IT'S BEEN a baptism of fire for the Irish youth delegation attending the UN climate conference in Copenhagen - their first introduction to the maelstrom of a COP. "A mind-blowing experience" was how Senan Gardiner, a botany graduate of Trinity College, described it.
From Co Tipperary, he is among 25 young climate activists from all over Ireland who are attending the conference. Many of them are members of Young Friends of the Earth and Climate Camp Ireland, who travelled here by bus and boat this week - for ethical reasons.
Four of the delegation - Mark Bennett from Wicklow, Julie McGee from Donegal and Laura Duggan and Jerrieann Sullivan from Dublin - have had their participation in COP 15 funded under the "Climate Champions" programme run by the British Council.
They're contributing to the "Youngo" (youth non-governmental organisations) "bottom-lining" group, the Big Unity Group (Bug) - an informal think tank that develops strategies from day to day - and the European Youth Forum, which is here in strength.
They are following every twist and turn in the negotiations, staging "reactive actions" - such as a 10-minute "group freeze" yesterday - and using networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to "motivate more young people to join the growing climate justice movement".
Youth activists from Ireland and elsewhere will also be taking part in demonstrations such as a planned Global Day of Climate Action today, when thousands are expected to take to the streets in Copenhagen and other cities demanding action at COP 15.
Jerrieann O'Sullivan said people in Africa and low-lying island nations were already suffering the impacts of global warming. "A strong and just outcome for them and for us would include industrialised countries agreeing to cut their domestic emission by at least 40 per cent."
At a European Youth Forum press briefing on Thursday, Senan Gardiner referred to the recent flooding in Ireland, describing it as "an EU country that has had a party for the last 20 years as our economy boomed on the back of tax reductions and short-term thinking".
Mr Gardiner said the challenge now was to develop a new "low-carbon society" to safeguard the world for future generations, and this "complete change in mindset" would be led by younger people around the world.
Ireland was also represented at a Children's Climate Forum, held last week under the auspices of Unicef and the city of Copenhagen. It ended with a declaration by children from 44 countries, presented to the COP 15 president, Danish climate minister Connie Hedegaard.
