Budapest Youth Declaration 2023

5–7 July 2023, Budapest, Hungary Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health Youth Declaration Budapest 2023 We, the youth, inhabitants of Member States in the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) or otherwise involved in the conversation in the WHO European Region, active in the fields of health and the environment, in the presence of the Ministers of Health and Environment of the European Region of WHO, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Regional Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and high-level representatives of the European Union and other United Nations and intergovernmental organizations, have gathered to engage in overcoming the environment and health challenges of today and tomorrow, since we recognize the triple crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution as three of the fundamental challenges of modern times that need immediate action in order to secure a healthy and sustainable environment for present and future generations. Our declaration is built around the values that inspire a livable future for all societies. These core principles are equity, collaboration, accountability and climate justice. We believe that the drivers of impact are responsible decision-making, the integration of scientific knowledge, and immediate climate action. The United Nations General Assembly resolution 76/300 on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as an essential human right reinforces and strengthens the principal argument of youth on why environmental challenges must be addressed immediately and with short- and long-term objectives. It is the right of all current and future generations to survive and thrive in planetary peace and equality of rights. To achieve our aims we need a paradigm shift. Specifically, transformative change on the systemic and individual level that radically alters the mindset and behaviors of all entities whose actions are adversely affecting the environment and health or have done so in the past. We must step away from practices such as excessive deforestation, addiction to fossil fuels, and overfilling our landfills, and instead normalize environmental stewardship, address green transition through climate justice and invest in environment and health. We wish to co-exist with nature rather than push it to the fringes. As the generation that will suffer disproportionate impacts of the triple crisis, we represent a key stakeholder in climate action and climate-related policy making. As such, we call for total transparency from governments and institutions in the WHO European Region. We highlight the importance of collective memory, hence remembering the legacy of previous generations of young people whose work led to concrete and positive outcomes. We build upon such previous efforts and acknowledge the influence of previous statements from the Tirana Health and Well-being Forum for Youth (2022), Nicosia Ministerial Declaration of the Ninth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (2022) the Youth Position Paper, Vienna 2021 in the context of the WHO/UNECE Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP), the Batumi Declaration: “Greener, cleaner, smarter!” (2016), the Vienna Youth Position Paper on Environment and Health (2016), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (2015), the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015), THE PEP Paris Declaration - “City in Motion – People first!” (2014), the Health 2020 Agenda, the Parma Declaration on Environment and Health (2010) and its commitment to actions 2 Youth Declaration under the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE). We reaffirm our commitments from the Ostrava Youth Declaration (2017), Parma Youth Declaration (2010) and the Budapest Youth Declaration (2004). For a long time, we, the youth, were excluded or only included in a tokenistic manner in the policy and decision- making processes affecting our lives, livelihoods, and futures. Although we recognize improvements, we want stronger commitments from Member States to completely and meaningfully include us in such processes. The slow progress of youth inclusion is not for a lack of trying on our part or for a lack of good practice examples, some stemming directly from WHO European Region spaces, where the youth contribution has been formalized through the European Environment and Health Youth Coalition (EEHYC) the official youth organization within the European Environment and Health Process (EHP), the engagement of youth at previous Ministerial Conferences on Environment and Health and additional high-level meetings, youth consultations and more. We need such examples to become an everyday practice and at all levels of decision making, thus building on the previous efforts and using them as a platform for future work. Meaningful youth engagement should be as the term itself states: meaningful. Advancing action to improve and safeguard the environment and health at all levels should be a shared effort, where all stakeholders act immediately and hold up their commitments. A highly notable concern of young people is regarding the lack of action, the absence of concrete changes for the better or, when implemented, being too late. We call not only on researchers and experts from different sectors, health and care professionals, governments and intergovernmental organizations, but also civil society and youth, patient groups, climate refugees and other vulnerable groups, anyone affected by climate, environmental and health drivers, and the silenced voices, to step together for strong and urgent action in the WHO European Region. 