The Green Rising Ukraine 2026 youth climate conference has kicked off in Bukovel
The first day of the conference focused on how global climate decisions are made and how young people can influence this process.
Green Rising Ukraine 2026
On 24 October, the two-day youth climate conference Green Rising Ukraine 2026 began in Bukovel under the slogan ‘The voice of youth for climate action: from Ukraine to COP31’. Participants are working on a Youth Climate Declaration containing recommendations for the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will take place in November in Antalya, Turkey.
GreenPost is, as usual, the event’s media partner. Among the conference participants is Elina Slobodska, a young journalist with the publication and a student at the ‘O. I. Marinescu Maritime Vocational College’ of the National University ‘Odessa Maritime Academy’.
The day began with registration and an interactive session entitled ‘Climate Map of Ukraine’, after which the conference was officially opened.
The participants then learnt, through an interactive session, how the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Conference of the Parties (COP) and YOUNGO – the official youth group under the Convention through which young people engage in the negotiation process – operate.
The highlight of the day was the youth climate World Café, where participants took turns moving between four themed tables:
- young people and education;
- Empowering Climate Action (ACE);
- zero waste;
- the resilience of ecosystems and communities.
The outcomes of these discussions formed the basis for the session ‘The Voice of Youth at COP31’, during which recommendations for the declaration were drawn up. The day concluded with a panel discussion entitled ‘Environmental Problems and Challenges: Ways to Overcome Them’.
What will happen tomorrow?
On 25 October, the programme will shift from policy to practice. The conference will begin with a workshop on drafting the Youth Climate Declaration, followed by a panel discussion on sustainable business models and a seminar entitled ‘From idea to result: developing environmental projects under youth leadership’.
A separate call for proposals will be launched for youth-led climate initiatives, supported by the GEF Small Grants Programme, which is implemented by UNDP. At the end of the event, participants will take stock of the proceedings and engage with organisations at the ‘Stakeholder and Best Practice Alley’.
Read about the results of the second day in the next article.
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