Key Engagements
It was truly inspiring for youth and other stakeholders to gather in Rio de Janeiro for the 2024 One Planet Network Forum, in the city where the Major Groups System was born during the 1992 Earth Summit through Agenda 21. This system has been instrumental in facilitating the effective engagement of rights holders and civil society voices in global environmental governance. The city’s legacy, along with the historic formation of the three key UN environmental conventions (CBD, UNFCCC, and UNCCD), continues to fuel the passion of young people and guide our collective efforts toward building a more equitable and sustainable world.
OPN Forum 2024, Session 5
Empowering Youth through Sustainable Skills and Decent Work for a Just Transition
12 September 2024, 16:30 - 18:00 UTC-3
We are thrilled to have co-organized this session alongside the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, & GO4SDGs. The discussions explored how enhancing green skills and creating green jobs for youth can promote just transition, reduce inequalities, and drive inclusive growth. By advancing the implementation of the Green Jobs for Youth Pact—a collaborative initiative by ILO, UNEP, and UNICEF—delegates also spotlighted solutions to empower young people with the skills and opportunities needed to thrive in a sustainable future, while promoting meaningful youth engagement and addressing socio-economic inequalities. Find more!
OPN Forum 2024, Session 8
Sustainable Lifestyles Approaches for a Fair & Sustainable Consumption Space for All
13 September 2024, 11:00 - 12:30 UTC-3
Youth delegates participated in the thematic session on sustainable lifestyles, following the implementation of UN Environment Assembly Resolution 6/8, adopted at UNEA-6 in February 2024. The discussions highlighted the urgent need to shift toward sustainable lifestyles as a solution to environmental crises and inequality, emphasizing systemic transformations through policy innovations, indigenous knowledge, business strategies, and sustainability-focused investments. By anchoring the lifestyle approach at the highest levels of governance, the session set the stage for future initiatives to ensure equitable access to sustainable consumption, driving just transitions in sustainable consumption and production globally. Find more!
OPN Forum 2024, Special Session
Youth-led Breakthroughs on Sustainable Consumption and Production
13 September 2024, 17:45 - 18:30 UTC-3
On the final day, the Youth4Climate Initiative, in collaboration with UNDP and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, hosted a special session to honour the 2024 #Youth4Climate awardees. Each recipient was granted USD 30,000 to bring their innovative initiatives to life. Marcos Mancini, Senior Sustainable Finance Advisor at UNDP, and Roxáni Roushas, Youth4Climate Programme Coordinator, opened the session with inspiring remarks. A special video message from Italy's Minister of the Environment, H.E. Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, followed. The young awardees then took the stage to present their groundbreaking projects and were awarded their well-deserved certificates.
Resources
CYMG, through the Green Economy and Resources Working Group, is proud to have contributed collective inputs to the International Resource Panel (IRP) think piece titled “Intentionally Designing Sustainable Consumption and Production Policies and Practices to Reduce Inequalities.” Presented at the One Planet Network Forum 2024, this paper explores how sustainable consumption and production systems can be designed to address and reduce inequalities while promoting equity. It underscores the need to integrate principles of equality, equity, and justice into SCP policies and provides actionable recommendations on production, consumption, global trade, governance, technology adoption, and societal well-being. The report is accessible via the following link: