OPEC Fund Development Forum 2023
“Building a community is essential” Saad Uakkas, COP28 Youth Program Coordinator
Gernot Wagner Climate Economist at Columbia Business School, New York
OPEC Fund Quarterly : Could you tell us about your climate advocacy journey? Saad Uakkas: My climate journey started in 2021 when I attended my first COP, which was COP25 in Madrid. At that time I was mainly involved in youth advocacy in public health with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations, where I was responsible for coordinating their COVID-19 campaign. In Madrid I joined the African Youth Initiative for Climate Change as North Africa coordinator and started engaging, encouraging, empowering and uniting youth in Africa to get involved in climate advocacy and linking them with di ff erent stakeholders. I later got the chance to work with Search for Common Ground, an international non-governmental organization that works to end violent conflict and build healthy, safe, and just societies, on MENA youth NGOs capacity development. Here I supported seven youth organizations to implement their climate advocacy on the local level. Currently, I am working with the African Youth Initiative for Climate Change on the African Youth Negotiators Program where we empower 35 young people to take part in negotiations by linking them with their governments. We are hoping that they will be leading negotiations with their respective governments at COP28. OFQ : Is there anything that has really stood out so far in your work as a climate activist? SU: What I find truly fascinating is that climate advocacy involves people from various backgrounds contributing to the cause. No matter whether you come from an architectural, medical – like myself -, financial, technological or legal background, there’s a role for everyone.
It’s not solely an environmental or technical matter; it’s a societal e ff ort that involves everyone. The key is how young people can unite and collaborate e ff ectively. By working together, we can create more comprehensive solutions, leverage each other’s expertise and potential, and increase our impact and the actions we take. This collaboration is incredibly important. OFQ : What advice would you give young people when getting involved in climate activism? SU: My first piece of advice is to avoid competition. While as young individuals, we naturally seek personal growth, opportunities and experiences, it’s crucial not to adopt a selfish or competitive mindset with fellow young activists. Instead, let’s grow together and share knowledge. Support and mentor your peers, share opportunities, and recognize that you can’t navigate this journey alone. Building a community is essential because you’ll need a team to work with. The most vital aspect of being a youth activist is having a team, so encourage, support, and network with young individuals from all corners of the globe. Learning from each other and understanding what’s happening beyond your local context is very important. My second piece of advice is to continue learning and expanding your horizons. If you’re primarily focused on one aspect, like water conservation, take the time to explore related fields such as energy, sustainable waste management, the green economy, climate finance and more. These areas are interconnected and gaining knowledge in various domains allows you to develop systemic solutions and generate more impactful ideas and solutions.
“It’s a race that’s going in the right direction” OFQ : Moving from COP27 to COP28, many people are looking at the Loss and Damage Fund and wondering how much time it will take to get going. Can you tell us who is likely to pay, when and how much? Gernot Wagner: I wish I could, but I think one of the most positive things coming out of COP27 is that nobody’s debating whether to pay or for that matter how much. It’s now about who pays and how do we mobilize that kind of money. We’re also starting to see a recognition that there is enough money in the world to solve climate change. We’re not talking about hundreds or thousands of trillions of dollars necessary tomorrow, but actually achievable sums. So, the transition is now about rechanneling market forces from the current high-carbon, low-e ffi ciency path that we’re on — that we’re still on! — to the low-carbon, high-e ffi ciency path. And it’s about who should pay, which is where the politically charged questions come in for all the obvious reasons. But what do we see? (And this is me putting my “optimism goggles” on.) What we see is this race happening as we speak, and it’s a race that’s going in the right direction. It’s not obvious that there’s one path, and it’s not going to happen all by itself. It will take a lot more e ff ort, will need policy input, but it’s a global race to the top. And that’s the amazing world we live in at the moment. Nobody serious is asking whether to do it. It’s about how, and indeed, who pays.
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