August 17-20, 2009
Inuvik, Northwest Territories
For four days in August, 2009, young leaders converged in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, to discuss climate change, share their stories and build their skills.
The goal of the summit was to empower young leaders to tackle the greatest challenge facing the planet—climate change. The action-packed summit included a mixture of outdoor field-trips, indoor lectures and participatory activities. From communicating about climate change to climate change adaptation, presentations at the summit covered a range of topics.
On August 20, the 60 young Canadians who participated in the summit issued a declaration that laid out a call for action on northern climate change. The declaration highlights four areas of concern about the progress of climate change issues and upcoming negotiations and concludes with a call for action.
For more information, read the final report and summit agenda.
Young Leaders' Summit in the Media:
- We Must Act Now: Climate Change by Maia Lepage in Tusaayaksat, Volume 22, No. 8, Fall 2009. Published by the Inuvialuit Communications society.
- Inuvik Youth Summit Calls for Climate Action by Robin Urquhart in the Yukon News.
- A Call for Action on Climate Change by Katie May in the Northwest Territories News/North.
- Young Leaders Tackle Climate Change by David Malcolm in Above & Beyond.
Notes from Summit presentations:
- Carbon Neutral North: Northerners Taking Action on Climate Change presented by Andrew Robinson, Arctic Energy Alliance.
- Climate Change Adaption 101 presented by Susan Evans, WWF Canada, and Ryan Hennessey, Northern Climate ExChange.
- Climate of Change in the Arctic presented by Bernard Funston, Arctic Council.
- Communicating Climate Change Through Storytelling presented by Jen Grant, Pembina Institute.
- Northern Terrestrial Ecosystem Responses to Environmental Change presented by James Hudson.
- Old Crow Food Security Options Project presented by Katelyn Friendship, Arctic Health Research Network-Yukon.
- Rocking the Climate Policy Process in Canada and Internationally presented by P.J. Partington, Pembina Institute.
- Spacial and Temporal Patterns and Hydroclimatic Controls of Break-up in the Mackenzie Delta, NWT presented by Holly Lynn Goulding.
Northern Leaders Represented at the Summit:
- Dennis Bevington, Member of Parliament for the Western Arctic
- Chief Herbert Blake of the Inuvik Native Band, President of the Nihtat Gwich'in Council
- Michael Miltenberger, Government of the Northwest Territories Minister of Environment and Natural Resources
- Richard Nerysoo, President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, former Premier of the Northwest Territories
- Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Inuit climate change activist, provided an address by video to the summit attendees about the importance of northerners communicating climate change impacts to the world.
- A number of the delegates had the opportunity to speak with Floyd Roland, Premier of the Northwest Territories, as well as Inuvik Mayor Derek Lindsay and Inuvik Deputy Mayor Chris Larocque.
- Letter from the Commissioner of Nunavut
- Letter from the Premier of Nunavut
- Letter from Member of Parliament Larry Bagnell
- Letter from the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
The Summit co-hosts prepared a Green Event Plan to minimize the environmental impacts of the Young Leaders' Summit on Northern Climate Change. The summit hosts are striving to achieve a carbon neutral event and to reduce or eliminate any negative environmental consequences of the event.
As part of the Green Event Plan, carbon offsets were purchased to address greenhouse gas emissions associated with the summit. The Carbon Offset Certificate covers the round-trip travel of nine facilitators to the event, as well as the electricity used to operate the Midnight Sun Recreation Centre in Inuvik during the four-day summit.
The co-hosts of the Young Leaders' Summit on Northern Climate Change would like to thank summit participants for their enthusiasm, ideas, creativity and commitment to the summit.