Skip to main content

Climate relay in Slovenia

The international climate relay, with which young people are raising awareness about climate change, has crossed Slovenia.
Runners running the Climate Run

Slovenian runners pass the baton to their Croatian counterparts at the Obrežje/Bregana border crossing | Author Tamino Petelinšek/STA

On Tuesday evening, the relay came from Italy to the Goriška region, where it was welcomed by Uroš Brežan, Minister of the Environment. The relay was also attended by Slovenian President Borut Pahor, who was the honorary sponsor of the Climate Run in Slovenia.

Regarding the mass response to the Climate Run, President Pahor assessed that the awareness among young people about the importance of preserving the planet has never been so strong. He stressed that we must take action, each one of us in their own way, and make all the necessary steps to preserve the planet and nature. "I would like to apologise to you on behalf of your parents, on my behalf and on behalf of our grandparents, who were unable to take care of the planet sufficiently. To a great extent, this responsibility has now been transferred to your shoulders. As much as we can, all of us together – still in your youth – we will now try to do everything necessary for you to enjoy a peaceful and safe planet," President Pahor said.

The Slovenian Eco School programme, which shares common goals with the climate run, including the fight against climate change and the preservation of biodiversity and natural resources, joined the mass international climate initiative of young people. More than 150 eco schools, kindergartens and faculties with more than 32,000 young people participated in the project.

The climate relay started its journey at the end of September in Glasgow, Scotland. Under the slogan, 'Running Out of Time – RooT 2022', the relay will take young runners, cyclists and sailors on a 7,767-kilometre-long journey through 18 countries in 38 days to finish in Egypt, where young people will hand over the relay baton with their messages to the decision makers at COP27. The message carried inside the relay baton being passed from person to person is that "quality climate education is critical if we are to equip people of all ages with the knowledge and skills necessary to build a future in which all can thrive."