Two Degrees Youth

8/14/2019 Two Degrees Youth

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A young peoples summary of the United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008

TWODEGREES

Fighting Climate Change:Human solidarity in a divided world

O F S E P A R A T I O NB E T W E E N H O P E A N D D E S P A I R


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Contents

Further action by youth35

Youth action: Extraordinary tales34

Youth action: Taking to the streets!33

Global problems to individual solutions

31

Young visions or the uture: 2C leaves us with 2 options28

United we stand26

Adaptation: living with existing climate change22

Mitigation: stopping the problem rom growing

18

Actions today or results tomorrow16

Fighting or your rights14

Robbing tomorrow to pay or today12

The poor suering the most but contributing the least

10

What is human development?8

United Nations oreword

4Youth oreword5

Climate change: living in an experiment never beore conducted6

EDITOR

Aoie OGrady, Ireland

DESIGNER

Natalia Aguilar Santos, Ecuador

PROJECT COORDINATOR

Oliver OCallaghan, Ireland

MEDIA COORDINATOR

Adam MacIsaac, Canada

WEBMASTER

Matthias Schmidt, Germany

GuEST EDITORS

Dana Podmolikova, Czech RepublicKarina Pilar Sandoval, PeruCharles M. Sendegeya, UgandaVikisha Thillainadesan, AustraliaNaz Zaman Shuva, Bangladesh

CONTRIBuTORS

Pawan Alex, IndiaAdetunji Olabode Akinwumi, NigeriaMartial Bella, Cameroon

Samantha Lyn Black, USAMichael Boampong, GhanaSuzy Bouden, UKDamien A. Ct, CanadaYounes Dokkani, MoroccoAndrea Davidson, CanadaAdam Daroszewski, GermanyChlo Gaudet, CanadaDaniela Giardotti, ArgentinaVaakesan Guruparan, AustraliaGisela Joos, ArgentinaDirya Kanan, IndiaAnna Juchnowicz, PolandVida Morkunas, USA

Katherine Mead, UKZelalen Mekomen, EthiopiaVirginie Mercier, FranceSorouche Mirmiran, CanadaBaraka P. Mtinda, TanzaniaLana Elena Ramos Simielli, BrazilWilliam Rowland, UKEliot Ruocco-Trenouth, UKMartin Sanchez, BoliviaCarolina Santiago, MalaysiaVinayak Sasitharan, AustraliaRuth Simmons, UKCasper Supa, Solomon IslandsSamara Tanaka, Brazil

Maria Mercedes Toledo, EcuadorDana Troy, USARobin vanWaarden, CanadaTrudy Veitch, CanadaIndah Waty, Indonesia

PROJECT ADvISOR

David Woollcombe

PARTNERS AT uNDP

Marisol SanjinesPedro Manuel Moreno

Peace Child International

The White House, 46 High Street,

Buntingord, Herts. SG9 9AH, UKTel. (+44) 1763 274459

Fax. (+44) 1763 274460www.peacechild.org

United Nations Development Programme1 UN Plaza, New York, New York, 10017, USA

http://hdr.undp.org

The contents o this publication may be reproduced without charge in whole or in part and in any orm or edu-cational purposes without special permission, provided that Peace Child International, UNDP, and the author or

photographer concerned are credited as the source, and the editors are notied in writing.No use o this publication may be made or resale or any other commercial purpose whatsoever without priorpermission in writing rom Peace Child International and UNDP. All images in t his report have been reproducedwith the k nowledge and prior consent o the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by the producer,publisher or printer or any inringement o copyright or otherwise, arising rom the contents o this publication.Every eort has been made to ensure that the credits accurately comply with the inormation supplied.

The views expressed in this publication represent those o the authors and not necessarily those o Peace ChildInternational, UNDP or its representatives.


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We thought long and hard about the title or this booklet. It

had to be striking in order to be heard above the amiliar

drones o climate change dialogue.

We eventually decided on the title, Two degrees

o separation: between hope and despair

because we want to give the reader a tangible

threshold and a clear choice between two

distinct options.

The debate over the threshold or

dangerous climate change is ongoing.

However, the Human Development

Report 2007/2008 states that we will

encounter dangerous climate change

i the earths temperature rises more

than 2C above pre-industrial levels.

I we carry on as we are, the world is

actually more likely to exceed a 5C

threshold. This would dramatically

increase the likelihood o catastrophic

outcomes.

Scientic debates will continue, but

the decision we must make between

two outcomes, hope and despair, simplywill not be postponed.

WE KNOWthe danger exists.

WE KNOWthe damage caused by

greenhouse gas emissions

is irreversible.

WE KNOW

it is growing with everyday of inaction.

Kemal DervisUNDP Administrator

and

Achim SteinerExecutive Director, UNEP

Katherin

eMead,

UK

We have to stop treating the earths atmosphere as

though it is a free resource and we have to stop treating

CO2emissions as though they dont have a cost attached.