3 Youth Declaration CALL TO ACTION We do hereby reaffirm the need for urgent and scaled- up action, calling upon the Member States and other stakeholders to follow up on their commitments, together with us, the youth, on the following topics. CALL TO ACTION Take action with us by: Youth Engagement and Intergenerational Equity • Adopting concrete strategies on engaging youth in addressing environment and health issues and encouraging young people to actively participate in decision making processes; • Generating a paradigm shift to rid the perception of youth being “non- experts”; • Establishing a balance of power – for youth to be included at all levels, at all times, through proposing binding, equitable and cross-cutting systems of participation and establishing youth quotas and age-diversified criteria; • Creating and supporting inclusive youth platforms that share ideas, insights, concerns and perspectives that may be integrated into policies and action plans; • Avoiding the establishment of youth mechanisms separate from main processes or forming echo- chambers, but instead facilitating access of youth to the main decision- making table at the local, national and international level; • Facilitating access to experts and other stakeholders for young people; • Fostering partnerships between youth organizations, health and care providers and policymakers to amplify the impact; • Facilitating systemic change against episodic involvement of youth through a holistic approach and adoption of techniques and instruments on meaningful youth engagement; • Putting focus on the protection of younger generations in decision making settings and ensuring a link between youth, environment and health to be actively included in all policies and strategies concerning sustainability, the environment and health; • Implementing a generational impact assessment to assess how today’s policies will impact future generations, supported by additionally conducting vulnerability and adaptation assessments; • Encouraging participation in opportunities that foster a sense of connection and stewardship towards the natural world, build conservation networks within communities and create collective impact; • Raising awareness that tackling barriers to youth engagement and coming up with solutions is not the youths’ responsibility; • Promoting equality of opportunity and ensuring the inclusion of youth of all backgrounds – from different origins, education levels, socioeconomic statuses, lived experiences, genders, and age subgroups, among other categories. 4 Youth Declaration Quality Information and Education • Initiating and/or strengthening the collaboration between governmental bodies in charge of health, environment, youth and education, as well as civil society, intergovernmental organizations and other relevant institutions, in order to set-up and/or increase formal, informal and non-formal education, and implement training courses on environment and health issues; • Ensuring access to free, reliable and evidence-based information at all times. Information should be presented in a way that is culturally, linguistically and age appropriate, as well as palatable for youth; • Fighting against information manipulation, post-truth phenomena and political misinformation; • Leading continuous efforts to raise awareness amongst the general public about environment and health challenges by utilizing social media, events, democratic processes and opportunities to amplify the voices of people; • Increasing efforts to educate young people about the impacts of the triple crisis on health, and teaching them about the connections between health and wellbeing, water and sanitation, air quality, waste and pollution, chemical safety, extreme weather events, and various health conditions to help them make healthier and sustainable choices, as well as champion for change; • Integrating education about climate change and environmental health in the curricula at primary and secondary education levels, as well as in the curricula of higher education level for crucial disciplines, including but not limited to medicine, health sciences, urban planning and engineering; • Advocating for incorporating biodiversity into educational settings, ensuring that future generations understand the value of nature and the need for its conservation, and using alternative means and non-formal methodology such as documentaries, virtual reality experiences and interactive online platforms to diversify the learning experience; • We strive, in partnership with governments and United Nations (UN) agencies (WHO, UNEP, UNECE, UNESCO, UN Country Teams (UNCT)), to acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development. Climate, Biodiversity and Pollution Action (Tackling the Triple Crisis) • Strengthening the recognition and inclusion of interlinkages between the three components of the triple environmental crisis into cohesive policy approaches; • Facilitating intersectoral and multigenerational collaboration; • Ensuring the mitigation and adaptation strategies in all policies, and prioritizing synergies with the wellbeing economy initiatives, emphasizing how climate policies positively impact both our planet and personal well-being by highlighting the economic and health co-benefits of sustainable practices and policies, as well as supporting policies that prioritize biodiversity conservation; • Increasing focus and investment on prevention, mitigation and adaptation strategies, including turning quick-fix into permanent solutions, rather than prioritizing bandaid solutions that postpone the need to deal with underlying issues; 5 Youth Declaration • Utilizing the precautionary approach in Member States to reduce environmental harm and drive action; • Creating a platform for sharing best practices between different stakeholders; • Equipping young people by providing access to tools and resources needed to overcome barriers and challenges in climate action, and empowering them with knowledge and skills to drive change; • Designing ambitious national plans for climate action and health and stimulating good policies at subnational levels; • Advocating for the implementation of a system that recognizes and rewards governments that achieve the most impact when fighting the triple crisis, and that actively pursue and implement climate action measures; • Advocating for global incentives for governments that are not inclined towards climate action to generate positive change; • Implementing a system of fiscal policies that penalizes the biggest contributors to climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity by imposing higher carbon footprint taxes, plastic taxes and other types of environmental taxes; • Actively