Young climate change activists demanded a greater role in decision-making Saturday as they met leaders at U.N. headquarters, saying that their growing voice on the streets has yet to earn them a seat at the political table.
"The decisions about our future are still being made largely without us," said Marina Melanidis, a Canadian delegate at the gathering, held ahead of a U.N. summit Monday aimed at accelerating action to tackle global warming. "Young people deserve to co-design their own futures — and honestly, you can't do that without us," she told United Nations officials.
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, agreed young people should have more influence over policies that will affect them, particularly with regard to climate change. "We need young people represented in the places where decisions are made," rather than simply protesting outside that system, she said.