They do have a very high cost attached for humanity

as a whole. The Human Development Report is not a

council of despair but a call to action to the worlds

richest countries. In my view playing Russian roulette

with the lives of the worlds poorest people and the

future of the planet is not a smart game to play.

Kevin Watkins, Lead Author,Human Development Report 2007/2008

,


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I welcome this summary, created by youth, o the United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Develop-

ment Report (HDR) 2007/2008.Though the science o climate

change is innitely complex, the acts are simple: our world is

heading towards catastrophic climate change. I saw this last

year when I visited the Antarctic, where the age-old ice is melt-

ing much aster than we originally thought. While I was there, I

learned how the Larsen ice-shel 87 km long broke o and

vanished in less than three weeks. I the entire West Antarctic Ice

Sheet breaks up in this way, sea levels would rise by 6 metres. Un-

less we make some radical changes in the way we live our lives, by

the time you the youth o 2008 reach my age, the world will have

become a airly inhospitable place to live.

Youth must help us make those radical changes in two ways. First, you can

take a ull and active part in the decision-making o your local, regional and

national Governments by lobbying and voting or candidates who promise to

pass ar-reaching legislation to combat climate change. Second, by making low-

carbon liestyles and career choices a priority in your lives.

Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important

truths and blinds us to the consequences o our actions. Our world is in the grip o a

dangerous addiction to ossil uels. This addiction should not surprise us: coal and oil paved

the way or the developed worlds industrial progress and are the oundation or the comort

and prosperity some o us enjoy today. But this ossil uel addiction cannot continue to deliver

the same comort and prosperity to your generation, or the billions who do not currently enjoy it.

Mother Natures one-time git o ossil uels will run out most o it in your lietimes.

So, nding alternative energy sources will become an imperative or your generation. Handled correctly,

such a transition to green economics could be extremely lucrative or you. Green growth will create new

jobs, as global investment in zero-greenhouse gas energy surges to US$1.9 trillion by 2020, based on UN

estimates. These investments are the seed money or a wholesale reconguration o global industry.

I hope you will read these pages with hope in your hearts, and see them as your signposts to a saer, more sus-

tainable uture. It will be those who take action to promote low-carbon development, particularly in the worldsleast developed countries, who will be the beneciaries o the massive changes you will see in the world

economy in your lietimes. Start today!

Ban Ki-moonSecretary-General o the United Nations

UnitedNationsforeword


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Deep in the bowels o Peace Child Internationals White

House headquarters, in a small town in rural England we

gathered. Plucked rom the our corners o the globe to cre-

ate a youth summary o the UNDP Human Development Re-

port (HDR) on Climate Change 2007/2008, Fighting climate

change: Human solidarity in a divided world. How to con-

dense these 400 pages? How to give voice to the hundreds

o young people who contributed with visions, stories, art-

work, poetry and commentary? How to rise above the white

noise and oer a meaningul contribution to the debate?

In the middle o this century, the readers o this book will

no longer be young you and I will be old and grey and

ull o sleep. Where would you want to live then? Would you,

seated by the re, nod in agreement when your grandchil-

dren ask whether you did anything to reduce your carbonootprint?

As early as 1987, dire warning signals about the progressive

warming o the earth were sent out. More than two decades

later, little action has been taken. Now, as the world starts to

rise rom slumber, we realise that our Mother Earth is in big

trouble.

Our booklet has truly been created or youth and by youth.

Along with the contributions o the editors who travelled

to England, we have also accumulated hundreds o sub-

missions rom young people strewn across the globe. They

eagerly commented, criticised and created throughout the

process to produce the booklet you now hold!

We hope the call to take action against climate change will

be heard in every continent, every country, city and town

and in every amily. We can change our today, little by little,

person by person and with that obtain a more sustainable

tomorrow or coming generations.

Do not wait ty years to gaze regretully at your changed

ace in the mirror and the scarred ace o Mother Earth

around you. Know that when you heard the call you listened

and you played your part. The choice is yours!

YouthForeword




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Why is the temperatre rising?Greenhouse gases are emitted when ossil uels

like coal, oil and natural gas are burned.

Increased industrial activity since the mid

eighteenth century has meant a rapid

build-up o carbon dioxide (CO2),

mixed with methane and nitrous

oxide. These gases combine to

orm a layer in the atmosphere

that stops heat escaping.

Instead, warmth is reected

back to earth causing the

temperature to rise.

Scientists recently agreed

that there is a 90 percent

likelihood that most o

the current warming is

indeed due to greenhouse

gases generated by human

activity.

Why 2C?The debate continues over

exactly how high the temperaturecan rise beore the situation

becomes catastrophic. According to

the HDR, i we wish to avoid disastrous

climate change then we must not allow

temperatures to rise more than 2C above pre-

industrial levels. This means that we must stabilise

the levels o CO2in the atmosphere at 450 ppm (parts

per million).