assisting in ensuring a fairer redistribution of resources within the WHO European Region and protecting the basic human rights when it comes to the access to clean water and air, safe food, healthy environment and more; • Kicking the fossil fuel dependence to the curb by supporting renewable energy transition at government level and holding corporations accountable; • Fostering the required respect of One Health as a vision of a world full of systems designed to protect and promote health of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment. • Advocating for strengthening and further inclusion of nature and biodiversity in health policies and actions, and participation and contribution of young people in the One Health approach; • Integrating biodiversity protection and restoration into environmental action plans as these measures buffer against infectious diseases, capture carbon and help regulate the climate; • Considering biodiversity health in urban planning and development policies in order to preserve natural habitats and create additional green spaces; • Fostering empathy and respect for the nature by promoting the appreciation of the intrinsic value of animals and plants. This includes tackling deforestations, eliminating illegal wildlife trade and stepping away from viewing animals as a means for human entertainment through stricter law enforcement, international cooperation and public education; • Providing support to conservation in the wild and ethical alternatives such as wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves, that protect and preserve natural habitats, prioritize the welfare, rehabilitation and conservation of animals without subjecting them to captivity and thus ensure their long-term survival and wellbeing through natural behaviors and maintenance of their ecological roles; • Perceiving the demographic impacts of climate change such as but not limited to the effect on birth rates, the impact of eco-migrations on families, the empowerment of women and girls on the topic of reproduction, climate vulnerability and rapid growth of consumption of goods. 6 Youth Declaration Addressing Youth Health and Health Systems • Putting youth health and well-being on the agenda; • Addressing mental health of young people and other generations, with a specific focus on climate and eco-anxiety (distress relating to the climate and ecological crises), long-lasting trauma and PTSD due to experiencing extreme weather conditions, forced migration and other climate-driven causes; • Investing in mental health resources and support services to help youth cope with climate-related stressors and to build resilience; • Building more sustainable and resilient healthcare systems in the context of climate change, and raising awareness about the knock- on effect of the health and care sector that plays a pivotal role in a Member State’s overall well-being and can have significant impacts on various aspects, including increased health risks, altered disease patterns, infrastructure vulnerability, and increased demand for healthcare services; • Eliminating environmental inequalities and tackling different socioeconomic as well as commercial determinants of health to bring us closer to health equity; • Encouraging policies and practices that reduce air pollution, such as promoting and subsidizing cleaner transportation options, improving air quality monitoring systems and disseminating real-time information to alert young people about periods of poor air quality so they can take necessary precautions; • Creating safe and accessible infrastructure for active transportation, such as cycling lanes and walkways, as well as invest in measures that promote the use of transportation options which not only reduce carbon emissions but also promote physical activity and better overall health; • Increasing the availability and accessibility of green spaces to provide youth with opportunities for physical activity, stress reduction, and connection with nature, improving mental and physical well- being; • Promoting sustainable and affordable dietary choices, including plant-based diets, reduced consumption of resource-intensive foods like meat and dairy, and increased use of locally sourced and seasonal foods that have a lower environmental footprint and are healthier for both individuals and the Region; • Implementing sustainable practices and climate-friendly policies in the public sector in general but especially schools and hospitals, such as energy-efficient buildings, waste reduction and recycling programs, sustainable water management, inclusion of climate change considerations into healthcare planning, green procurement practices, etc.; • Enhancing climate-related disaster preparedness by developing robust response plans, ensuring adequate medical supplies and emergency equipment, training of staff and establishing communication protocols; • Designing and retrofitting healthcare facilities to withstand extreme weather events; • Investing in research on the direct and indirect health impacts of the triple environmental crisis on youth to identify specific vulnerabilities, develop targeted interventions, and inform evidence-based policies; • Accelerating knowledge sharing and innovation addressing socioeconomic and commercial determinants of health and environmentally sustainable policies by increasing individual health literacy as well as improving the capacity of health and environment professionals. 