Some may ask—why is Advocates for Youth at the UN meeting on climate change in Copenhagen?  

Advocates for Youth works to ensure young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) all over the world—how does that relate to climate change? Is there a connection? If so, what are the connections?

Well, I'm glad you asked! J  

There is growing evidence that addressing SRHR solutions can increase resilience to climate change, slow population growth trends that exacerbate poverty and climate change impacts, empower young people to exercise their rights and achieve a more just world. 

Climate change disproportionately affects women, especially young women, as they must walk farther to collect water, work harder to produce crops from dry soil, and cope with drought, flooding, [other] natural disasters and disease. An effective approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation must support young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, as doing so is essential for adaptation and can contribute to reducing the impact of future climate change.

So, I’m here at Copenhagen on the second (final) day of the Youth Conference networking with youth activists working on climate change solutions and talking about how sexual and reproductive health rights fits into the environmental discussion.  Sounds difficult, I know--but really the solution is what we’ve been demanding in our own SRHR movement for years!

Educating girls and boys, empowering women, meeting the demand for voluntary family planning, and ensuring access to comprehensive, youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services not only play an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation—but are also human rights.

While I’m in Copenhagen, I’ll be representing a coalition of youth-led and youth-serving SRHR organizations that support the mission: “Youth Support SRHR for a Just and Sustainable World”.  We’re now in the process of finalizing a declaration that articulates these SRHR-climate connections and what we demand from governments to best address all of them for a just and sustainable world! We're also printing t-shirts with the message in pink and green to push the slogan, "Healthy Families, Healthy Planet"

Basically, this is a blog to set the stage that I'm here to build bridges between the SRHR movement, the youth movements, women's rights movement, the climate justice movements...and to build bridges with you to make your voice heard by working together to leverage policies that favor reproductive and sexual health rights for young people. 

If you know youth activists attending Copenhagen and interested in these SRHR-climate connections, EMAIL ME!  

If want to ask questions and comments about these SRHR-climate justice connections, EMAIL ME!

If you want to access the “Youth Support SRHR for a Just and Sustainable World” Declaration, I can send it to you and....

 If you want to know how you can get more involved in Copenhagen from where you are—EMAIL ME!

I’m here in Copenhagen and I can leverage your voice here! We can also leverage our voice together to build awareness and mobilize on these connections in your communities.

 My email address is: mimi@advocatesforyouth.org. 

Talk to you soon!
Hugs from Copenhagen! J