HUMAN IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Climatechange:livinginan

exper

imentn

everbeforeconducted

AndreaD

avidson

,Cana

da

Changes in carbon dioxide and temperature

during the last 400,000 years

THOuSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE PRESENT400,000 years ago present day

400 359 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

380

340

300

260

220

-8

0

The inormation on this graph, collected by scientists rom deep ice samples taken in Antarctica, shows how over the past 400,000 years

the amount o CO2

in the atmosphere has directly impacted on the temperature o the earth. The end o the red line on the graph shows

how rapidly CO2

levels are now rising. The potential temperature line that will ollow is rightening.

CourtesyotheEnviromental

ProtectionAgency

TEMPERATURE(C)

CO

2(ppm)

4

8

-4


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Its getting hot in here!

Temperatures over the past hal centuryhave probably been the highest o any 50

year period or the past 1,300 years

The world is now at o r near the warmest levelon record in the current interglacial period,

which began about 12,000 years ago

Eleven o the twelve warmestyears since 1850 occurred between

1995 and 2006

What is climate change?

Climate change is an alteration o the earths general

weather conditions. The most prominent change is the rising

temperature o the earths surace.

Climate change has become such a amiliar term that we are

just not hearing the alarm bells that we should. To many, its

just an empty phrase reerring to a vague crisis ar removed

rom us in space and time. However, climate change is a grave

reality and the biggest challenge to ace our generation.

Adam Daroszewski, Germany

deorestationincrease in

CO2

levels

extinction o species andother ecological damages

health andeducation suer

economy suersdepletion owater supplies

agricultural losses

Impacts

Consequences

increase in surace

temperatures

drought ooding and adverse

eects on atmosphere

and precipitation

rise in sea levels

Causes


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Creating choices to

be the best we can be

Human development is about creating a world where

all hman beings have the opportnity to ll their

potential and lead a healthy and happy lie.

There are certain basic things that we each need in order

to develop, such as adeqate ntrition, edcation and

access to a decent standard o liing. Unortunately,

many o the worlds poor are already denied these.

Dangerous climate change threatens to worsen the situation or

the poor and deny reedoms that the wealthy currently enjoy. For

example, i the glaciers o the Tibetan Plateau melt, then our o

South East Asias major rivers could dry up, endangering the lives

o one third o the worlds population.

That is why climate change is the greatest threat to hman

deelopment o or time.

In the past, development was measured purely in

economic terms, but the concept o human development

encompasses so much more than fnancial status.

Nutrition, education and a decent standard o living are

all essential to the concept.

The HDR details the disastrous results that climate

change would have or human development. It also sets

out what we, as a human amily, must do in the ace o

this challenge.

Climate change threatsTo human development:

Maria Mercedes Toledo, Ecuador

Whatishumandevelopmen

t?

The basic purpose

o development is to

enlarge peoples choices.In principle, these

choices can be innite

and can change over

time .... The objective

o development is to

create an enabling

environment or people

to enjoy long, healthy

and creative lives.Mahbub Ul Haq, Founder o

the Human Development Report

Not only does climate change have the

potential to prevent us from progressing asa human family, it also threatens to undo

much of the development that we have

already achieved.


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Drought and changes in rainfall

patterns would result in drastic food

shortages and losses in agricultural

production.

Melting glaciers would see ooding

followed by rivers drying up, resulting

in massive shortages. Developed

countries would not be immune. If the

snow in Californias High Sierras melts,

cities like L.A. will be vulnerable to

water shortages.

A temperature rise of above 3C

would see a shocking 20-30 percentof the earths species at high risk

of extinction. Sea life would be

transformed by the bleaching of

coral reef systems, leading to losses in

marine biodiversity.

Human health would be aected both

directly and indirectly. Countries with

high levels of poverty will not have

the public health systems to respond

adequately. An additional 220-440

million people could be exposed to

malaria.

Continued temperature rises would

result in drought, ooding and violent

tropical cyclones. People would

be displaced in Bangladesh, Egypt

and Viet Nam, and some small-

island states would be completely

submerged.

Farming and food

Water shortages

Flooding andExtreme weather

Effects on nature

Human health risks

If we do not change our ways, by 2080:

an additional 600 million people worldwide (9 percent of the worlds currentpopulation) may face malnutrition and an additional 1.8 billion people (more than

the population of China and the USA together) may face water shortages.

HDR summary, pages 18 & 19

WilliamRowland,UK

TrudyVeitch,Canada

N

afzZamanShuva,Bangladesh

MartialBella,Cameroon

So

ci

et

yfor

thePro

tectio

nofAnimalsAbroad


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The poor tread the earth with a light carbon ootprint,

but they are orced to carry the heaviest burden o

the eects o climate change. Is it air that those

people and countries that have contributed

the least are suering the most?

The carbon footprint

of the earths

poorest 1 billion is

around 3 percent

of the worlds

total carbon

footprint.

