Gran Canaria’s Youth Delegate to SB64
In June 2026, Erica Usai participated as a virtual participant in the Island Youth Networks Delegation to the UNFCCC SB64. The following are her reflections.
The Subsidiary Bodies' 64th session (SB64), connecting Brazil's COP30 to Antalya's COP31 negotiations, took place in Bonn between 8 and 18 June. During this event, I took part as an online delegate for the Island Youth Network, thanks to the support of SMILO, representing the island of Gran Canaria, part of the archipelago of the Canary Islands.
This archipelago, composed of eight volcanic islands, belongs to Spain, but geographically sits within the broader Macaronesia region, alongside Portugal's Azores and Madeira, and Cabo Verde, a neighbouring Small Island Developing State (SIDS) further south. Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean and home to approximately 2.27 million people, represent the most populated of the EU's nine Outermost Regions, territories geographically distant from mainland Europe, eight of which are islands, spread across three sea basins: the South-West Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean. These territories have been recognised by the European Environment Agency among Europe's climate "hotspots," due also to structural and geographical factors linked to their remoteness.
During SB64, I had the opportunity to follow several sessions, such as the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue. The ocean absorbs around 30% of global CO2 emissions and around 90% of the excess heat they generate, acting as a vital buffer against climate change. At the same time, however, ocean warming, acidification, and sea-level rise, causing coastal erosion and biodiversity loss among other effects, have a direct impact on islands like Gran Canaria, which are among the first to witness these changes firsthand, with direct effects on their biodiversity and economies. The Dialogue examined the ocean across three angles: integrating ocean priorities into national climate plans, unlocking finance to implement them, and strengthening synergies between the UNFCCC and the biodiversity process.
Alongside the official sessions, a network of island youth ran in parallel. Talking with and connecting to delegates from Fiji, Comoros, and Montserrat gave me a far more concrete understanding of the obstacles their islands and communities face in practice. I had concrete examples, from young citizens representing those territories, of structural barriers such as visa restrictions that islanders from Comoros can face in accessing negotiating spaces like this one, and of how vital capacity building has been in territories like Fiji in the face of climate emergencies.
There are real barriers preventing young people from engaging in climate discussion, which are often too technical and inaccessible without proper training. Not every young person should have to become fluent in negotiation terminology to stay updated or have a say in decisions that will shape their future. I believe there is a gap to close, to make these processes more understandable and accessible to non-experts and youth. On a personal level, this experience has been genuinely empowering. Coming out of SB64 with more familiarity, and direct experience, of how these negotiations actually unfold, I applied to represent Island Youth Network at the European Youth Policy Dialogue on the COP31 this October, where I'll take part in a dialogue on behalf of young people from islands and Outermost Regions communities.
