During the summit students discussed in groups about climate change and the actions that students can take. They made an action plan for 2019 to 2025.

World Summit of Students for Climate

Climate Action Plan 2019-2025

Students are committed to work in the following areas

1. Actions For Carbon Capture

● We will plant trees as it is the easiest and measurable way to absorb carbon dioxide.

● We will create partnerships with municipalities or the government for tree planting and cleaning actions.

● We will ask our institutes to include weekly ecology classes, where one can learn about carbon capture, afforestation, and the pollution in the ecosystems, for example.

● We will introduce ‘Ecosystem Recognition Awards’ to be presented to students who show special care for the ecosystem/environment and motivate their peers to do the same.

2. Reducing Carbon Emissions and Education

● We will recycle more in order to reduce emissions (using recycling bins, reusing and repurposing school resources, as in using second hand paper for craft).

● We will reduce or restrict single-use plastics.

● We will reduce higher carbon emitting foods and portion sizes in canteens/cafeterias.

● We will educate school members about climate change.

3. Networking and the role of students

• We will create a website through which students and teachers from different schools and countries will be able to connect and contact each other for support. It will include online forums and adverts for future events. We will promote this in the social media.
• We will create a network of students with representatives from each country, who will report their needs and actions to the six representatives from each continent (the WSSC Secretariat). They will discuss the problems and solutions and report them to the ENO Network. Representatives will be elected once a year through the web page. Representatives from each country will be asked to create and carry out physical awareness campaigns for those who have no access to social media.

CLIMATE AGREEMENT OF SCHOOLS 2019 – 2025

(supporting Climate Action 2019-2025)

Environment Online – ENO will celebrate the 25th anniversary in 2025. Schools will launch a global C02 campaign to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Pupils around the world will gather between 29 May – 3 June in Finland to agree the jointly organised climate actions based on tree planting. To celebrate the quarter century of the ENO Programme, pupils from over 10 000 schools in 150 countries will agree on the goals of reducing carbon dioxide as follows:

1) With this movement, pupils raise up the fact that the mankind with its action has reduced forest area and their capacity to work as sink for carbon dioxide. Tree planting is needed to improve the carbon balance between carbon in the trees and atmosphere.

2) Pupils raise the fact that tree planting is a significant way to reduce carbondioxide in the atmosphere. Planting forests does not need complicated technology or big money. What we need is earth, sun, water, and seed; and a person who ensures the start of the growth of trees. When working together we can plant a huge number of trees to grow, as the recently finished ENO campaign of 100 million trees has proved.

There are two ways to join the agreement (or it is possible to join both roles):

A) Tree Planting Schools (TPS)

• School will plant trees each year at least 0,5 hectars (5 000m2) between the years 2019-2025. Trees will be planted in the areas where forest hasn’t been cut in 10 years. This way a new forest (carbon sink) will be ensured.
• School will agree with private or public land owners the suitable land areas for these climate actions. They will also agree the delivery of the suitable reforestation material for free with suppliers of seeds and seedlings. Names of partners will be published in the international media.
• School will agree with the partners about adopting trees and can use this support also partly to improve their school activities. Tree planting schools will also partner with Tree Adopting Schools (see below).
• Schools will report the annual growth of trees to ENO Programme. ENO will publish the annual summaries based on the data.

B) Tree Adopting Schools (TAS) , a Slovenian initiative

There are schools which are not able to plant, but want to take part. Their job will be to motivate the children, teachers, parents, and the local community.

• Students earn “trees” with their work. The payment for their work or help will be “a tree" (1 € = 1 tree). For instance, helping the elderly, go shopping for them, clean the cars, collect paper, clean the garage, work in the garden etc.
• At school, students together earn these “trees” every year enough for 0,5 hectars (the average of 800 trees).
• Tree adopting schools will find a partner from tree planting schools – or vice versa with the help of ENO. Schools connect directly. The adopting school sends money to the planting school and informs ENO at the same time. The planting school plants the trees and sends photos to the adopting school and ENO. This feedback is very important – not just for the kids but also for the adults. The overall goal is to transfer 3 million tons carbon dioxide from atmosphere by 2025 when ENO Programme celebrates its 25th anniversary, or latest by 2026, when the Paris agreement will have its 10th anniversary.

Already 370 schools from 50 countries have joined this agreement (4 June 2019)