Youth at the Table: Lessons from IPBES12
- Mar 2
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 2
Guest blog by CYMG to UNEP delegation to IPBES12: Hafsah Abdi, Gulnaz Jadigerova, Alexandros Tataridas, Charlotte Evans, and Emma Ralph.
“Every business depends on biodiversity, and every business impacts biodiversity”.
This is the final message we read after a very intense and fruitful week attending the 12th Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The event took place at the Central Convention Complex in the industrial city of Manchester, United Kingdom.
IPBES is the leading intergovernmental body that bridges science and policy on biodiversity and ecosystem services, synthesizing the best available knowledge to inform decision-makers. Its assessments provide scientific evidence on the state of nature, the drivers of biodiversity loss, and options for sustainable pathways forward.
From 3-8 February 2026, IPBES brought together delegates and observers from over 150 member governments, along with scientists, Indigenous peoples, business sector actors, and civil society, to negotiate and approve key scientific outputs and set the rolling work programme for 2023-2028.
The headline outcome of the Plenary was the approval and launch of the IPBES Methodological Assessment Report on the Impact and Dependence of Business on Biodiversity and Nature’s Contributions to People (known as the Business and Biodiversity Report). This Assessment represents an important step in aligning private sector activities with biodiversity goals and will play a crucial role in shaping global efforts, including financing mechanisms, to conserve biodiversity and achieve the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The Summary for Policymakers (SPM) offers specific actions for businesses, governments and financial actors to measure and manage these relationships.
Representing European young environmental advocates in-person at the 12th IPBES Plenary was an important milestone for the Children and Youth Major Group to the United Nations Environment Programme (CYMG to UNEP), too. It marked the first time we participated in an IPBES forum and contributed to the broader environmental agenda after obtaining accreditation in November 2025. For reference, we had researched a policy brief about youth engagement in science-policy interfaces like IPBES plus GEO and IPCC, for the preparation of the establishment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution (ISP-CWP).
CYMG’s IPBES12 Engagements: Our Experience in Working Groups, Workshops and Youth Engagement
The Stakeholder Day took place on Monday, 2nd February 2026, one day before the Plenary Opening. As CYMG’s first delegation to an IPBES, we interacted with senior scientists, biodiversity practitioners, NGOs, Indigenous representatives, as well as other youth groups. On Tuesday, 3rd February 2026, the Plenary kicked off with a unique artistic and scientific performance using plants’ bioelectrical signals transformed into music, setting an emotional and symbolic tone for the Plenary’s purpose: reconnecting people and nature. Later that evening, the reception ceremony was hosted at the Manchester Museum's “Nature Library” and at Whitworth Hall, where nature-conservation NGOs set up and displayed posters and information stands. The conversations exposed us to cutting‑edge research on biodiversity, NGO success stories and challenges, community‑led conservation efforts and broader civil society engagement pathways. This complemented IPBES’s emphasis on multi‑stakeholder collaboration and knowledge exchange. Participating in a wide range of panels, we even contributed to ONet’s closing statement, solidifying the importance of inclusive science-policy engagement. We attended both Plenary Working Group 1 and Working Group 2 discussions. Working Group 1 included line‑by‑line negotiations of the Summary for Policymakers for the new assessment, where governments engaged in careful wording, scientific accuracy checks, and consensus‑building. In these Plenary sessions, the atmosphere was constructive, and states demonstrated a genuine willingness to listen, compromise and collaborate despite their differences: one of the most inspiring aspects of the week for us.
In contrast, Working Group 2 deliberated on broader agenda items of the Plenary, including the IPBES rolling work programme up to 2030, future deliverables and intersessional work, a new holistic indicator framework for monitoring IPBES progress, and preparation for future sessions, including IPBES‑13 (2027) and IPBES‑14 (2028). These discussions shaped the future direction of IPBES, as confirmed in the official summary report. Being present in both working groups helped us understand how scientific evidence is converted into intergovernmental text and how countries negotiate responsibilities and commitments.
