YES-Europe is delighted to announce that we have onboarded two new Project Leads for our COP31 Project in 2026! Join us in welcoming Angelos Pastras and Ben Santhouse-James to YES-Europe!

Angelos Pastras is from Greece and studied Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London (acquiring an M.Eng. degree) and is a chartered civil engineer with the Technical Chamber of Greece as well as the Institution of Civil Engineering of the UK. Angelos is currently a senior consultant and project manager in the UK energy storage industry at DNV with a strong track record in leadership, public speaking, project management and negotiations. A dedicated climate advocate, Angelos has been actively involved in international climate conferences, serving as a delegate at COP26, COP27, COP28, COP29 and COP30.

Ben Santhouse-James is from the UK and studied Energy Science (Geophysics) at Imperial College London (acquiring a B.Sc.) and Energy Systems at the University of Oxford (acquiring an M.Sc. degree). He is currently a Sustainability Consultant at McKinsey & Company, focusing mostly on energy grids and carbon markets. Ben is a former YOUNGO COP27 and COP28 Energy Lead and has been part of a Global Coordination Team, WBCSD Advisory Board, Global Permanence Trust Advisory Board and AGU Advisory Board.

YES-Europe is an accredited observer-NGO to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), engaging in processes to advocate for youth inclusivity and ambitious policies to tackle the climate crisis and limit greenhouse gas emissions to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference. With the climate crisis being the most prevailing problem of our time, it needs substantial efforts to address, mitigate and adapt. Despite the catastrophes climate crisis already causes worldwide, governments fail to present and implement suitable policies. 11 years after the historic Paris Agreement we still lack climate finances, adaptation mechanisms and even a human rights based approach was again negotiated at COP30. A strong civil society, a strong youth movement, calling for appropriate climate policies that guarantee our right of future was never more important – on the streets, and in the negotiation rooms!

On the road to COP31, YES-Europe will engage with policy submissions and advocacy efforts. The COP31 Project Leads & COP31 Project Team Members will represent YES-Europe in June 2026 at SB64 in Bonn, Germany and at COP31, taking place in November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye. Their goal during both events will be to engage with stakeholders to promote the voice and values of YES-Europe by presenting policy recommendations to relevant organisations and policymakers as well as joining forces with other children and youth to advocate for ambitious, equitable and just climate policies that meet realities (of those most affected). As the year goes on, we will be sharing our policy proposals in the public domain.

Eager to learn more about the project and to engage with YES-Europe? Angelos and Ben are currently looking to build their COP31 Project Team. Team Members have the possibility to attend UNFCCC conferences, based on badge availability:
1) SB64 taking place between the 8th and 18th June, 2026 in Bonn, Germany
2) COP31 taking place between the 9th and 20th November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye

We are looking for team members with either/or:
Genuine interest in climate, policy, negotiations and advocacy;
Good communication skills;
Energy and/or climate action/ advocacy experience (in UNFCCC processes, optional);
Previous fundraising experience and project management experience is a plus;
Previous experience in developing policy positions is a plus

For any queries about joining the COP31 Team (do attach your CV to the email), media, partnerships, YES-Europe membership and project-related requests, reach out to unfccc@yeseurope.org
We are looking forward to hearing from you!

To follow our COP31 Project, check out the project’s dedicated subpage on our website

Finally, YES-Europe would like to thank our COP30 Project Leads Amaryllis Perotti and Catterina Bittendorf and their COP30 Project Team Members Martina Chiarini, Maximilian Buchsteiner, Suvd-Erdene Otgonbaatar and Stefano Cisternino for their coordination and advocacy efforts throughout 2025 and wish them the very best in their future climate action endeavours. Although all have moved on from the COP Team, they have remained YES-Europe members, while Stefano has now become a new Operations Manager of YES-Europe to support our 2026 Future of Energy Report Project.