At the Frontier: Young People and Climate Change
The seven stories in this report are all very real illustrations of what is likely to happen to millions of young people within the coming decades, if the impact of climate change is not subdued, and if the roots of climate change are not addressed. The effects will most likely be worst for young people living in poverty, and it is the level of attention we give to the needs of young people who are standing at the frontier of climate change, which determines how their lives will evolve.
The in-depth accounts of Marjorie, Mariama, Messias, Kilom, Mandisa, Youness and Fatima are examples of how young people's thoughts, dreams and actions are affected by climate change. Indeed, young people all over the world are engaging in climate change, from the deep forests in the Amazonia, the arid regions of Niger, the atolls and islands of the Pacific to the high-level discussions in the run-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, in December 2009. As young people are lifting the challenges of climate change onto their shoulders, there is a great need for support to young people, strengthening them in their strive to safeguard the richness and diversity of the Earth for themselves and the generations to come.
As the people most vulnerable to climate change live in developing countries, poverty perspectives are key, when aiming at equipping young people with tools to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Thus, reducing poverty and improving the health of young people will reduce young people's vulnerability to climate change. Education, employment opportunities, access to health services including reproductive health and freedom from harm are all prerequisites if today's generation of young people are to be ready for the future. This is particularly important for young people in towns and cities, as an increasing amount of the global population is concentrated in urban areas.
While reducing poverty is key, growth and the creation of wealth must materialize in new ways. Development cannot come at a cost of ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and developed countries cannot remain at the same emission levels as today. If we continue to produce climate change through patterns of production and consumption that create the same or higher emissions, we risk crossing the tipping point of natural and human mitigation capacities. Fortunately, other ways of living exist, and where they exist, they work. Young people must be able to take advantage of the progress that has been made in the direction of more climate friendly ways of life, supported by the advancement of technology.
Governments, policy makers, researchers, donors and international organizations have to recognize that young people are to be given a crucial role in adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. Governments and policy makers should promote the involvement of young people on all levels of discussions related to adaptation and mitigation, as young people will implement what is decided today, and live with the consequences. Researchers should create more data and analysis on how young people are affected and what the best responses are, as most impact scenarios omit specific analysis on young people.
Donors need to recognize that a larger youth generation than ever before lives in the world, and take steps to exploit their potential as agents for change. International organizations should advocate strongly for the empowerment of young people at all levels of climate change policies and programmes. Young people should establish networks and organize in taking on the challenge of climate change. If the key development actors support young people in the ways suggested, young people themselves will be better prepared to play their part and engage in the response to climate change, today and tomorrow. We must strengthen young people's commitment to the demanding task of climate change. If we adults don't, then it is to our collective peril.
