Your voice at COP 30 

Do you want to share your ideas and make a difference for your future? Then take the chance and join the Plant-for-the-Planet consultations. We want children’s voices to be heard by the COP 30 Presidency. We are collecting stories and thoughts from children and youth all over the world so that your experiences and ideas get the attention they deserve. You will have the chance to share your perspectives on the climate crisis. 

How to participate: 

If you want your voice to be heard, share your thoughts, ideas, or demands in a short video or by other means, e.g. in writing, through a poem or song, through an artwork (drawing, collage, etc.). 

Step 1: Think about your message 

Take a moment to think about how the climate crisis affects you and what you would like to say to decision makers. Here are some questions you can ask yourself for preparing your statement: 

1. Your Story: How has the changing weather or nature around you made your life or your neighborhood different?
2. Family and Nature Stories: A long time ago, our grandparents and their grandparents knew how to live in a way that was kind to nature. Families and communities have special stories, traditions, and ways of doing things that teach us how to care for the earth.
   Your question: Do you know any stories, customs, or lessons from older people in your family or community that show how to love and take care of the Earth? Can you draw or tell these stories?
3. Working Together to Help the Planet: Fixing problems like the climate crisis is a big job, but everyone can help – kids, grown-ups, leaders, companies, and countries!
   Your question: How can we get more children, teens, adults, leaders, and even companies and countries to work together to take care of the Earth? What ideas, feelings, or values (like friendship, respect, or fairness) could make them excited to help?

Step 2: Make a Video of your Statement

Make a video of yourself talking about your thoughts, ideas, and feelings in your preferred language. You can do this alone or as a group. Make sure the video is no longer than 30 seconds so that many voices can be shared. Record in landscape format (sideways).

Step 3: Send your Statement to Plant-for-the-Planet

After recording, you can send the video to the empowerment team of Plant-for-the-Planet. Please use the email address [email protected] to share with us your videos, or to get more information about how to submit other types of contributions. Please include the following information:

• Your first name
• Your age
• City and country of residence

Don’t forget: we also need your parents’ consent to share your video with the COP 30 Presidency and on our social media channels.

Submission dates: 

• 15th September 2025 (to be included in the interim report, to be presented at Climate Week New York)
• 3rd October 2025 (to be included in the final report to be presented at COP 30 in Belém) 

After you send your video, all children’s voices will be collected and shared widely. A group of 30 trained Climate Justice Ambassadors from Belém, Brazil (the host city of COP 30) will represent kids and deliver your video to the COP 30 Presidency. In addition, there will be an exposition where your additional submissions will be showcased.  

Children and Youth Voices for the Global Ethical Stocktake 

We want children’s voices to be part of COP 30 because your ideas and experiences are important for the Global Ethical Stocktake (GES). The GES is a process led by the COP 30 Presidency that focuses on values, behaviors, and responsibilities rather than on the technical component. The GES mirrors our core belief that climate action is fundamentally an ethical and human rights issue, as recently confirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its advisory opinion. 

The GES asks for the voices of young people, activists, Indigenous peoples, and local communities – but it doesn’t specifically mention children. That’s why Plant-for-the-Planet is making sure that children’s ideas and real experiences are heard.

We believe that children and young people should not just be regarded as victims of climate change, but as powerful changemakers. Including children in the GES is not just symbolic – it is the right thing to do. Many of our Climate Justice Ambassadors, especially from countries already affected by the climate crisis, know from experience what it is like to live with its effects. Their thoughts are based on real life, not just ideas in a book.

By speaking up, you help leaders understand what matters most and show that children are important stakeholders to include in the decision-making! Together, we can make a difference!

Are you interested in becoming a Climate Justice Ambassador? Then check out our Ambassadors’ Journey.