BLOG 1 Young People and Political Engagement
Climate Change is the youth’s fight.
Some people may not fully understand what climate change is as it can be misinterpreted as global warming. The definition of climate change is often confused with that of global warming. Increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels has led to it becoming more prevalent, and climate change continues to accelerate. Climate change has always occurred, however, due to increased levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels, the phenomenon began to accelerate rapidly in the middle of the 20th century (What Is Climate Change?, 2022). Climate change has led to the average global temperature trending higher, which has a huge effect on the earth. One of the many implications of this is the melting of the ice caps. Not only has this led to increased sea levels but has also reduced the amount of reflection of UV-rays from the sun (known as the albedo effect). This then increases the amount of UV energy absorbed by the earth, further warming it, and increasing the positive feedback loop. In other words, climate change causes climate change.
(Young people won’t accept inaction on climate change, and they’ll be voting in droves – The Adelaide Review, 2022)
SO, WHY IS IT THE YOUTHS FIGHT?
The reason it is referred to as the youth’s fight is because it is not going to have a huge effect on those in power today, but the next generation of millennials who will feel the aftermath if action is not taken. It could be argued that this is a political movement, that should be led through the youth’s perspective. The youth of today and future generations will have to live through the effects of climate change, which is why this movement is so popularly driven by the younger generation. This was not a critical issue when those in power were younger, but climate change is now a hugely time sensitive global issue.
The youth of today will not stand for being the passive victims but will fight for change, Greta Thunberg is a great representation of this. It was in 2018 that Greta, a fifteen-year-old student, sparked the global movement demanding the government take greater action against climate change: (Youth for climate action, 2022).
SHOULD THOSE WHO ARE UNDER EIGHTEEN HAVE THEIR SAY?
Yes, as stated in the convention rights of the child, every child that is under the age of eighteen has the right to have their say on something that impacts them: (Youth for climate action, 2022) and climate change does. The world today is home to 1.8 billion young people that are within the ages of ten to twenty-four, this being the largest generation of youth in history (Nations, 2022). In a world where we have the largest amount of youth population, why are opinions and views being overlooked? It is the youth’s future and the younger generation who should be involved in the plan to tackle climate change. Once the younger generation begin to come into power, it will be those people who will have to act on the state of the planet at that time. Not listening to those who are concerned on what the planet will become (regardless of age) reinforces the devastating consequences that this will cause.
Decades without action on climate change resulted in young people beginning to protest and this was to bring attention to millions of people that will also suffer the consequences of the increased global temperatures, rising seas and the extreme weather (Adults won’t take climate change seriously. So we, the youth, are forced to strike. – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 2022).
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER!
The statistics that are shown in the image below demonstrate what will happen if there is no change towards climate change and how this issue needs to be globally supported
This adaptation greatly shows that more young people should be taught about climate change as it is their future that is under threat.
84% of the surveyed young people feel that they do not have enough information on climate change and how to prevent it. As young people are the next generation that need to help fight the effects of climate change, it is important that the issues are taught. If the quotation that “we are the first generation to end poverty” holds true, this generation needs to be educated on how to do so.
89% of young respondents feel that they can make a difference on climate change. If such a high percentage of youths feel that they can make a difference, why are they not being asked to help drive the change? Youths are engaged in this political debate as they believe that they can be the ones to make the change, if given the resources to do so.
Furthermore, 73% of respondents agreed that they feel the effects of climate change. The three ideas above come together and show the bigger issue here. The young generation need to be given the tools to make the changes. A high percentage feel that they do not know enough, this supports how important youth engagement is in this movement.
In addition, “The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change,” said Nobel Prize nominee Greta Thunberg in her 2018 TED talk. The older generation should be looking at the youth for inspiration (Frischmann, 2022). As Greta Thunberg states above, the solutions and actions that need to be taken are already known, they now need to be put into practice. The younger generation have brought attention to climate change through protests and campaigns. The younger generation, such as Thunberg, cannot force those in power to act. To reach more people, the climate change protests were more common and more intrusive, to force people to take notice of the world that they live in.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Regarding the actions for climate change the focus is simple… the fight needs to continue; it cannot be a fight that is cut short, and the focus and attention needs to remain strong and focused on reaching people across the world. The government and world leaders need to help implement the changes needed for the future. The youth of today need to keep protesting and keep the momentum going even if those in power are ignorant to change. The more news on climate change makes headlines, the more those in power will be forced to pay attention and to act.
