And why not? The youth have the most at stake at the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP 24 climate talks, so their summary statement of what the COP process needed was no surprise.  This message was delivered by a confident Asian woman as her peers surrounded her with determination.  They assured the audience listening to the Talanoa Dialogue summary reports that they would be there.

The Talanoa Diaogues were initated by Fiji as the COP 23 host in 2017.  This Pacific tradition of coming together in dialog to make the wisest decisions feels perfectly fitting for informing and unifying the global participants implementing solutions for climate chaos.  For the past year, groups have questioned together, “Where are we? Where do we need to be? How do we get there?”. Reports were provided by many stakeholders: farmers, trade unions, cities and municipalities, women, researchers, Indigenous nations, business, & environmental NGOs.  The consensus was to continue the Talanoa Dialogue process into 2019 and 2020.

The COP 24 wrapped up with critical negotiating still needed to complete the Paris Agreement Rule Book that will guide the global just transition away from fossil fuels.  The Fiji COP 23 President reminded the Parties to have the courage not to betray humanity by completing the Rule Book on time.

Detailed reporting of the Talanoa Dialogue will be available from the UNFCCC COP 24 website.