Created by Youth, Bound for COP31: The Youth DeclarACTION on Zero Waste and Climate Action
The DeclarACTION moves like a wave, carried from the youth who wrote it to the youth who will act on it next, reaching cities from Victoria to Klagenfurt to Istanbul to Dhaka as Zero Waste Forum delegates mark International Youth Day on August 12 with cleanups, food security workshops, and tree plantings that make the same case delegates first made in Istanbul.
The Zero Waste Forum 2026 brought together some 5,000 delegates from more than 180 countries and over 100 government ministers to Istanbul, where governments negotiated shared commitments on zero waste and climate action to carry into COP31 in Antalya this November. Within Forum, a dedicated Youth programme convened organizations spanning Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia came together other commit to local action for global impact – they called this the Youth DeclarACTION on Zero Waste & Climate Action.
Genç Diplomasi Derneği / the Youth Diplomacy Association coordinated the youth programme, in partnership with the Zero Waste Foundation and the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion’s Office. Working across three commissions, participants moved from identifying problems to drafting concrete recommendations, adopting the DeclarACTION on 6 June 2026.
Samed Ağırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, believes that climate solutions must be built by the people they affect – a people-centered approach.
His vision for COP31 calls on governments, businesses, civil society, and marginalized communities such as indigenous peoples and those from the Global South, to work side by side.
“The greatest challenges facing the world today are not limited to climate change. We cannot speak of true global justice while millions continue to face hunger, lack access to electricity, and live in poverty.” ~ Samed Ağırbaş
The DeclarACTION puts that principle into practice. Commission I on the Circular Economy & Economic Transformation, recognized Indigenous, traditional, and local knowledge as essential to resilient, low-carbon communities, and calls for building it directly into circular solutions. Groups in the ZWF network already doing this work are: the Museo Viviente Otavalango in Ecuador, led by Kichwa Indigenous youth, and the Kenya Innovation Upcycling Hub anchored by Nane Experience Community Hub, Enkilla Afroculture and Mto Wangu Initiative, active in Nairobi’s Kibera and Mathare settlements and the Masai Mara.
Food security is central to the DeclarAction‘s Circular Economy commitments. Delegates formed a Food Security Caucus and called on governments to redirect surplus food to people and livestock instead of landfills, invest in composting and soil restoration, and treat organic waste as a climate and food-security priority rather than a disposal problem. Sally Higgins, COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion, connected that commitment to her own portfolio:
“My focus is on elevating the voices of those children and young people leading action on climate change in their communities. This includes a focus on elevating the innovation, creativity and resilience of young people in our agriculture sector.” ~ Sally Higgins
Khadija Muhammad, who moderated the Third Commission on Zero Waste, Sustainable Systems & Energy Transition, presented the DeclarAction to the wider Zero Waste Forum network in late July:
“Young people should not only participate in discussions on global issues but also contribute to shaping their solutions. … Our solutions are not only our requests or our calls to governments. They’re also our commitments as youth – to advocate, to build, to grow, and most importantly, to innovate.” ~ Khadija Muhammad
Shadrack Otieno, founder of the Nane Experience Community Hub in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, assure that the DeclarAction and recognized his and others marginalized community’s concerns:
“It’s now up to us to start living that dream and start working towards what we want to do.” ~ Shadrack Otieno
The DeclarACTION now moves like a wave, carried from the youth who wrote it to the youth who will act on it next, reaching cities from Victoria to Klagenfurt to Dhaka as Zero Waste Forum delegates mark International Youth Day on August 12 with cleanups, food security workshops, and tree plantings that make the same case delegates first made in Istanbul.