Law student Aoife Fleming speaks at UN Climate Change Conference Madrid
As UN Youth Delegate on Sustainable Development, Leiden student Aoife Fleming is currently in Madrid for the UN Climate Change Conference COP25.
The 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement created a framework for emission reduction. Negotiations are now taking place at the Madrid Conference on how to achieve this, through for instance climate change adaptation and CO2 markets.
Aoife is making herself heard in the Spanish capital. 'I’m delighted that I’ve been able to meet with Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag. I underlined the need to have the voice of youth represented structurally in an emission reduction alliance that is currently chaired by the Netherlands’, she tells. 'Together with other youth organisations and representatives, I have also written a letter to the European Commission emphasising the need for ambitious climate targets which we presented yesterday to Euro Commissioner Frans Timmermans.'
Essential
In October 2019 Aoife was elected as UN Youth Delegate. In this role she emphasises that the voice of youth is essential in all future plans concerning climate change.
She previously organised the lecture series Duurzaamheid & Recht (Sustainable Development & Law) at Leiden Law School which she hopes will encourage students to think about the legal issues surrounding climate change.