HDR, page 43

We already live in a world o

glaring inequalities between

rich and poor. The eects o

climate change will serve to

uel existing disadvantage. For

example, ollowing a climate

shock, the poor are oten orced towithdraw children rom school. In

Nicaragua ollowing Hurricane Mitch,

the proportion o children simultaneously

enrolled in school and working increased rom

7.5 to 15.6 percent in aected households. These

children will be less capable o reeing themselves

rom the poverty trap.

I every person in the developing world had the same

carbon ootprint as the average or wealthy countries

then we would need a staggering six planets to eed

our habits.

We expe-

rience severe rainall

shortages, which increase

the likelihood o starvation

and amine. There is also a lacko knowledge about preventative

methods, such as ood storage

and avoiding the spread o

disease.BARAKA P. MTINDA, DAR ES

SALAAM, TANZANIA

Children here know

nothing o climate change.

They eel the hot weather every

day and they experience the high

oods but they dont understand

the connection between climate

change and these events.

INDAH WATY,

INDONESIA

Our armers can no

longer understand weather

patterns so they nd it dicult

to know when to plant crops. Ris-

ng waters are destroying the lives o

those who depended on shing or

their livelihood.

ADETUNJI OLABODE AKINWUMI,

NIGERIA

Thepoorsuferingthemost

Why are Bangla-

deshis given these sufer-

ings? Dont we have the right

to ood, treatment, education

and nancial security? Arent

we human?

KARIMON, BANGLADESH

All the locals can do

here is watch their homes being

washed up by storm surges, rising

seas and torrential rainalls. They have

no means to limit these efects which are aresult o others actions. Ordinary Solomon

Islanders dont know that climate disasters

are a result o climate change. They believe

that climate disasters are just the way

nature behaves.

CASPER SUPAPORO VILLAGE, HONIARA,

SOLOMON ISLANDS

butc

ontributingtheleast


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NafzZamanShuva,Bangladesh

The after-shocks of climate events can have destructive impacts on the lives of the

poor for years to come:

In Ethiopia, children aged ve or less are 36 percent more likely to be malnourished

and 41 percent more likely to be stunted if they were born during a drought year.

In Kenya, being born in a drought year increases the likelihood of children being

malnourished up to 50 percent.

In Niger, children aged two or under who were born during a drought year are 72percent more likely to be stunted.

HDR, page 89

the same amount o CO2

travelling 3000 kilometres that a

amily in Bangladesh emits over a whole year.

So how can we tackle the problem? By inorming and

educating as well as introducing eective laws to protect the

environment in developing countries. Action today is simplyessential or the survival o my country.

by Naz Zaman Shuva, Bangladesh

Bearing the brnt in Bangladesh

On 14th April 2008, I visited Chor Khalpar, a riverside village o

Faridpur in my home country o Bangladesh, where people

are highly aected by climatic events.

There I met a sherman named Karim. He told me that he

lost everything due to the erosion o the river and he no

longer had a home. He said, We dont know whether we will

be able to eat today or not. An elderly woman I met added,

We just dont know what will happen to us. You might not

nd us here next year. She knew nothing o climate change.

We only know that this is natural and we cant tackle it.

Bangladeshis suered desperately when Cyclone Sidr

devastated the country in November 2007. In the atermath,

many were orced to sleep under the open sky without ood

while armers lost all o their harvests. We didnt create this

problem but we are on the ront line o the battle against it

it angers me to think that a heavy o-road vehicle emits

Source: HDRO calculations based on OFDA and CRED 2007. 1980-84 2000-04

Disaster risks are skewed towards

deeloping contries

Risk o being aected by natural disaster(per 100,000 people)

50 people per 100,000

Deeloping contries

High-income OECD


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The world is not ours to take

Sometimes we see the uture as shapeless and the people

living there as invisible and nameless beings ghosts! And

this leads us to live as though we are the last to inhabit the

earth. But uture generations will come ater us

and they must ollow the path that we have

carved.

I we do not alter that path then we will be

responsible or the damaged world that

our children inherit.

Climate change challenges us to think

dierently at many levels. In a divided world,

it challenges us to think about the meaning

o ecological interdependence and the

management o the one thing that we

share in common: planet earth.

We are a human community linked through

space and time, so the plight o uture

generations must be represented. Their

voices are echoing through time, pleading

with us to remember issues o social justice

and human solidarity. But are we hearing their

call?

Robbingtomorrowtopayfortod

ay

Eliot Ruocco-Trenouth, UK

The bottom line is this: as a

global community we have

to live within a sustainablecarbon budget. At present,

we are over-spending on

that budget and borrowing

ecological capital from future

generations.

HDR, page 9

One day a man asked a great painter what the hardest

thing to paint was.

People, aces, peoples pets, anything ery

common, and amiliar, he answered.

Whats the easiest thing to paint then?

was the next qestion.

Ghosts, the painter said.Why? the man asked.

Becase they hae no shape, the painter explained,

Theyre inisible, and no one has eer seen one. Theyre

ery easy to paint.

Charles M. Sendegeya, Uganda


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Mother Earths cry

Political agendas are heating up,

Our governments are acing big choicesInvolving equity across generations.

