1 August 2018: The Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) has announced Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, as its sixth Co-Chair. She joins five other GCAS Co-Chairs: Governor of California Jerry Brown, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael Bloomberg, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, Mahindra Group Chair Anand Mahindra and Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, China.

In a statement, Wickramanayake said her appointment represents recognition of the transformative power of youth as equal partners in the fight against climate change. She emphasized youth-led innovative climate solutions and spaces for young people to lead climate action globally and locally.

The 27-year old Sri Lankan leads the UN’s youth engagement and advocacy efforts related to sustainable development, human rights, peace and security, and humanitarian issues. As GCAS Co-Chair, Wickramanayake will seek to mobilize youth to lead climate efforts, and will help deliver the call to action from the Summit to the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the UNFCCC and the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in September 2019.

The GCAS, which will convene from 12-14 September 2018, in San Francisco, US, under the theme, ‘Take Ambition to the Next Level,’ will bring together state and local governments, business representatives and civil society to showcase climate actions at all levels, and to inspire deeper commitments and accelerated action from countries to realize the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. [GCAS Press Release] [GCAS Website] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Xie Zhenhua’s Appointment as GCAS Fifth Co-Chair]