School children are taking part in an event aimed at inspiring climate action, to coincide with the COP31 international climate conference in Turkey.
Hosted at the Kingston Maurwood campus, the first Dorset-wide Youth COP has brought children from 14 schools together to discuss issues including future careers.
Maria Clarke, of Dorset Local Nature Partnership, said young people should be "given a voice" over dealing with climate change.
A Dorset COP 2026 event is also being held on Saturday as world leaders and delegates gather at Antalya in Turkey for the COP31 climate summit.
The Dorset Youth COP event includes discussions about how young people feel about climate change as well as a panel session introducing them to the range of jobs and careers in the climate and energy sectors.
Maria Clarke, of Dorset Local Nature Partnership, said: "Young people are inheriting the climate and ecological emergencies that previous generations have created and need to be given a voice in jointly developing and implementing the solutions to these issues."
"The Youth COP aims to raise awareness, inspire and support them to take action now and into the future."
The BBC South building in Southampton. It has a triangular glass facade and a large antenna on the roof. Above it is a bright blue sky
The main Dorset COP 2026 event takes place on Saturday also at the Kingston Maurward Campus near Dorchester.
The fourth annual event brings together community groups, environmental organisations, experts and political leaders.
The programme will explore how Dorset can respond to climate change, nature loss, food resilience, pollution and other environmental challenges.
The programme will also feature an exhibition of over 30 local organisations and a Question Time-style panel bringing together Dorset MPs, council leaders and independent climate experts.
Giles Watts, chair of Dorset CAN said the event's focus was on making "a lasting positive impact" on climate and nature local areas.
"We want to bring people together, listen to different perspectives and energise local communities and politicians to act more quickly on the pressing challenges we face," he added.
The outline of a firefighter spraying water can be seen at the centre of the image. In the background grass shrubland is on fire with sparks flying in the air
A man with short brown hair, wearing glasses, a black suit and a blue tie stands in front of a lectern. His mouth is ajar as he is mid-speech. On the lectern are the words 'United Nations Climate Change' and 'COP31 Turkiye Antalya'. In the background are two flags, the left one is blue with the concentric circles and world map of the UN logo, and the one of the right is red with half the white crescent of the Turkey flag visible.
