10/3/23, 8:15 How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts - ABC

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How young people can make effective

change in the climate crisis, according to
experts
The consequences of a century of global warming is on their shoulders.

By Julia Jacobo
January 22, 2022, 10:57 AM

3:20

How you can impact climate change

There are several ways to fight climate change from home and in your community.

The fate of the world is in their hands.

The youngest generations may feel that they have the smallest ability to
impact the devastating effects of climate change at the moment but also
shoulder the burden of its future effects.

This responsibility -- along with the prospect of living under a looming

humanitarian crisis -- sparked by rising sea levels and extreme weather
events exacerbated by climate change -- has caused widespread
psychological distress among young people.

Many say they don't trust their leaders to make the right decisions for
them and the planet. They are frustrated with older generations for
putting them in this position and they are scared about the future of the
planet -- about what living conditions will look like decades from now.

But it has also sparked a camaraderie among young people, who are
using their collective voices and actions to become the most vocal
generation to fight for the planet in recorded history.

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10/3/23, 8:15 How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts - ABC News

"The climate emergency is already here," 19-year-old Jeeva

Senthilnathan, an engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines,
told ABC News. "We're seeing the entire climate emergency in front of
our eyes."

Older generations have a responsibility to foster and encourage young

people's goals to conserve the planet as well, Lise Van Susteren, a general
and forensic psychiatrist who has researched how climate change has
affected the psychological health of young people, told ABC News.

"We have to listen," Van Susteren said. "They recognize that the
cumulative toll of climate change is on their shoulders."

Young people attend 'Die-In' protest during Global Climate Strike to demand action be taken on
climate change in Krakow, Poland, Oct. 14, 2019.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

These are the things young people can do to get ahead of climate change:

Make your voice heard

One of the biggest assets young people have in the climate fight is the
ability to make themselves be heard on a global scale.

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10/3/23, 8:15 How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts - ABC News

Ever since Swedish teen Greta Thunberg inspired millions of teens to

skip school to demonstrate for climate change in 2018, the world's media
has been paying attention to youth climate strikes.

The protests, filled with passionate young people, and often led by
Thunberg, now 19. They have captured the attention of the world's
media, reverberating with the anger and angst the young attendees feel
about the future.

Young people, especially teens, are experts at arguing with their parents,
Van Susteren said, adding that, when it comes to the climate crisis, that
catharsis is "absolutely critical."

"Don't hold it in," she said. "If it's churning inside you, let it out. Talk
about it. Don't stop talking about it."

MORE: COP26: These are the young activists taking the fight against global
warming by storm

Students, who are dealing with other overlapping crises such as the
COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice, are pushing to bring those
topics into the classroom.

Senthilnathan, who has not only led climate strikes but has also met
with local legislators to discuss policy, said more of those type of
interactions will move the needle on awareness.

"When they work together and put their voices together, it has much
more impact," Van Susteren said. "Make as much noise as you can."

But beware of the "false dichotomy" between collective action and

individual action, Morgan Edwards, an assistant professor at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison and a leader of the university's
Climate Action Lab told ABC News, adding that reducing personal
emissions or shaming others' lifestyles is not fulfilling or effective.

"There's no price of admission to the climate movement," she said.

"Trying to think just about how you can reduce your personal emissions
can feel really lonely, whereas, being part of something bigger, finding a
community to take action together with -- I think that's a much more
empowering way to think about climate change centers the conversation
around those who are responsible for the crisis, which isn't you as an
individual."

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10/3/23, 8:15 How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts - ABC News

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg joins a Fridays for Future climate protest, Feb. 21, 2020, in
Hamburg, Germany.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Participate in local politics

As young people grow to voting age, it will be important for them to use
that power to spark change.

And if they believe that none of the candidates are up to the task, young
people can run for office themselves.

Senthilnathan has already run for city council in her town in Parker,
Colorado. Although she was not elected she encourages her peers to
continue to fight for those positions of power.

"Election after election after election, we're still seeing the fact that the
climate emergency isn't really being addressed," she said. "Running for
like a city council position is a great place where they can like input
those policies."

One of Senthilnathan's goals is to become an adviser to the White House

on science and technology committee, she said, adding that it will be
important for people her age to not let older generations tell them they
are too young to lead.

"As youth, we barely have any resources to run for office," she said. "I
hope people are paying attention to the youth who are trying to make a
change."

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10/3/23, 8:15 How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts - ABC News

MORE: Young people experiencing 'widespread' psychological distress over

government handling of looming climate crisis, researchers say

Apply your interests to the climate fight

Young people do not need to dedicate their entire lives to climate

activism to make a big difference in protecting the environment, the
experts said.

"The best way to take climate action is to think about the thing that you
already love to do," Edwards said. "So if you're, if you're an artist, you can
make art about the climate crisis. If you're a writer, you can tell stories."

While studying for her engineering degree, Senthilnathan learned that

about 40% to 50% of pollution comes from construction engineering.
This is something she hopes to address in future policy, she said.

"I think, whatever you're interested in, climate intersects with that,"
Edwards said. "Bringing conversation into the things that you already
love, I think, is the most one of the most sustainable ways to take action."

For college students who feel like they can't get involved in the climate
crisis because their major has nothing to do with the environment,
Senthilnathan said there are ways to apply every course of study to the
climate fight. For instance, people with a focus on business
administration or property management can apply their studies to
finding ways to construct and maintain buildings with more sustainable
materials and less toxic waste, she said.

"I think we need so many more perspectives coming into the climate
crisis, and to really be thinking about how it interacts with all of these
different fields," Edwards said. "So it's not just a science or policy or an
engineering problems."

Young people attend 'Die-In' protest during Global Climate Strike to demand action be taken on
climate change in Krakow, Poland, Oct. 14, 2019.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

Living with fear of the future

Senthilnathan got a front row seat to the climate emergency after

multiple wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes near Boulder, Colorado,

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10/3/23, 8:15 How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts - ABC News

just weeks ago.

Winds that help spread the fires rapidly were so high that they broke her
window, Senthilnathan said, describing that week as "terrifying" and
"emotional." There was dust and debris all over Jefferson County, where
Senthilnathan lives, and because her father had contracted COVID-19,
she had no where to escape to.

Activism is the only way she knows how to take control of her destiny,
rather than live in fear, she said.

It will also important for young people to find like-minded peers to

discuss ideas over, Van Susteren said. It's easy to feel like an outcast or
"the weird one" when you're young, especially when older people keep
telling you you're too young to know anything.

In the past, kids who found that their concerns about the climate were
not taken seriously felt like outsiders, Van Susteren said.

MORE: Thousands of young activists challenging lawmakers to act in Global

Climate Strike

"Kids find that when they talk to each other, they feel a sense of
camaraderie," she said. " This is critical, because it makes them feel like
they're not weird," Van Susteren said.

Van Susteren also advised young people to find a mentor who does not
write off their concerns.

"They want their teachers and administrators to provide the space and
the time for them to talk about their fear, and they want their school
districts to create the curricula that enable them to speak intelligently
about climate," Van Susteren said. "And also to show that the adults who
are involved in education, understand what it is that they are going to
need to know."

Related Topics
Climate Change

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