Aotearoa Youth COP: rangatahi draft climate statement toward COP31

AUCKLAND — More than 80 rangatahi gathered in Auckland for Aotearoa Youth COP 2026 on 19 September, organised by Save the Children New Zealand and its Generation Hope ambassadors, and are drafting a youth climate statement intended for New Zealand decision-makers, a Fiji-linked Pre-COP pathway and COP31 in Türkiye.

Save the Children’s 16 September preview said participants would be aged about 14 to 20 and would take part in workshops, guest speakers and discussion focused on climate action. Pacific Media Network (PMN) reported on 21 September that the statement is now being drafted and is expected to move through Pacific pre-COP channels before COP31.

What happened in Auckland — verified process, not final demands

This article does not invent or list final statement demands. PMN and Save the Children describe a drafting and consultation process that was still underway after the Auckland day.

PMN reported four workshop themes: youth leadership and governance; water; food; and loss and damage. Generation Hope ambassadors Betty and Ollie told PMN that rangatahi brought lived experience — including Pacific perspectives — into those sessions, with the aim of ensuring young people who will live with long-term climate decisions have a genuine voice.

Save the Children said the Aotearoa Youth Climate Statement will reflect issues rangatahi want leaders to prioritise and is to be formally handed to the New Zealand Government ahead of COP31. PMN added that a more complete draft was expected within about a week of its 21 September report, then taken toward a Fiji pre-COP event later in the year, with public sharing planned before COP31.

Pacific context alongside the Aotearoa process

PMN situated the Auckland effort beside a wider Pacific youth track: more than 100 young people across the Pacific have taken part in talanoa dialogues, with a regional youth climate statement informing engagement ahead of Fiji-led Pre-COP and COP31. Fiji has said young Pacific people are expected to be part of its official COP31 delegation rather than only attending as observers, according to PMN.

COP31 is scheduled for 9–20 November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, PMN noted — the global meeting the Aotearoa statement is meant to influence via government and Pacific pathways.

Youth voices on process — attributed quotes only

“Children are disproportionately affected by climate change, and the other issues which face the rest of the world,” Generation Hope ambassador Ollie told PMN, arguing young people are aware of community problems but are often missing from decision rooms.

Ambassador Betty said decisions about climate action often omit youth perspective and that young people are “just asking to be listened to” with a genuine voice at the table. PMN also quoted a rangatahi line from the event: “If you’re not at the table, you are on the menu.”

Before the event, Save the Children Programme and Advocacy Director Jacqui Southey said meaningful youth participation matters because children and young people are already experiencing climate impacts on health, education, homes, food security and safety.

What to watch next

Watch for publication of the completed Aotearoa Youth Climate Statement, any formal handover to New Zealand ministers, and how it is referenced at Fiji Pre-COP and in Antalya. Until that text is public, responsible coverage stops at process: workshops held, drafting under way, intended audiences named — without fabricating policy asks.