Why we need young people to fight for the climate

If you underestimate the young activists of the world, you ignore a whole world of possible good

In 2019, more than 1.4 million young people around the globe took part in the School Strikes for Climate Action protests that were largely prompted by 17-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The inspirational young Swede, while a media favourite, is far from the first or last young person to fight for a better environmental future—and with European summers set to increase by 4.7°C in 2050 (since 2000) it’s no wonder.

With the rise of social media in recent years, young people around the globe have easy access to startling information about how we’re currently failing to look after the Earth. Websites such as YouTube provide accessible coverage on ecological matters that quickly garner millions of views, and links to new scientific information are easily shared between peers. But, it’s not just online research that exposes the truth, and it’s not a distant threat either. Climate change is happening around us as we speak; our oceans are 30 per cent more acidic due to carbon pollution, an increase of droughts and heatwaves means a loss of crop production and one and a half acres of forest is cut down every second.

More information: https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/lifestyle/environment/why-we-need-young-people-to-fight-for-the-climate