Štěpánka Slámová '25 attends the Bonn June Climate Conference as a youth observer

“What was it like to attend the Bonn June Climate Conference as a youth observer?”

I’m asking myself this on the train ride home. The shortest answer I can give: confusing, intense—but still a great learning opportunity.

My motivation to attend the Bonn Climate Conference was to gain insight into climate negotiations and expand my knowledge in climate and international politics. While I’m not an active member of any climate movement or organization, I’ve always cared about the environment—thanks in large part to my mom’s ecological efforts. With my interests in political education and political economy, I was curious to experience the space where representatives from across the globe come together to discuss how to tackle climate change: some advocating for climate justice, others defending the status quo. I applied and became part of a 15-member youth delegation attending the conference together.

The program included two preparatory weekends, weekly seminars on climate conferences, and additional weekly focus group meetings on climate finance and loss and damage. Thanks to this preparation, I arrived in Bonn with at least the minimum knowledge needed to (somewhat) follow what was going on. We learned a whole alphabet soup of acronyms—MWP, GGA, GAP, COP, FRLD—got to know the various stakeholders (UN offices, Parties, country groups, constituencies, etc), and tried to make sense of the different workstreams: mitigation, adaptation, finance, gender, just transition, and more. Looking back, I’m grateful to have gained the skill of understanding and following the logic of UN climate conferences. But I’m also shocked and outraged by how inaccessible this space is. I was incredibly privileged to enter it as a youth observer—with the necessary background handed to me on a silver platter.

I attended the second week of the conference (June 23–26). I spent most of the days in negotiations on climate finance (e.g., Articles 6.8 and 9.1 of the Paris Agreement), the Global Goal on Adaptation, and consultations on the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap for mobilizing €1.3 trillion for the Global South. I also attended side events and press conferences hosted by civil society and research organizations, youth coordination meetings, bilateral meetings between youth and the EU Council Presidency and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), distributed awareness materials, edited protocols, joined actions (a.k.a. tiny protests), and spent evenings at the Bonn Climate Camp, enjoying workshops, discussions, and shared dinners (shoutout to the organizers!).

The most enjoyable and meaningful moments for me were the press conferences, spending time at the Climate Camp, and participating in the actions. While the official UN processes were slow, inefficient, and at times intransparent (key negotiators frequently discussed the draft texts in “huddles”), civil society events were the opposite: diverse, inclusive, participatory, respectful, and holistic—not isolating the conference, for example, from the ongoing siege and ecocide in Gaza. I understand the challenge of aligning 200+ countries, but the UN and its Parties have a lot to learn from civil society. The UNFCCC must reform to truly serve the people of the world.

So—how did the negotiations turn out? There was some progress in streams like the Just Transition Work Programme, Gender Action Plan, and Transparency. But many negotiations stalled or were blocked due to conflicting national interests. Frustrating? Absolutely. But you can do something about it. Hold Germany and the EU (presuming that’s where you live) accountable to deliver on their promises and take responsibility for their historic emissions. Send an email. Sign a petition. Join a protest. It matters. Now, many are looking ahead to the next “big” climate conference—COP29 in Belém, Brazil this November. Some hopeful about the global mutirão (collective effort), some with dread over the absurd hotel prices, and others outraged about Brazil’s rapid expansion of oil and gas extraction.

If you’re interested in learning more about this or the upcoming climate conference, I have two recommendations:

• Join our public post-conference webinar where we’ll share our experiences and outcomes of the negotiations — Wednesday, July 2, 6 p.m. CET here.
• Read the satirical daily newsletter ECO by Climate Action Network here.

If you have any questions about the conference, feel free to email me: [email protected]

By: Štěpánka Slámová, Bard College Berlin ‘25

Post Date: 06-27-2025