The European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, took part, on Tuesday 18 July, in the fourth ‘Youth Climate Round Table’, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Youth Forum and the ‘Generation Climate Europe’ coalition of organisations. At the event, Mr Timmermans spoke to youth representatives about the sustainable economy and its central role in solving environmental and social challenges.
In his introductory speech, the Vice-President of the Commission praised the active engagement of young people on social media, highlighting in particular their positive impact in raising awareness on the need of nature restoration to ensure food security.
“You have forged a fascinating alliance with more than 6,000 scientists who have shown that food security depends on nature restoration”, said Mr Timmermans. He added, underlining the importance of young people in the debates: “The fact is that you are extremely well informed and that you exchange a lot”.
This last observation led the Vice-President of the Commission to reaffirm his commitment to including young people in discussions on sustainability, promising their presence at the decision-making table - as he had “agreed with the incoming Presidency” - rather than in a simple consultation cycle.
Mr Timmermans also expressed his concern at the increasing politicisation of climate and sustainability issues, which had been observed “during the debate on nature restoration”, and reiterated that these issues, which are essential to “our survival”, should transcend political divisions.
Lastly, he called for “a bridge” to be built between the fight against climate change and the quest for social equity - which he saw as interdependent - and called for more in-depth reflection on the redistribution of wealth. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)