site.btaUkraine and Germany to Sign Declaration on Children, Youth, Climate Action

Ukraine and Germany will sign the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action. The announcement was made by Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Yevgeny Fedorenko, and Anna Luhrmann, State Minister for Europe and Climate at the German Federal Foreign Office, at the Bulgarian pavilion at COP28 in Dubai.

Bulgarian Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov committed to raise the issue of accession to the Declaration with the EU’s Environment Council. Bulgaria is among the first countries to sign the document.

Bulgaria and UNICEF organised an event with high-level representatives of governments and international organisations, as well as UNICEF youth delegates, on the day dedicated to children and young people and climate change. The aim of the event was to call for more countries to engage with the Declaration to promote the realisation of children's inalienable right to a healthy environment, and to take steps to mainstream these rights into the implementation of the Paris Agreement, EU member states' national climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans and long-term development strategies.

The discussion was moderated by Kitty van der Heijden, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. She commended Bulgaria, which is a signatory to the Declaration, for its role in encouraging other countries to adopt the commitments of the document.

The event was also attended by senior officials of the UN, the European Commission, ministries, and youth organisations.