They are also assisting to ensure the UN’s sustainable development goals are achieved with a new fellowship programme. According to a statement issued by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday, the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) would help identify and recruit the young professionals, and provide them with an exciting research environment.

The fellowship initiative, will offer work experience in a vibrant international policy environment at the Secretariat of the UNFCCC.

The statement said upon completion of the scheme, the “Early Career Climate Fellows” would be able to work in their home countries or internationally, deploying the valuable experience and insights they had gained in Bonn.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said: “Young, qualified professionals from developing countries represent one of our best resources for building capacity for climate action.

She added that as “ we move with determination into the new era of implementation of the Paris Agreement, we need to equip young people with the skills to green economies and build resilience, and this initiative, is an example of how organisations can prepare young people for the challenges of the future.”

“We will also be building their skills so they can better secure employment in the work-place. Many of the young people we will be supporting need real-life experience to get on the job ladder,” she said.

What we are doing is also a living example of Action for Climate Empowerment under Article 6 of the original Convention, which ranges from education to training in respect to climate change: So we are securing a great, dynamic human resource and giving back with a positive, empowering experience in partnership with UNU,” she said.

Professor Dr Jakob Rhyner, Director of UNU-EHS, said: “There are 1.8 billion young people in the world today, more than ever before in human history, and about nine out of 10 live in developing countries.

He said efforts for sustainable development and climate protection must build on their enthusiasm and ideas. He said the UNFCCC-UNU-EHS’s Early Career Climate Fellowship Initiative offered young people from developing countries a unique possibility to start their career at the interface between international climate policy development and research.

Academically outstanding young graduates from developing countries who are less than three years into their careers, especially women from least developed countries, are encouraged to apply.

Fellowships may last from six months to two years and the work experience with the UNFCCC will be tailored to fit the specific skills and backgrounds of each fellow. The collaboration will get underway following the UN Climate Change Conference, which runs to 18 May.