We asked Daniela Kunkel-Linares, our former Senior Youth Coordinator and Libby, our former Youth Environmental Activists! (YEA!) member and Youth Team Intern to reflect on their time in the program and their relationship as they move on to new adventures. They took the opportunity to write letters to each other. The following reflects the power of co-mentorship models in youth work.
I really cannot believe it has been three years since I first logged onto my first YEA meeting. Three years that can be measured in hours on zoom meetings and in the sunny room, or in Alma receipts, or in big giggles and big cries. Three years that have been filled with Youth Climate Justice Summits, wins and disappointments with the Climate Justice Education Bill, a trip to New Orleans, and a lot of learning. So many things come to mind when I think about YEA and what it has meant to me, but I think the thing that has stood out the most to me has been the relationships I have built.
When I started at Climate Generation, Jason and Sarah (former youth staff and mentors/friends to me) introduced me to the idea of co-mentorship. I had never heard about it before but the more I learned, the more I realized it was a model of youth work that I had been practicing.
It is a youth work model that believes that youth and adults can practice relationships of mutuality and reciprocity that counters the dominant narrative that adults have things to teach children and children have things to learn from adults. It allows us to lean into the belief that we all have something to learn from each other, no matter our age.
Co-mentorship and all relationship work is some of the most transformative parts of movement work. White supremacy culture demands shallow and transactive relationships. Mentorship and deep relationships are the antidote to white supremacy and is essential to successful movement work.
As Aurora Levins Morales writes in her GOATED essay The Politic of Childhood, “the oppression of children is the wheel that keeps all other oppressions turning. Without it, misery would have to be imposed afresh on each new generation instead of being passed down like a hereditary illness.”
To combat white supremacy culture we MUST treat our young people differently. We have to encourage, model, and embody relationships that are trusting, mutual, reciprocal, loving, understanding, and filled with gratitude.
Practicing co-mentorship has created some of the most meaningful relationships I have with young people. My relationship with Libby being one of them. Libby and I have gotten to know each other over the last three years. Libby was a youth participant in the YEA program and has been interning with CG this past year. As we both transition to new opportunities we took some time to reflect on what this experience together has meant to us.
Libby’s Letter
Dearest daniela,
Where even to begin! I can’t even picture what my life would be like if I didn’t meet you. The serendipity of our lives intersecting when they did leaves me in awe. Being able to grow alongside you for the past three years has been a great joy in my life that will be forever a part of how I interact with the world every day. When I first met you I was a junior in high school without any idea of what my life would be, just starting to learn what a community could be through YEA! You had just graduated from college and moved out of Redmond. Now I am going to be a sophomore in college moving into Redmond with a lot more of a grasp on who I am but also the endless journey that it is to figure that out; while you are also moving on to the next step in your life, as we both step away from a place that has been so important to us both. There will never be a day that I see Alma, or Redmond, or a yellow bike, or Nolte, or the writing center, or a garden without thinking of you. I have learned so much about how to live a meaningful and rich life just by existing alongside you. You inspire me so much with your care and ability to connect.
I remember when I was first talking in front of the legislature at the capital. I was so scared. I knew that I could look over and see your kind face smiling back at me, and that gave me the courage to do something so scary. You also were the first person to walk me through campus when I was deciding I would be going to the University of Minnesota. I had never imagined that would be the school I was going to but walking around with you and hearing you talk fondly of your time made me feel okay about it. Without your support I would never have been able to accept that part of college with such open arms.
Also, it is truly amazing how we have been able to be at such different places and yet find so much common ground and be there for each other. Everything feels so full circle and so meant to be. Every Wednesday when I saw you sitting in one of the booths it felt like a weight was lifted. Needless to say I looked forward to it every week. I felt so honored to be able to have that time with you. I truly believe that this past year taught me so much about connection and how important it is to me. It was all the little moments that show how insightful you are and of how you helped me grow as a person. Together we were able to truly reflect and grow and work on becoming better organizers and more forgiving people. The vulnerability we shared while interrogating whiteness, taught me that tough conversations can be the most important ones, and people are imperfect, and it is okay to be imperfect. I deeply connected with doing the next best thing and learned to allow perfectionism to fall at the wayside and to lean into what is truly important to me.
