Youth And Climate II

 

Youth form an integral part of the fight against climate change. As a matter of fact, it is impossible for climate action to be successful without involving young people as the most important stakeholders. They are so because climate change has consequences on both their present and future. In other words, in an already changing climate regime, young people have to deal with the impacts on their lives presently, and in the future; their lives are at stake too.

Young people also happen to be one of the most vocal constituencies in climate action, with all ages from children, adolescents to young adults expressing their commitment to pressure their leaders; both political and industry leaders; the private sector and all decision makers to act on climate.

Currently, it is estimated that youth are about 1.8 billion globally, though actual figures are higher. The two biggest continents, Asia and Africa which are also the most populous, also host the youngest populations on Earth. In those two, young people below the age of 30 are the majority.

For the climate fight to be successful, one of the ingredients and catalysts is climate change education. The vast majority of young people need to be properly schooled on what climate change is, its causes and consequences, and their role, and proper behaviors and attitudes. This is something that is taking place in schools and universities and in informal settings as well; in homes and dinner tables, in social media campaigns and hashtags, in YouTube, Tiktok and on mainstream media.

Social media in particular has a very wide reach and this without requiring a lot of resources or technical capacity. You just need a good phone or camera and the ability to communicate.

Youth have one advantage when it comes to education: their minds are curious, ready to learn and absorb information, and they are not held up in societal molds that continue to advocate for fossil fuels. They are easily teachable and versatile. They are not rigid.

They also know how to spread the news far and wide, being able to interact with their peers and siblings and actually influence their parents. An example is when children insist on parents patronizing establishments that are climate friendly rather than those that fuel warming. They also can influence parents to be a part of the circular economy, lessen consumerism and avoid buying plastic.

You will listen to your ten year old daughter when they ask you to stop jeopardizing their future or when your teenage son challenges your use of high emission vehicles.

Some of these parents actually happen to be politicians, and political will is by far the most powerful propeller of climate action.

Another important factor is the ability of youth to supersede socio-economic barriers and all the divisions that plague human society. Given that they are still in their formative years, youth are able to come together across barriers to advocate and agitate for their shared future, seeing that climate change affects the entire globe. Emissions anywhere affects life everywhere.

They are also able to articulate what and how climate change affects them in language that is easily understood. Modern youth are also able to travel and go to places their seniors could not. They have the education, skills and mobility that their predecessors might have lacked and so more often are tasked with spreading the message and agitating for their rights.

This is especially so in climate justice, where youth from indigenous peoples, African states and island nations; all least responsible but most affected by climate change; have the responsibility of fighting for their communities and states. These young people also have the time to do so, seeing that their parents may be occupied with other things, for example, pursuing a career or earning a livelihood.

Youth also are the hotbed of innovation. Their creative capacity is unlimited. Young growing minds are replete with ideas and completely novel solutions on how to tackle climate change. At this age, their curious minds are easily welcoming to new ideas, they are not stuck in the ‘old and tested way of doing things’ and ‘this is how we’ve always done it.’ Especially with the advent of the Information Age, whereby information previously stuck in pricey restricted areas is now freely transmitted all over the world, innovation is clearly at our fingertips.

The other aspect is purchasing power. Older youth, millennials, already have good bearings in climate action and a well attuned environmental conscience. They are therefore conscious of their choices and how their buying power can help shape the climate fight for the better or worse. An example is fast fashion. Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world in terms of emissions, energy and waste. Fashion fads are responsible for mass consumption and eventual waste of clothing throughout the planet. You can see this in the Atacama desert, where vast amounts of barely worn and new clothing is dumped because it is out of style.

Sustainable fashion, one of whose aims is cut emissions and reduce waste promotes the buying of items from ecologically healthy and sound materials, biodegradable, long-lasting and of good quality, timeless and classic pieces.

Employment is another factor where top talent and skilled young people opt to work for ‘green’ companies. These are business entities with a low carbon footprint. Given that prevailing business culture is that companies need to attract and retain the best in the labor market, then companies are increasingly being forced to review and make clear their stand and policies on climate.

Millenials are quickly becoming one of the biggest age groups in the work place, and by force of sheer numbers are able to influence the direction a business entity takes on climate change.

Young African youth in a work meeting - iwaria/Tyck.

Another angle is the massive potential that the green jobs sector has to attract youth. A powerfully emerging sector, industries like renewable energy and climate smart agriculture could very well be a type of silver bullet to solve both the climate problem and youth unemployment.

This is in fact a veritable solution in Africa which has a highly skilled young workforce who cannot all be absorbed by the existing industries.

Young celebrities have the power to influence society. Having mass appeal, these young stars can easily influence the thinking of their fans and for the better. Their artistic gifts and platforms, especially on social media attract a huge following. Through this, they hold sway over entire age groups. Therefore spreading the message of climate action through such is easy and more consequential.

Use of the arts, like films, made by ordinary youth is also a way to influence climate action.

This is the same for athletes the majority of whom are young. Sports is a big platform that unites the world and captures and retains attention.

 

Young people advancing to the higher levels of academia in institutions of higher learning could help further the climate cause by researching and publishing more on the physical workings and processes of climate change. They can help better climate models, gather more accurate data and hence produce more precise findings.

It is worth noting that the negotiation of climate agreements, formulation of laws and policies and political action is all based on scientific findings and recommendations. So more young people in academia will help amplify the voices of the young generation in general by contributing to climate science.

Youth led businesses is another area. The Paris Agreement on climate change did include the role of non-state actors such as corporations and businesses. While some may choose to go into employment, others can choose to start their own eco-businesses. With the right climate messaging, we can create jobs, help communities, protect the planet and shape consumer patterns.

A related area is youth in technology. As I mentioned earlier, young people are more unfettered in their thinking and as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted, we will need to use negative emissions technologies to remove more carbon dioxide from the air.

A relatively new and potent area, research can go into making and deploying of technologies that are less costly and pose to no other environmental harm to the planet. Young scientists have the opportunity to harness the power of their minds to change their future lives in terms of climate action.

Another area that would help greatly is cheaper methods of storing energy generated from renewables and making this easily available.

Youth in civil society would make a positive difference seeing that the civil society in general is not tied to political allegiances for the most part. They encourage free and independent thought and are a much needed partner in the climate fight. Governments on their own cannot wholly effectuate climate action and still need some sort of oversight and to be called into account in order to act on climate.

On attaining majority age, which is 18 in most countries, youth have the right to political choices and this is through the ballot. Not only so, young people can now run for elective seats where they are eligible. Politics is one of the most important factors, with the power to hold back or encourage climate action. Furthermore, more young and female politicians can help alter the scales towards gender parity in climate action. The voices of women and girls need to be heard since they too are affected by climate change

Also, use of courts and litigation to demand for climate action has been employed severally throughout the globe. If you can’t make people listen the law will make them listen. The UN recently recognized the right to a clean and safe environment as a human right, and climate change interferes with the enjoyment of that.

Clean ups and tree planting campaigns are another way to safeguard the environment as a young person. Trees absorb carbon emissions and have a host of other ecological and socioeconomic benefits.

This goes hand in hand with protests and marches for climate justice. There have been many initiatives towards this, and with some results.

Youth and climate is perhaps the most crucial factor in climate action. We don’t want to live in a world where the decisions are made by others but the consequences felt by us.

We have therefore to take charge and drive the change we want to see.