described in this report offer significant opportunities for green entrepreneurship and emphasize the need for lifestyle changes. National governments and international organizations have already committed trillions of dollars to help us recover from this pandemic, support the economy and protect livelihoods. While the emphasis may be on short term recovery, we must not lose sight of the long-term gains for sustainable development and the need to build resilience into systems that support us every day. It is crucial that the funds committed by governments support a greener recovery by supporting green(er) jobs. The world is looking to young people to inspire and drive the transformation towards an environmentally sustainable world. Their individual actions, when scaled up, could have monumental global impacts.
As co-chairs of this report, we are honored to have worked with an incredible team of dedicated young authors and experts from around the world. Multiple brainstorming
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sessions, three in-person meetings (in Thailand, Kenya and Austria) and two rounds of peer review have kept us on track to deliver a report that is global in its vision and yet sensitive to local realities. We are grateful to the European Union, United Nations Member States and to all the institutions that have supported this initiative, as well as to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Secretariat for their constant support, patience and guidance. We also thank the reviewers for their valuable comments, and the graphics and communications teams for their support.
We humbly present this report to the world’s youth and hope that we can all work together to bend the curve before it is too late.