I think it is most telling that all the people in my life know about daniela. My gratitude goes beyond anything that I could write down in a letter. You truly have been the older sister I never had, and I will always hold that love with me. I am wishing you all the best in your next adventure. I am so proud of you and so excited for you! And I will miss you endlessly.
All my love,
Libby
Daniela’s Letter
Libby!
Can you believe that it’s been three years! I can’t! Time has moved both so fast and so slow over these years. So much has changed and also stayed the same. It’s funny to think about how things in life feel cyclical. When we met I was just finishing up at the U, living on University ave, and obsessed with Alma. And now, here you are! About to start year two at the U, living on University ave, and obsessed with Alma. I am so proud of you and all the ways I have watched you move into deeper alignment with yourself, your values, and your community over the last three years.
I so vividly remember meeting you IRL for the first time at the youth strike. It was pouring rain, I was nervous to meet you all, and the staff at the capital were giving us such a hard time about the sound. The day was hectic and exciting and I remember you being so immediately open to trusting me to support you. I feel so grateful for that moment because it helped me lean into my new role.
I also remember the conflict that happened that day with another organizer. I remember there were a couple YEA meetings you missed and wondering if everything was okay. When we connected about that experience, I was so honored to have gotten to hear your insightful reflection. You talked so much about ego in a way that reminded me of the deeply personal work that being in community asks of us. It was so clear to me that you were wanting to do that work, and that is something so incredible about you. You know so intuitively what it takes to be in community and you are so open, so adaptive to feedback, and so caring to yourself in how you do that work.
I am so grateful for all the things that we have gotten to do together! Several Youth Climate Justice Summits, a lot of time on Zoom and in the sunny room, going to New Orleans, and of course so much Alma time! I am so grateful that my time at YEA has been consistently filled with time and experiences, and learnings with you. We have both grown so much, it’s been so meaningful to reflect together on that. I think it is so incredible how much we have been able to connect with each other.
We have explored co-mentorship through our time as a youth participant and a youth mentor, and as co-workers, and now as we transition to a non-work friendship! We have found ourselves, at each iteration, grounded in a relationship of reciprocity, gratitude, and mutuality. The transition from you being in the program to being alumni was definitely one that I was unsure about. I was unsure how we would shift to different boundaries, different needs, and different experiences.
And it has been so incredible. This year, being able to talk so vulnerably about whiteness, organizing, and solidarity together. I know we were only able to talk about those things so openly because of the scaffolding we had built over the previous two years. I learned so much from you about meeting people we love in our lives with curiosity and encouragement. I am constantly reminded by you that it is okay to wear my heart on my sleeve. I have learned so much from you about building real trust with each other. There were so many moments of honesty and care that were such reminders to me that trust is built over time. It is made of many moments of showing up consistently, sharing joy, and learning about each other’s lives. I am so grateful to you for that reminder.
Libby, I am so excited for us both as we move to new things, and I can’t believe it’s the end of both of our times in YEA. I will miss you and YEA so much. I knew going into youth work that the thing that was most meaningful to me was the relationships I would get to build with young people. I am so grateful for this friendship. I can’t wait for the next time we find ourselves at Alma again! Thank you for everything!
<3 daniela
The post Letters to my co-mentor: reflections on building meaningful relationships in a scary world appeared first on Climate Generation.
Letters to my co-mentor: reflections on building meaningful relationships in a scary world
But a $345 million U.S. verdict against the environmental group hangs over the case.
A lawsuit filed by Greenpeace International against the U.S.-based fossil fuel company Energy Transfer in the Netherlands is moving forward after a Dutch court recently ruled in favor of the environmental organization in rejecting the company’s bid to toss out the case.
Greenpeace’s Dutch Anti-SLAPP Case Against Oil Pipeline Giant Advances
Go behind the scenes with executive editor Vernon Loeb and oceans correspondent Teresa Tomassoni as they discuss the search for heat-resilient coral reefs that are somehow defying the odds to survive a warming planet.
The world has already lost more than half of its coral reefs, and most of what remains is at risk of disappearing in the next 25 years.