Bibliography
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 2022. Adults won’t take climate change seriously. So we, the youth, are forced to strike. – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Available at: https://thebulletin.org/2019/03/adults-wont-take-climate-change-seriously-so-we-the-youth-are-forced-to-strike/ (Accessed 17 February 2022).
- Available at: https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/environment-climate-change/ (Accessed 16 February 2022).
- Frischmann, C., 2022. The young minds solving climate change. Bbc.com. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190327-the-young-minds-solving-climate-change (Accessed 17 February 2022).
- Nations, U., 2022. Youth in Action | United Nations. United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/youth-in-action (Accessed 19 February 2022).
- 2022. What Is Climate Change?. Available at: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html (Accessed 18 February 2022).
- The Adelaide Review. 2022. Young people won’t accept inaction on climate change, and they’ll be voting in droves – The Adelaide Review. Available at: https://www.adelaidereview.com.au/latest/news/2019/05/03/young-people-voting-climate/ (Accessed 16 February 2022).
- Unicef.org. 2022. Youth for climate action. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/environment-and-climate-change/youth-action (Accessed 18 February 2022).
March 16, 2022 at 20:19
I agree the climate crisis is a pressing issue for the young people of today. Your acknowledgement of Greta Thunberg when discussing youth engagement is a sound argument. Greta has had such a large impact on climate change activism and many believe this is because she is a young child fighting for her future. I personally think her passion has definitely inspired alot of young people. One climate change activist organisation that I think has drawn alot of passionate young people is the Extinction Rebellion. I think that despite the public’s mixed feelings around the group, they have really engaged the youth of the uk with climate activism. Do you agree ?
April 7, 2022 at 23:20
Thankyou Jodie, for taking the time to read my blog. I am glad you agree that Greta Thunberg was a great part when discussing the youth engagement, this just goes to show how she has helped enlighten young people on why they need to try and fight climate change. I completely agree, I believe this group has helped greatly when teaching the youth of today onto why they need to take interest into climate change and learn to know how this can affect their own personal future. Since the extinction rebellion uses non-violent tactics, I think they are a good way in encouraging the youth to be involved; after all it is us the youth that will be directly involved in this crisis as it is our future that is at greatest risk and those of the public that view this environmental movement negatively will be the older generation that’s future will not be affected by climate change.
April 2, 2022 at 15:50
I agree that the climate change is an important crisis that can no longer be ignored. I think it is crucial for younger generations to be educated on the crisis at hand so as to know how to engage politically and create change. That being said, what are your thoughts on how to educate more young people on climate change? Because from what you said there are still many young people who don’t know enough about climate change and how to prevent it. What would you say is the best way for youth to engage in preventing climate change? And also what would you recommend as the best strategy for youth to engage in politics so we can elect people into parliament who will focus on climate change? I thought you made some good points, especially with the fact about Greta Thunberg acknowledging that we know how to prevent climate change, but now is the time to put that knowledge into action.
April 7, 2022 at 23:20
Hi Andrew, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I think that is a great question on what the best way would be to educate more young people on climate change. The way I see it, is that we need to start with the youth as many youths of today do not take part in general elections or involve themselves in protests as they never truly have the full understanding, and most will not know where to start looking for their knowledge. This made me think that schools and education systems should speak more about politics and matters as important as climate change because when those that found more knowledge on climate change now speak on why there needs change. After all, why shouldn’t they be taught about what is happening with their own future as it affects them the most. To answer your second question, I think it would affect the way the youth, when old enough vote in general elections as they most likely would vote for someone who resembles Greta Thunberg that will help change the world for their future.
April 4, 2022 at 12:57
I absolutely agree. Climate Change is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. Especially when it comes to youth engagement climate change is a huge worry for us, and we should be allowed to add our voices to the discussion. That’s why it is so important for people like Greta to pave the way for youth engagement in climate activism. There is especially a lot online right now that we can due to educate and get involved in fighting climate change and i agree it needs to be talked about and taught in schools.