7 Youth Declaration • Supporting innovation in the healthcare sector to develop climate-resilient health systems and technologies that promote youth health; • Investing in telemedicine and digital healthcare to enhance access for vulnerable populations and youth in remote areas and reduce the amount of waste and carbon footprint. Transparency and Accountability • Upholding commitments to international agreements, resolutions and treaties and committing to raise public awareness and literacy about them; • Making governmental actions on climate change transparent by using national reporting or other relevant reporting mechanisms, such as the Ostrava monitoring framework, and by making the reports on progress towards the implementation of Member States’ commitments more available and publicized; • Implementing financial obligations and commitment in a prompt manner, and transitioning towards bigger and more proactive contributions to global mechanisms; • Uptaking proportionate responsibility of and within European Region regarding the historical harmful impacts on health and environment in other Regions, proactively upholding the international frameworks and address the ecological debt; • Ensuring access to free, reliable, data-driven information on the impacts of the triple crisis in the WHO European Region, widely available in a clear, understandable, youth-palatable language; • Holding regular consultations with young people and youth-led organizations, where updates on current happenings and actions by governments and institutions are presented, and where young people feedback is collected and used for optimizing policies and legislation; • Including young people in transparency processes, especially the monitoring and evaluation concerning accountability; • Providing support to youth organizations who take on more prominent stewardship roles, operate in an independent watchdog role and perform services of updating their communities on new developments; • Utilizing the data and recommendations from watchdog organizations in decision making; • Making the objectives of climate negotiations clear in advance, neatly stating the optimum target to be reached and informing the public on the negotiations goals in a transparent manner; • Providing a public brief on conflicts of interest by each entity taking part in negotiations and implementing viable measures towards stakeholders that fail to disclose existing conflicts of interest; • Devoting substantial and measurable efforts to avoiding backdoor lobbying in negotiations and policy-making. 8 Youth Declaration Annex 1: Commitments by Youth 1. We commit to promote, advocate for and monitor the institutionalization of meaningful youth engagement practices in environment and health processes in the WHO European Region by taking on roles such as but not limited to implementers, role models and watchdogs. We will also enhance the existing mechanisms of youth engagement, including within the institutional framework of the EHP. 2. We will continue to actively engage in advocacy and lobbying efforts to influence decision makers and bring about legislation that promotes sustainability, strengthens climate, biodiversity and pollution actions. Furthermore, we will also advocate for youth engagement mechanisms that are inclusive, accessible, diverse and decentralized, putting a special focus on accessibility for different youth backgrounds to capture the diversity of social attributes and perspectives of youth on environment and health. 3. We will create partnerships with various relevant stakeholders to address systemic inequality at different levels that hinders youth participation in environment and health agenda. We commit to work with UNEP, UNECE and the UN Europe and Central Asia Issue-Based Coalitions on youth to further advance the environment and health agenda in our region and beyond. 4. We commit to supporting the efforts of the WHO European Region and its Member States, engage in its processes, initiate strong collaborations to drive environment and health action, and sustainable development across countries and provide technical support, insights and contributions on relevant topics through the youth lens. 5. We will assess the impact of environment and health policies, and sustainable development policies on youth, provide recommendations, especially if they are found to either disproportionately benefit or negatively affect young people, and strengthen global and local data on youth vulnerability to the impacts of the triple environmental crisis. 6. We will continue upholding a strong connection with our communities, strengthen linkages amongst youth organizations active in the field, and act as focal points for reaching vulnerable and marginalized youth. 7. We commit to actively supporting youth engagement in environment and health on all levels, highlighting the importance of regular communication and meetings between WHO and youth representatives, eliminating barriers through resource mobilization, capacity building, peer-to-peer learnings, and procurement of opportunities for peers and younger generations. 8. We will implement and promote activities to mainstream education for climate action and sustainable development, incorporating planetary health education, and ensure differentiated activities for youth with multiple, diverse and marginalized identities. 9. We pledge to advocate for the adoption and implementation of sustainable habits and practices, as well as raise awareness and educate our communities on impacts and structural causes of the triple environmental crisis, and the importance of sustainable living and conservation. Additionally, we will build the capacity and understanding amongst other young people about the impacts of different consumption patterns (especially fast fashion, tobacco products, and the meat and diary industry). 10. We promise to make conscious and educated choices, and to consider the environment when making decisions in our daily lives (e.g. by buying locally sourced products, reducing single-use plastic, supporting brands with transparent and sustainable supply chains, and using climate-conscious modes of transportation, etc.). 9 Youth Declaration Youth Declaration Budapest 2023 © World Health Organization 2023. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license. Signed on behalf of a youth representative from the informal youth working group in Budapest on 6 July 2023. The informal youth working group was made up of members of EEHYC, national platforms, the International Youth Health Organization, representatives of the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Youth4Health network, and youth representatives from UNEP and UNECE. The informal youth working group was established to ensure meaningful youth engagement leading up to and during the Ministerial conference on Environment and Health. There will be continued efforts to implement the commitments made in this Declaration.