Climate Change
DeBriefed 19 June 2026: Bonn talks end in ‘gridlock’ | Energy’s ‘new era’ | Oceans in climate negotiations
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Bonn talks close
‘SIDE-STEPPING AND STALLING’: UN climate talks in Bonn have ended in “gridlock”, according to Climate Home News. The outlet reported on the failure to balance developing countries’ need for climate-adaptation finance with “richer nations’ desire to move forward” on emissions cuts. It added that both topics were subject to “rule 16”, meaning no agreement could be reached and work will be pushed to the COP31 summit in Turkey. Inside Climate News quoted UN climate executive secretary Simon Stiell, who said the talks had seen “side-stepping and stalling”.
JUST TRANSITION: One “glimmer of hope” came from negotiations on achieving a “just transition”, reported Euronews. The news outlet said negotiators “made headway on operationalising the Belém-Antalya mechanism”, intended to support people in the shift to a low-carbon economy. However, Politico concluded that much of the focus in Bonn had “shift[ed] to efforts outside diplomatic talks – raising questions about the future of global climate negotiations”.
‘ATTACKING SCIENCE’: Agence France-Presse reported on the EU, Switzerland and “dozens of developing nations” warning of “attacks on science” by a “small group of fossil-fuels interests” in Bonn. Table Briefings explained that “the 1.5C target is increasingly being challenged” and the role of the UN climate-science panel – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – in an upcoming assessment of global climate progress “remains controversial”. See Carbon Brief’s full write-up of the talks for more detail.
US-Iran deal
PRICE DROP: The US and Iran announced that they have reached an interim agreement to halt the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz, reported Bloomberg. Oil prices have fallen, as the “long-awaited deal” began the process of “eas[ing]” the global energy crisis triggered by the conflict, according to the New York Times. The Associated Press noted that high fuel prices will “likely outlast the Iran war”.
‘OIL GLUT’: The Financial Times reported that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecast a “glut of oil” emerging next year, if the peace deal holds. The IEA said this would allow countries to build new strategic reserves, as they “review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis”, according to Reuters.
‘NEW ERA’: Agence France-Presse reported that oil and gas companies have “few illusions about a return to normal for the Gulf energy industry after more than three months of blockage”. One analyst told the newswire that the war “showed the oil and gas industry that Hormuz risk is no longer just a geopolitical headline”.
Around the world
- OCEAN MONITOR: The Trump administration is “abandoning its plan” to dismantle a $368m ocean monitoring system key for tracking climate change after a “bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill”, reported the New York Times.
- CORAL HAVEN: The New York Times covered preliminary research, presented at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, suggesting there could be three times as many “coral refugia” – where corals are relatively safe from climate change – than previously thought.
- BAD CREDIT: Down to Earth reported that the first carbon credits issued under the Paris Agreement’s new Article 6.4 mechanism are “facing scrutiny over alleged links to institutions controlled by Myanmar’s military junta”.
- OIL BACKTRACK: Reuters reported that oil-and-gas company Equinor has dropped a renewable-energy target and scaled back clean investments, while another Reuters story noted that Shell is selling off its offshore wind assets.
1.1 billion
The number of children facing “at least three overlapping climate hazards”, according to a new Unicef report covered by Agence France-Presse.
Latest climate research
- Including the “permafrost carbon-climate feedback” in climate models increases the chance of exceeding “tipping elements” – such as the Greenland ice sheets, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or Amazon rainforest – by up to 50% | Environmental Research Letters
- The intensity of influenza outbreaks could decline in temperate regions, but increase in tropical areas over the next century, as the climate warms | PNAS Nexus
- European snow cover has declined by 20% for December and January since the start of the industrial era, revealing an “unprecedented ongoing shrinkage of European winters” | Communications Earth & Environment
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
The more than 2m battery electric vehicles (BEVs), 1m “plug-in” hybrids (PHEVs) and 100,000 electric vans on UK roads are already saving drivers a total of around £3bn a year, according to new Carbon Brief analysis. This amounts to savings of more than £1,100 a year in fuel costs for each BEV driver in the UK. The analysis comes amid reports in UK media this week that the government is considering “watering down” its EV sales targets.
Spotlight
Oceans rising at UN climate talks
The state of the world’s oceans is inextricably linked to the changing climate – and many delegates at UN climate talks want to see more focus on this issue, reports Carbon Brief.
Oceans are often described as the world’s “greatest ally” against climate change – absorbing 30% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and most of the heat generated by those emissions.