Mother Earth is eeling the ames

As her temperature rises uncontrollably.

Lately her cry has become a wail

As humanity poisons her with their toxins,

The previously violent knocks o climate change,

Have led to it barging in uninvited,

Unravelling a chain o disastrous events,

Including drought, ood and amine.

Our uture children exist as only in our imagination,

Taking no shape or orm with invisible aces.

Will the reedoms we carelessly enjoy today, be compromised or

the uture because o our inaction to mitigate and adapt?

Staring at her image in the mirror,

Unable to understand the reection o her conscience,

She contemplates the uture o her unborn child.

Fearing that society may continue to turn a blind eye;

She cries, Have I made the right decision?

Where is the justice in robbing tomorrow to pay or today;

when in reality it is as though we are taking candy rom a baby!

by Vikisha Thillainadesan,

Australia

We are made wise not by the

recollection o our past but by

the responsibility or our uture.

George Bernard Shaw

We do not inherit the Earth from

our ancestors, we borrow it from

our children.

American Indian proverb

Lara Elena Ramos Simielli, Brazil


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Fightingforyourrights

Samara Tanaka, Brazil

Climate change has already

begun to afect the ullment o

human rights ... our shared human

rights ramework entitles and

empowers developing countries

and impoverished communities to claim

protection o these rights.

Mary Robinson, Former UN High Commissioner

or Human Rights

Human rights

the heart o the issue...

Climate change and human rights

are inextricably linked. My

people, the Inuit, may ace

extinction as a result o

climate change. Without

doubt, our human rights

are in jeopardy.

In 2005, we launched the

Climate Change Human

Rights Petition. It called

or governments to

develop economies

using technologies that

limit greenhouse gas

emissions. It also claimed

that emissions rom the

USA were violating the

human rights o the Inuit.Sheila Watt-Cloutier,

Award-winning Arctic climate activist

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and

personal security. Inaction in the face of the

threat of climate change would represent a

very immediate violation of that human right.

HDR, page 60

Human rights are those basic reedoms that you are entitled to by virtue o theact that you are a human being.

Our undamental rights are enshrined in the UN Declaration o Human Rights

which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Back in 1948 when the declaration

was created, it was hardly imagined that one o the biggest threats to our human

rights would be climate change.

Already the consequences o climate change such as oods, droughts and rising

sea levels are reducing our ability to enjoy our rights.

when you lose your house to the rising sea, your right to shelter is inringed.

when drought kills your crops, your right to ood is taken away.

when you are threatened by storms and oods, your right to lie andsecurity o person are also put in jeopardy .

We are rightully outraged when leaders deny citizens their rights.

Through climate change, we are creating a world where rights

are severely under threat, but are we sufciently outraged?


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Imagine a world that cannot save us!

Imagine, just sea and barely enough land to live in;

Imagine, no forests and endless stretch of desert;

Imagine, no fresh water and abundant polluted water;

Imagine, no snow clad mountains, no winter sports;

Imagine, not being able to see the sky, moon and stars;

Imagine, having to walk with gas protection masks;

Imagine, a world without wild life, where we only see pictures and movies;

Imagine the world from the eyes of a CHILD

As the world left behind becomes a curse for the living

by Pawan Alex, India

Vinayak Sasitharan, Australia


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We can avoid 21st century reversals and catastrophic risks

or uture generations i we choose to take action today.

There are time lags between todays actions and tomorrows

outcomes the greenhouse gases that we send into the

atmosphere in 2008 will stay there until 2108 and beyond.

Even i we take immediate action to reduce emissions, we

cant make a dierence to world temperature trends until ater

2030. Urgency is key with every day o inaction the problem

grows.

Actionstodayforresult

s tom

orrow

Samara Tanaka, Brazil Concept: Zelalen Mekomen, Ethiopia; Karina Pilar Sandoval, Per

DEVELOPED

COUNTRIES(must cut their emissions by

30 percent from 1990 levels by

2020 and by 80 percent from

1990 levels by 2050)

DEVELOPING

COUNTRIES(with a wide variation

in levels, must cut their

emissions by 20 percent from

1990 levels by 2050)

WORLD(emissions for the world

must be reduced by 50

percent by 2050 to have

sustainable emissions by the

end of the 21st century)

Climate change is the dening challenge acing political

leaders across the world today. Future generations will

judge us on how we respond to that challenge.

Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, President o the Federative Republic o Brazil


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This is where we

make our choice.Hope or Despair?

Naz Zaman Shuva, Bangladesh

Maria Mercedes Toledo, Ecuador

The world as we stand...

If we dont

make a

change...


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THE WORLD MUST DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM

OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN TWO WAYS:

PRICING CARBON

We must put a price on carbon emissions

through taxation and cap and trade.

Carbon gases must be priced to reect

their true social cost.

MAKING A CHANGEWe must tame our desire

for fossil fuels and switch

to alternative low-carbon

energy sources.

