This will be an important year to attend the COP international climate conference. The CaymanIslands Government is sending an official delegation to COP28 this year and Dr Sylvia Earle, the renowned oceanographer, has announced that she will accompany the Cayman delegation. TheGovernor’s office has offered to set up meetings prior to the event so that our Youth Delegates can be a part of the government’s activities at the conference. This is an excellent opportunity for the National Trust to be part of this critical discussion. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to the climate crisis require the preservation and restoration of ecosystems, especially wetlands like mangroves, positioning the NTCI as an important voice in climate discussions.

The National Trust is tasked with preserving Cayman’s natural and historic heritage for future generations. Aside from unsustainable development, there is no greater threat to our heritage than climate change. Stronger storms, sea level rise, more frequent flooding events, bleached coral reefs, greater wildfire risk, and extreme heat threaten our delicate ecosystems and built heritage. The National Trust “protects the future of our heritage” and the future lies with the next generation. Cayman’s young people must understand the challenges that lie ahead and be prepared to meet them. For this reason, in 2019 the NTCI asked the International National Trust Organization (INTO) to assist us with this goal by sharing a few of their passes for the COP conferences with our young people. In response, they have been generously donating their passes to us ever since. Our youth delegates have been given opportunities to speak to a global audience, leading conversations while sitting next to world leaders. Our young people have greatly impressed all those they meet. Following the COPs, INTO has nominated them for international awards and included them as presenters or moderators in webinars with a global audience. This has snowballed into incredible opportunities for our past COP youth delegates, who we affectionally call our COP kids. They are always invited to meet with the Premier and the Governor after they return. Some have gone on to represent the Cayman Islands at an international level, others have been asked to write for international publications, and some are now working for the government. This programme has also brought recognition and admiration to the NTCI from other organizations. Island Innovation has followed our lead and will be bringing ten young people to COP28 this year for the first time. The head of climate for the World Wildlife Fund–UK has asked to spend her three-month Sabbatical working with us after seeing our youth speak in a webinar. This programme has been hugely beneficial to the students, but also to the NTCI and our work. INTO is once again offering our young people 2 or 3 passes to attend this year’s COP conference. It will take place from November 30 – December 12 in Dubai. They offer us a few passes each week of the conference so that more students can attend. We learned that we are the fortunate recipients of these hard-to-get passes only a few days ago and must therefore move quickly to open the selection process and begin fundraising. Educated and empowered young people that understand the importance of preserving our natural and historic heritage are critical if we are to preserve that heritage into the future.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Isn’t it hypocritical that the students are flying to far off destinations and emitting carbon emissions to attend a climate conference?

It’s important to remember that aviation accounts for less than 4% of global CO₂emissions. Being present at COP conferences makes a real difference. It is only because small island states and other vulnerable nations were at COP21 that we have the 1.5℃ language in the Paris Agreement. Powerful industrialized countries set the goal at 2℃ but island nations came together and stood their ground in the room, insisting on the lower target for their continued existence. Cayman’s young people also deserve the opportunity to speak out and fight for their homeland. They did not cause this problem, but they will inherit it. Most people in the Cayman Islands live carbon-intensive lifestyles and travel frequently. Prohibiting our young people from attending an international conference that may decide their fate is not the place to start cutting our emissions. It should also be mentioned that the emissions from their flights are offset every year with a donation to the Land Reserve Fund for mangrove protection and the planting of native trees in our Mastic Reserve.

2. The location this year is Dubai. Surely that is problematic given they are an oil and gas generating nation.

The UNFCCC organizes these conferences, and they move them around the world every year to ensure that all regions have the chance to attend. This year, it is the Middle East’s turn to host. The city selected must be able to take in more than 50,000 people arriving all at once and offer enough accommodation for all budgets, easy transportation options, adequate security for the attendees, and a large enough venue for the event. This is not easy to find in all areas of the world.

While it is unfortunate that the UAE is heavily invested in fossil fuels, they have promised as the host nation to bring the industry to the table to finally implement serious measures to address the climate crisis that include action and accountability. These may only be empty words, but perhaps it will make a difference to have experts in the industry involved at this level. They know that things must change – governments around the world and even their own shareholders are demanding it.

3. These meetings are a waste of time. Nothing ever seems to change.

While things aren’t changing fast enough, these COP meetings are instrumental in addressing the climate crisis. The conference is dedicated to finding solutions and most of the people who attend are sincerely doing everything they can to solve the problem in the most effective way possible. The failure happens when the attendees go back home and must compromise with politicians and reluctant big business interests. Nevertheless, every year more progress is made. But regardless of how effective the meetings may be,they are a transformative event for the young people that are lucky enough to attend. They witness global policy being formulated in real time and have a hand in shaping it.

4. Can’t the students take part by Zoom?

COP conferences are typically attended by more than 50,000 people from all over the world. Speaking events are happening concurrently over a venue that is more than 1000 acres in size. The experience of meeting other young people from all over the world, hearing world leaders speak, and realizing that all those people have come together to try to address the issue of our times is transformative. It is impossible to understand the significance of the issue and the work to address it sitting at home in our small island nation. We have seen the experience change our youth delegates – they go there feeling powerless and insignificant in world affairs and they leave knowing that their voices matter, that they can make a difference to the fate of their country. Listening in on a few Zoom sessions won’t do that.

5. How much funding is required for this programme?

To be clear, the NTCI has never spent anything on this initiative – 100% of the funding is covered by donations collected specifically for this programme. In our fundraising campaign, we ask for $5000 to sponsor each youth delegate. Some individuals have obtained funding from a single source to cover all their costs, while the expenses for others were collected through many small donations including from families, small businesses, and other non-profits. Sponsors are often eager to donate again the following year.

6.It’s expensive to send our delegates to the conference. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that money on preserving Cayman’s natural and historic heritage while we still can?

The National Trust is in dire need of funds to protect Cayman’s disappearing ecosystems and historic sites, but the money raised for the COPs is collected through a targeted fundraising campaign. Each year enough funds are raised for travel, accommodation, and daily expenses. This fundraising has brought in new supporters that have then gone on to donate toward other initiatives at the National Trust. In fact, some corporate sponsors and individual supporters have said that this programme makes them feel that we are doing real work that matters in the community and that it encourages them to give more. Our youth delegates show their appreciation to their supporters by sending daily updates and then visiting them when they get home to share their experience. Our COP Youth Delegate programme is extremely popular and brings in new funders.

Statements from past NTCI COP Youth Delegates

Statements from past NTCI COP Youth Delegates