Coalition SDG Champion Omnia El Omrani represents Coalition in COP26

Global Youth Coalition Member and SDG Champion, Omnia El Omrani, represents the Coalition in the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties or COP26.  The Conference is an avenue for governments, organizations, individuals, and other stakeholders to have formal negotiation sessions to talk about climate issues, commitments, and actions. As a delegate, Omnia will bring forward the road safety demands of young people as it connects with climate change. 

Climate Policy Brief: Connecting road safety with SDG 13 
Earlier this year, the Coalition through the SDG Champions, highlight the road safety targets within the other Sustainable Development Goals. Currently, the Coalition has twelve SDG Champions each working on connecting road safety with the following global goals; SDG 3: Health, SDG 4: Education, SDG 5: Gender Equality, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities, and SDG 13: Climate. 

For COP26, Omnia is bringing our Climate Policy Brief titled There is No Planet B: Safe and sustainable transport to tackle the climate emergency and save lives. The Policy Brief was written by Coalition SDG 13 Champion, Soumita Chakraborty with the support of the Coalition.

The Climate Policy Brief highlights one of the demands written in the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety. In the Youth Statement, young people demand safe and sustainable transport systems to combat the climate crisis. “Let us breathe!”

The policy brief talks about how unsustainable modes of transport contribute heavily to the emission of harmful C02 and other GHG emissions. Apart from road crashes being the leading killer of young people, the pollution caused by cars and other vehicles also put vulnerable road users in danger in terms of air quality. 

Apart from listing down important details around the challenges young people face, the policy brief also presents a call to action for governments, civil society organizations, young people, and youth-led organizations. 

Cities 4 Children: Our climate, our future – an intergenerational dialogue
During COP26, Omnia will join an intergenerational dialogue led by Cities 4 Children, themed “Our climate, our future”. 

The Global Alliance- Cities 4 Children is made up of a coalition of organizations working across health, nutrition, climate change, road safety, air quality, migration, urban design, and child and youth participation. 

The session, happening on 11 November at 2 pm BST, will bring together the voices of children, youth, mayors, practitioners, and organizations to discuss child well-being in cities. The session will also explore replicable projects that can tackle the climate emergency around the world. 

The session will be moderated by Chris Michael, a journalist from the Guardian and served as a former Cities Editor. During the session, Omnia will join Global Lead of Save the Children – Sarah Sabry, former refugee – Emi Mahmoud, Founder of Green Generation Initiative and Head of Campaigns at Wangari Maathai Foundation – Elizabeth Wathuti, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand – Helen Clark, and more. 

The session will be streamed live on Youtube on Thursday, 11 November at 2 pm BST.