COP28: UK delegate Rachel Ojo says climate event 'driving change'

Rachel Ojo, 21, represented young people from the UK at the major climate summit

A graduate who represented young people at the COP28 climate summit said the event was "driving change".

Rachel Ojo, 21, from Essex, was one of four UK youth delegates who spoke to decision-makers at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai.

"I think real change is coming," she said.

However, on Monday, talks between the 198 nations looked in jeopardy because of disagreement surrounding fossil fuels.

Miss Ojo was part of a Youth Select Committee in 2019 which gave recommendations to the UK government on knife crime

Among the main goals at this year's COP28, was to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C, speed up the transition to cleaner energy sources and to work on a new deal for richer countries to help developing nations.

Miss Ojo, from Basildon, told the BBC: "It's important to involve everyone in the conversation and this was the COP that had the most young people in attendance.

"It's essential for me and essential for everyone to be passionate about climate change and protecting our environments.

"It's not even about the resources we're losing. Nature and the environment is about culture, it's about all that we have."

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Miss Ojo has served in the UK Youth Parliament and was chairwoman of the Youth Select Committee, which in 2019 gave a series of recommendations to government on knife crime.

She said: "It's our future, we can't leave it until later because later will be too late.

"It's important for us to stand up for what we believe in now and to really influence change and work with governments constructively to influence policies which are going to effect us for years to come."

COP28 has been described as a "milestone moment" - a halfway point between the Paris Agreement and 2030 - by which point CO2 emissions should have reduced by 43%.

Nations have promised to keep global temperature rise below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.