They are also the site of important climate solutions, such as huge offshore windfarms and the shipping industry’s transition to cleaner fuels.
At the same time, the oceans themselves present a growing danger to coastal communities and sea life due to sea level rise, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification.
These diverse issues have led to growing calls within the UN climate process for more focus on oceans. During climate negotiations this week in Bonn – known as SB64 – nations and civil society had a chance to air these views during an “ocean and climate change dialogue”.
‘Elevate action’
Oceans first entered UN climate outcomes in 2019, when the final COP25 negotiated text requested a new “dialogue” on “the ocean and climate change to consider how to strengthen mitigation and adaptation action”.
The following years saw this dialogue established as an annual event. However, the political weight of these discussions has been limited.
COP31 is being co-led by Turkey and Australia, but with Pacific islands playing a supporting role. These small islands sometimes self-identify as “large ocean states”, stressing the ocean’s centrality in their societies.
In Bonn, figures from across the presidency threw their weight behind this issue. Chris Bowen, an Australian minister and incoming COP31 “president of negotiations”, told attendees:
“Australia, Turkey and the Pacific see an important opportunity to elevate ocean-based climate action.”
Strategies and finance
The two-day dialogue in Bonn involved a series of panels, statements and breakout groups.
One of the main topics was how oceans are integrated into national climate plans under the Paris Agreement, known as “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs).
Three-quarters of the latest round of NDCs mention oceans, with conservation of “blue carbon” ecosystems the most frequently described action. (Landscapes such as mangroves can both absorb CO2 and protect coastal areas.)
Delegates also discussed alignment with the UN biodiversity process, as well as ocean finance, which currently makes up less than 1% of all climate finance.
(As discussions were taking place in Bonn, country officials also gathered in Mombasa, Kenya for the 11th Our Ocean Conference. Carbon Brief’s associate editor Giuliana Viglione attended the conference and will publish a full summary shortly.)
Developing countries were clear that many of the ocean-related actions in their NDCs would depend on receiving more financial support.
‘Political momentum’
With the backing of the COP31 presidency, delegates were hopeful about where this year’s dialogue could lead.
Charles Hamilton, an advisor for the Bahamas who spoke for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in the dialogue, told Carbon Brief that island representatives “are not traveling thousands of miles to just talk and pat ourselves on the back”. He added:
“A dialogue that just remains a dialogue is just more talk – no action.”
Given that, he said “discussions in the dialogue must move into COP decisions and the decisions must be actioned”, noting the importance of finance.
Marina Corrêa, oceans lead at WWF-Brazil, pointed to an upcoming UN climate change Standing Committee on Finance forum as a space to ramp up pressure on ocean finance.
More broadly, she wanted to see the presidencies translate their support into a “leader-level ocean initiative” that could “mainstream” oceans across negotiations.
“We have a really interesting opportunity, in terms of political momentum,” Corrêa told Carbon Brief.
Watch, read, listen
‘HOTTER THAN HELL’: An episode of the BBC’s Rare Earth podcast titled “hotter than hell” considered the issue of extreme heat, with input from experts and “people facing up to the hottest temperatures on the planet”.
NOT BROKEN?: John Drake, a professor of ecology at the University of Georgia, wrote an essay for Aeon – also re-published as a Guardian “long read” – questioning the framing of ecosystems and climate systems “breaking down”.
ON COURSE: On his Volts podcast, US climate journalist David Roberts interviewed UK climate minister Katie White, quizzing her about whether the UK will “stay the course with its climate plans”.
Coming up
- 20-28 June: London climate action week
- 21 June: Colombia presidential runoff
- 24 June: UK Climate Change Committee progress in reducing emissions 2026 report to parliament
Pick of the jobs
- Mongabay, managing editor – Africa | Salary: Unknown. Location: Global
- Contexte, environment reporter – Brussels | Salary: €45,000-€60,000. Location: Brussels
- Climate 200, communications director | Salary: Unknown. Location: Australia
- Energy Tracker Asia, energy transition correspondent | Salary: $3,000-$4,000 per month. Location: South-east Asia (remote)
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 19 June 2026: Bonn talks end in ‘gridlock’ | Energy’s ‘new era’ | Oceans in climate negotiations appeared first on Carbon Brief.
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