CYMG to UNEP Delegate Highlights
Gulnaz, a CYMG delegate from Azerbaijan, participated in the Biodiversity Collage Workshop and successfully completed the training to become a trained facilitator. This participatory science tool helped Gulnaz understand ecosystems, drivers of biodiversity loss, and pathways for action through collaborative learning. Hafsah, also on our delegation, from Canada, featured in a short interview hosted by Reserva Youth Land Trust (YLT) on-site during IPBES, where she shared thoughts on the Plenary processes and improving access for diverse groups. Charlotte, a CYMG delegate from the UK, organised a bilateral meeting with the UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), who were co-organising IPBES-12. Alongside GYBN, CYMG had a productive meeting with Defra, discussing the barriers to diverse youth participation within multilateral spaces like IPBES, and advocated for more meaningful youth inclusion.
Our delegation also coordinated, liaised, and pushed advocacy with several national delegations negotiating at the Plenary, contributing to the broader environmental agenda. We contributed to the Open-Ended Network of Stakeholders (ONet) closing statement on the final Plenary day, thanking participants for reaching meaningful consensus.
A major highlight was the dynamic youth meet‑up hosted by GYBN UK at the University of Manchester Student Union. We exchanged experiences on national and global advocacy, nature‑positive projects, and youth contributions to global environmental governance. The energy, solidarity, and shared ambitions were inspiring.
IPBES Summary for Policy Makers and Gender and Youth Inclusion
The approval of the Summary for Policymakers was an intense and deliberative process. Delegates from nearly 150 of member states, including further NGOs and observers, carefully examined the document line by line, often pausing to debate the precise wording of a sentence or even a single term. At times, discussions stretched on as countries sought clarity that the text accurately reflected the scientific evidence while remaining relevant to policy. Authors were present throughout to explain the underlying findings and to ensure that any revisions remained faithful to the assessment. This meticulous negotiation is a defining feature of the process, as approval signifies consensus among member States and confirms that the Summary is fully consistent with the scientific assessment. Overall, a consensus was reached, and the summary was approved on Sunday, 8th February, with a “spirit of collaboration and cooperation” in the room.
During a key session for the SPM, the addition of “youth, women and girls” was proposed and supported by numerous states. However, while the inclusion of “women and girls” was approved in two sentences of the SPM, the inclusion of “children and youth” was ultimately rejected by Experts as the phrasing did not exist in the report. However, while the SPM must reflect the report, it was unfortunate not to see youth-specific language recognised. Women and youth are equity-seeking groups often structurally gatekept from environmental negotiations, despite bearing the brunt of biodiversity loss and climate change. As the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution intensifies, women and youth play key roles in advocacy and leadership, recognized in both SDG 5 Gender Equality and SDG 13 Climate Action. We strongly advocate for the inclusion of women, girls, and youth in future IPBES assessments.
Looking Ahead
Overall, the CYMG delegation at IPBES-12 experienced an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable week in Manchester for the 12th IPBES Plenary. We had also prepared ourselves well by participating in two specific capacity-building and training youth webinars by YESS, GYBN and CYMG to UNEP, in the weeks leading up to IPBES-12.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the conference was meeting other youth delegates and organisations, and we look forward to continuing youth-led science-policy environmental collaboration. In particular, we are excited to see the Youth Environmental Science Network (YESN) emerge, to move beyond silos and draw together youth engagement more coherently, across the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution.
Looking towards COP17, youth engagement will remain essential to ensure the linkages between biodiversity, business, and policy are inclusive and actionable. Finally, we call for greater access to resources, including dedicated funding for youth delegations. Reducing financial barriers for young people, particularly in the Global South, allows for greater diversity of participants and perspectives, which is integral to equitable, intergenerational, and impactful environmental governance and science-policy platforms like IPBES.
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