participants will receive a certificate as official recognition of their participation in the Youth COP.

What will the negotiations look like?

The UNFCCC COP simulation will take place virtually over three days of active negotiation, from Friday evening to Sunday evening. During this period, the 25 selected teams (comprising 75 students in total) will engage in discussions and produce documents as representatives of 25 different UNFCCC member states.

Students will not represent their countries of nationality during the simulation. The teams and their assigned countries will be designated by the Organising Committee to reflect the diversity of global climate challenges. The objective is to deliver an ambitious, solution-oriented agreement addressing various aspects of the two proposed themes.

Topics will be as follow:

Just Energy Transition

Biodiversity

Example of the Youth COP agenda

DAY ONE (FRIDAY)

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Opening, General Plenary

DAY TWO (SATURDAY)

8:00 am – 11:00 am Thematic Committees

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Regional Committees and Interest Groups Discussions

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm General Plenary

DAY THREE (SUNDAY)

10:00 am – 12:00 pm Thematic Committees Meetings

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Regional Committees Meetings

2:00pm – 6:00 pm Final Plenary

7:00 pm Award Ceremony

Observations:

Specific platforms will be used for the main plenary, regional committees, and technical meetings.

What should I prepare before the negotiations?

Before the negotiations, you should prepare individual position papers outlining your assigned country’s interests, red lines, priorities, and objectives for the three proposed topics. Ideally, by the end of the simulation, the teams will reach a unanimous agreement. Each team will be assigned a dedicated mentor, appointed by the Organising Committee, to support the preparation of position papers and assist with other simulation-related responsibilities.

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