INTERNATIONAL

CO-OPERATION

Countries must learn to work

together. Greenhouse gases

ignore all borders.

Rich countries can and must takethe lead in tackling climate change.

It is simple: they must urgently

make the deepest and earliest cuts

in their carbon emissions.

There are three ondations

or sccess

Mitigation:stoppingthepro

blemfromgrowing

We must change our course by reducing carbon dioxide gas

emissions to avoid dangerous climate change. This is called

climate change mitigation.

We must protect ourselves and our property rom the dangers

o climate change, some o which are now unavoidable. This

is called climate change adaptation.

RuthSimmons,UK

Through mitigation, we must change the way we use energy to avoid urther damage and through adaptation we must

protect ourselves rom the damage we have already caused.

What is mitigation?

It is now too late to avoid some irreversible changes but eective mitigation strategies will allow us to avert crises in the

uture. Essentially what this means is that the world needs to reduce its carbon emissions and adopt a radical shit in energy

policy.


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Wind turbine Zafarana

wind park, EgyptClimate change mitigation requires technological

innovation and the rapid and widespread transfer and

use of environmentally sustainable technologies.

Producing electricity using wind generators is

sustainable because wind is essentially an inexhaustible

(renewable) source of energy. Other renewable sources

of energy include hydropower and solar energy.

CharlesM.Sendegeya,Uganda


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Change our ways, change the world

Our world has grown too accustomed to over-consuming

ossil uels. It will take a concerted eort to change our habits.

We are locked into energy systems that are reliant on ossil

uels and this simply must change. As well as discouraging

carbon emissions, we must also encourage low-carbon

technologies, renewable energy such as wind, solar andhydro-power and things like ground source heat pumps and

electric cars. The debate over nuclear energy will continue

but it is also an option that must enter the discussion.

Caliornia takes the lead

The USA has yet to commit to rm emissions targets; but

the state o Caliornia is taking the lead while the Federal

government hesitates. Commitments by Caliornia include

capping greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by 2020,

reducing vehicle emissions o new cars by 30 percent by the

year 2016 and paying out over US$2.9 billion in the next 10years to those who install solar panels. Hopeully, Caliornias

policies will attract other US states to adopt similar policies

and standards in order to mitigate our growing energy crisis.

by Dana Troy, USA

What is a carbon tax?A charge imposed by a government oneach unit o CO

2-equivalent emissions.

Placing a tax on carbon means thatit makes economic sense to cutemissions.

What is the CleanDevelopment

Mechanism(CDM)?An arrangement under theKyoto Protocol allowingindustrialised countrieswith a commitment toreduce greenhouse gasesto invest in projectsthat reduce emissions indeveloping countries, asan alternative to moreexpensive reductions in

their own countries.

What is cap and trade?A system in which a countryor group o countries sets amaximum or the total amount ocarbon that they are allowed toemit or a given period. This amountis the cap. It is divided into creditsthat are sold/given to business/industries.I a business uses more than its allocatedcredit then it can buy rom others who have not reached

their limit. This is the trade.

Mitigation measres

Martin

Sanche

z,Boli

via

Mitigation:stoppingthepro

blemfromgrowing


21/36

21

Deorestation

Our orests are invaluable sinks or CO2

emissions.

Unortunately, they are being cut down at a rapid

rate. Deorestation accounts or about 20 percent o

global carbon emissions. Preventing the destruction o

orests is an eective way o reducing the build-up o

greenhouse gases.

Setting targets

There is an urgent need or governments to set bindingemissions targets. These will dier rom country to

country.

France aims to reduce emissions by 75 percent by 2050

while Japan aims to reduce emissions by 50 percent

by 2050. The United States lacks a national long term

emission target.

International and regional agreements will only be

useul when there are national targets and when

countries actually keep their promises. Does your

country have a national carbon emission-reduction

target? Are they on track? Is that target binding? Why

dont you speak to your local or national representative

about this matter?

Peru is home to 68 million hectares o tropical orest. By2006, Peru was losing up to 1,760 acres o orest every

day. As a result o deorestation, local communities like

the Shipibos have lost animal species and medicinal

plants. The Shipibos have always lived in harmony

with the environment and played a key role as natural

conservationists. Today, we are changing their world

and orcing them to move to populated areas. It is in

our hands to stop this cycle; we cant aord to lose the

soul o the Amazon.

Anna Juchnowicz, Poland

Vida Morkunas,USA

Samantha Lyn Black,USA


22/36

22 Leaving the worlds poor

to sink or swim in the aceo the threat posed by

climate change is morally

wrong . We are driting

into a world o adaptation

apartheid.

Desmond Tutu, Archbishop

Emeritus o Cape Town

What is adaptation?

Adaptation is about enabling people to manage the risks

that arise rom climate change. It is about investing in

basic inrastructure and programmes to protect us against

the eects o climate change.

Who is aected?

Every country will be aected eventually and will have to

adapt to climate change.

