Bermuda can play a key role in the global battle against climate change, but only if the Government is prepared to listen to the concerns of the young and take action.

That was the message from a team of youth delegates who attended the Conference of the Parties summit on climate change in Dubai last December.

The annual meeting of world leaders and heads of state addressed concerns about the impact of human pollution on the environment, and possible steps that can be taken to reduce carbon emissions and halt global warming.

David Burt, the Premier, attended the COP28 conference, along with Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs.

But a team of six youth delegates also went to the Middle East to get a different perspective on environmental issues.

At a public seminar at the BUEI on Saturday, the six island representatives discussed their findings.

Questioned by moderator Rosemarie McMahon, the BUEI’s youth summit programme director, the delegates agreed that Bermuda faced a David and Goliath battle against economic powerhouses such as India, China, and Russia, who are increasing their consumption of fossil fuels through expanding nuclear power station programmes.

But they also argued that, while Bermuda’s carbon footprint was insignificant in global terms, the island could play a significant role in changing attitudes – by leading through example.

Olly Cherry, one of the delegates, explained: “It’s really important for us as Bermudians to be the ones who stand up, because we’re the ones who are going to feel it the most.

“Even though we aren’t the No 1 polluter in the world, even if we aren’t the country that’s creating the direct problem, I think we all have a role to play. If we’re not going to stand up and say this is what we need to do, then we can’t expect the bigger polluters and the more powerful countries to do the same. This is what needs to happen.”

Noelle Young, another delegate, agreed, but argued that Bermuda needed to do more if it was to set an example for the rest of the world.

Ms Young, a Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme associate and an aquaculture and fisheries consultant, said: “Our government is not doing much in the realm of youth equity.

“Youth equity would be the most important policy that they can potentially make.

“There’s a big difference between equality and equity. The main reason that equity is important is that if you’re not championing for your future, if you’re not actually listening and creating policy to help those that will be most affected and most likely to be in charge of your country in the future — those opportunities, education and everything that goes along with it — Bermuda can’t fight this fight.

“There’s no way that we can have a thriving blue economy if you don’t have youth who care about this country because they’ve never had the opportunity to be involved.”

Referring to her experience at COP28, Ms Young said: “I’m not going to say that we were rebels, but we highlighted disparities, being a small island nation that is going to be most impacted by climate change — we already are.

“We voiced our opinions and it was very interesting to see who listened. In many cases at home we’re used to other youth listening in but we’re not so much used to governments and adults listening in.

“I can’t really describe the amount of interest that other people had in what we wanted to discuss.

“We represented island nations and equity for island nations.”

William Campbell, another delegate, agreed that the team punched well above its weight in drawing attention to Bermuda’s own environmental issues.

He explained how he was able to highlight concerns over plastic dumping on the island. Bermuda acts as a magnate for trash thrown overboard by vessels travelling across the Atlantic – leaving Bermuda to pick up the pieces when the detritus finally washes up on our otherwise pristine beaches.

It was an issue that overseas leaders were unaware of – and wanted to learn more about once they met with the Bermuda delegation.

Mr Campbell said: “A high percentage of ocean plastics that washes up on our beaches doesn’t come from Bermuda, it’s from other countries around the world.

“Until we’re prepared to say ‘look, this is how the climate crisis is impacting us’, then our voice goes unheard and other people consensually treat our island and our back yard as a dumping ground.

“These are the things that we were engaged with in addressing this crisis. All of our engagement with the organisations, civil society groups, other advocates, government groups, is around building these networks that all of us can participate in building solutions.

“It’s one step at a time, one bite at a time, but this capacity building that we’re doing now is essential for how we go forward in tackling these problems – through fact-finding and networking.

“Our very act of being there as Bermudians as an advocate of our country was in fact advocacy because we don’t have a voice at these places until we take a seat at the table.”

Isaiah Fraser encouraged others to get involved.

He said: “I think it’s important for young people to turn up at every global event because the youth have a voice and it needs to be heard.

“COP is a place where they can have a voice. COP is a place where not just youth are listening but adults and governments and people in higher power are listening to our opinions.

“And when those opinions are heard, stuff can get done.”

The Bermuda youth team will be submitting its findings from COP28 in a report to the Government shortly.

• UPDATE: this story has been updated to clarify that the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute’s youth climate initiative did not organise the trip to COP28