SUAD Youth COP, March-December 2023

The YOUTH COP is an entirely virtual mock negotiation of the United Nation Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) taking place at the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.

At the end of the mock negotiation, the document written by the students will be developed into a “Call to Action from the Sorbonne Abu Dhabi University to future generations” presented at the COP28.

The mock negotiation is opened to teams of three students from the same higher education institution. All team members must be enrolled in a bachelor degree from Year 2 in any university in the world. The team members will be asked to provide a proof of their enrolment and a copy of a valid passport.

The SUAD YOUTH COP is completely free, you won’t be asked to pay.

• May 2023
  Online conference with the key public figures
• June – July 2023
  Registration & team selection
• September 2023
  Training webinars
• October 2023
  3-day virtual summit & Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi declaration for climate change
• December 2023
  Winning Students Panel at COP 28

Through the simulation of real-world climate challenges, the YOUTH COP offers students a platform for students from diverse backgrounds and regions of the world to:

• Develop their critical thinking about climate change challenges
• Understand and promote States and international organizations’ roles in shaping global climate policies
• Improve their inter-personal skills, such as teamwork, compromise, and conflict resolutions

By the end of the event, teams will be ranked according to their performance. A list of specific criteria will be shared at the beginning of the negotiations and will include, among others: the alignment with the foreign policy of the represented country, the strength of the arguments presented, and the level of participation.

Once the rank is set, two types of prizes will be awarded.

• The first and second better ranked teams (6 students in total) will be awarded with a participation at COP28 in Dubai (travel expenses from their home country for seven days in Dubai during the COP28)
• Honorable mentions: symbolic awards (digital certificates) will be granted to honor specific types of performance (best negotiator, best student from developing country, congeniality person)

The UNFCCC COP simulation will take place virtually, with 3 days of active negotiation (from Friday evening to Sunday evening). During this period, the 25 chosen teams (75 students in total) will discuss and produce documents as representatives of 25 different UNFCCC member states. Students will not be nationals of the States they will represent during the simulation. The teams and their respective representative States will be chosen by the organising team to represent the diversity of the global climate challenges. The goal is to deliver an ambitious and solution-focused agreement covering different aspects of the three proposed themes.

Topics will be as follow:

• Oceans
• Loss and damage mechanism
• Energy transition

• DAY ONE (FRIDAY)
  5:00pm – 7:00 pm Opening, General Plenary
• DAY TWO (SATURDAY)
  8:00am – 11:00 am Thematic Committees
  1:00pm – 3:00 pm Regional committees and interest groups discussions
  3:00 – 5:00 pm General plenary
• DAY THREE (SUNDAY)
  10:00 am – 12:00 pm Thematic Committees meetings
  12:00 – 1:00 pm Regional Committees meetings
  2:00pm – 6:00 pm Final Plenary
  7:00 pm Prize giving

Observations:

Slots from different time zones will be used for regional meetings.

Specific platforms will be used for the main plenary, regional committees, and technical meetings.

Before the negotiations, you should prepare individual position papers to flesh out your represented country’s interests, red lines, priorities, and goals for the three proposed topics.

Ideally, by the end of the simulation, the teams will have to reach a unanimous agreement.

Throughout the entire simulation you will be supported by the staff.