Adaptation means dierent things to dierent countries. In

rich countries, governments adapt by providing elaborate

climate deence systems. In poorer countries, adaptation

is more challenging due to a lack o resources. For some, it

can mean simply learning to swim in order to survive a ood

or storm. Sadly, those most in need o strong deences are

those least able to aord them.

Information

For eective planning

InfrastructureFor climate-proong

Insurance

For social risk management

and poverty reduction

Institutions

For disaster risk

management

How do we adapt?

Successul adaptation planning includes the

our is

Adaptation plans are inadequate in many developing countries:The current framework provides the equivalent of an aid

sponge for mopping up during a ood.HDR, page 167

Adaptation:livingwithexi

stingclimatechange

4is

New York, USA and the Ganges Delta, India and Bangladesh

both ace an increased risk rom ooding as the sea level rises

but they are not equally vulnerable. New Yorkers can aord

deences and can react switly to adapt to the new threat,

but the people o the Ganges Delta, who did little to cause

the problem, are let without adequate protection. The HDR

estimates that a total investment o US$86 billion a year rom

developed countries will be needed by 2015 in order that all

countries can adequately adapt.

courtesyofKeSEMaT

Mangrove planting is a

method o adaptation

adopted in Indonesia

to protect against

climate change.


23/36

23

Hoping and working or the best while

preparing or the worst, serves as a useul

frst principle or adaptation planning.HDR, page 198

CasperSupa,SolomanIslands


24/36

24

HAITIThe national adaptation

plan estimates that a budgetouS$11 million is needed or

investment in projects to counterwater shortages and the threat

o ooding and soil erosion.

ETHIOPIAThe Productive Saety NetProgramme (PSNP) oers

transers o up to uS$4 a monthin cash or ood, providing some 5million people with income andemployment. This reduces the

impact o climate shocks.

ECUADORFarmers are building

traditional U-shaped retentionponds, or albarradas, to capturewater during wetter years and

recharge aquiers during

drought years.

UNITED STATESCaliornia has developed

an extensive system oreservoirs and water-transer

channels to maintain owsto dry areas.

UNITEDKINGDOM

The Environment Agency has

called or uS$8 billion to be spent

on strengthening the Thames

Barrier. Current spending on ood

management and coastal

erosion is around uS$1.2billion annually.

Adaptation:livingwith e

xistingc

limatechange


25/36

25

THENETHERLANDS

A budget ouS$3 billion hasbeen allocated or ood protection.In the village o Maasbommel, there

are 37 homes that can oat on water.They are fxed to large steel stilts in

the river bed and act like ships in

the event o a ood.

VIET NAMSMEKONG DELTA

Earth dykes are being createdand mangroves are being plantedas protection against ooding and

storm surges. Communities arebeing provided with swimming

lessons and lie-jackets.

JAPANPlans developed by the Japa-nese Government to provide

more eective deences in theace o sea level rises will cost anestimated uS$93 billion to put

into action.

INDIAWomen in the Ganges Delta

are constructing elevated bam-boo platorms known as machan

on which to take reuge abovemonsoon oodwaters.

SRI LANKAFarmers are experimenting withrice varieties that can withstandsalt-water intrusion and cope

with reduced water.

How countries are adapting

around the world

NEPALCommunities in ood-prone

areas are building early warningsystems such as raised watchtow-ers and shoring up embank-

ments to prevent glacial lakesrom bursting their banks.

BUT THIS IS NOT ENOUGH!


26/36

26

The UN is only as strong as its weakest link. I some countries

carry on burning ever-increasing amounts o ossil uels,

those who cut back and spend money on reducing their

emissions will be at a huge economic disadvantage. There

has to be a level playing eld and only the UN can create

it. So, we are all responsible or ensuring that our national

representatives sign up to binding agreements at the UN

and then keep their promises.

Unitedwestand

How or infence can trael

YOUTHLOCAL

REPRESENTATIVENATIONAL

REPRESENTATIVEGOVERNMENT UN

Martin Sanchez, Bolivia

I believe that climate change is exactly the kind o global challenge that

the United Nations is best suited to address. Tackling climate change

requires action on two ronts. First, the world urgently needs to step up

action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation is the second

global necessity. There also needs to be a major push to generate new

technologies or combating climate change, to make existing renew-

able technologies economically viable, and to promote a rapid difu-

sion o technology.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations

The United Nations was ounded in 1945 in

reaction to the scourge o war that ravaged

the earth twice in the rst hal o the

20th century. The UN is the body

responsible or drating, and getting

all governments to agree to, the

Universal Declaration o Human

Rights. It is thereore a vital orce

in this new crusade to protect

those rights against the

eects o climate change.

Or stakein the uN

The very name United

Nations spells out exactly

what the UN is supposed

to do: unite the nations

o the world. But the

truth is the UN is only as

strong as the willingness

o its member states to

be united. Each nation is

guided by its governmentand each government is

guided by us, its citizens!

The pressure that we, the youth

o the world, put on our local and

national representatives eventually

seeps through to the international

stage and guides the actions o the

UN. In relation to climate change, its

vital that we strengthen the power

o the UN to provide a single, united

response to this global threat that willimpact us all! United we stand. Divided

we all.

Nations responsibilities


27/36

27

Climate change is considered the graest threat crrently

acing hmanity. As yong citizens o the world, we hae a

responsibility to ask the qestion: has the uN done enogh?

Nextstop

Copenhage

nDecember2009:C

open-

hagenislike

lytobethe

crucialbattl

e-groundinthe

ghtfordee

pcutsincar

bonemissions

post-Kyoto

in

otherword

s,aftertheK

yotoagreem

entrunsout

in2012.

Ministersan

docialsfr

om189cou

ntriesaree

xpectedto

attendand

,thescienti

stssuggest

,mustagree

to25perce

nt

cutsincarbo

nemissions

by2020a

nd50perce

ntcutsby

2050.Itsou

rdutytotel

lthemthatw

ewillonlyr

e-elect

themifthey

makethatc

ommitment

.

BaliBreakthrough:inDecember2007,representativesof180

countriesmetattheUNClimateChangeConferenceinBali,In-

donesia.Aftermuchkickingandshoving,eventheUSAagreed

totheBaliRoadMapthersttimeallthemajornationsofthe

worldagreedthatclimatechangeisaseriousproblemandapri-

orityfortheglobalcommunity.Criticsrightlysay,Bigdeal!No

emissiontargetsyethavebeenagreed.But itisastart

andthemapshowstherouteweneedtotaketogetwhere

weneedtobe.

KyotoProtocol:this

agreement,brokeredbytheUNandsigned

inDecember1997,istherststepinthemulti-

lateralresponsetoclimatechange.Itsetsbinding

targetstocutgreenhousegasemissionsby2012toa

level5percentbelowwhattheywerein1990.Current

scienticopinionagreesthatthis5percenttargetis

fartoolow:severalcountries,includingtheUSA,

neverratiedtheagreement,anditiscertain

thatmanycountrieswillfailtoreacheventhe

modest5percentcut.

SuzyBo

uden

,UK

I had the opportunity to work with 200 committed

international youth delegates while attending the

UN Convention on Climate Change in Bali. I saw

rst-hand how youth can be key stakeholders with

the power to inuence the process o addressingclimate change by keeping our governments

accountable and educating our peers and the

general public.Adam MacIsaac, Canada

Whatis

theUNd

oing?


28/36

28

OPTION 1INACTION = War

STEPS THAT

WILL LEAD US

TOWARDS A

DANGEROUS

CLIMATE OF

CONFLICT

Natres ry

Why the ghting? Why the war?

Cant we exist peaceully anymore?

Climate change brings waves o destruction,

Hurricane Katrinas unmatched power

Churns violence and hate in the peoples hearts.

Power to the people the protesters chant,

But their voices ring through an empty tunnel.

The time has come or the insidious to all,

For the people o the earth to awake once more.

The quest or the yellow cake: A alse adventure

With heroes who tire rom a conict they dont understand

On the home-ront Gods ury ravages a people

That must sufer or their overlords sins.

Yet herein lies hope,

People battle weary rom climate change and conict

All sing in unison or a brighter tomorrow.

by Vaakesan Guruparan, Australia

Increased global

temperatures

Melting iceat the poles and in

the mountains; risingsea levels; ooding of

coastal areas; drying upof river systems; allmanner of extreme

climatic events

Increasing

shortages of food,

fuel and land re-

sources

Forcedmigration due to

starvation and thirst;invasion of territoriesthat possess water andarable land; all-out glo-bal war for resources

and survival

The ice-caps o the Tibetan Plateau will disappear

causing the river basins o South East Asia to dry up,

orcing a billion people to migrate northwards to

Siberia to nd water.

Melting in the mountain ranges o North America

could orce millions northwards into Canada

seeking water.elting o the Antarctic and Greenland

ice shelves will cause sea-level rise o 7 metres,

causing the orced migration o 330 million people.

Will countries peaceully open their borders and

allow the migrants to reely occupy their real estate?

History tells us: probably not.

Unregulated,

unpriced, carbon

emissions

I we do not avoid catastrophic climate change then:

Lara Elena Ramos Simielli, Brazil

Youngvisionsforthefuture:

2Cleave

suswith2options:


29/36

29

Consider Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot their names are

synonymous with evil and the deaths of millions. Yet,

compared to the mass murder being cooked-up by

todays so-called liberal governments of Europe and

North America by their inaction on climate change,Hitler, Stalin and the rest were mere beginners: inaction

on climate change could cause the death of billions.

David Woollcombe, President, Peace Child International

Migration as a result o climate change is not just a vision or

the uture, but it is already a current reality or some. Already

climate change reugees are being orced to leave regions

that have become inhospitable.

Small island states are particularly vulnerable: 1,500 residents

o Carteret Island, an atoll o the Autonomous Region oBougainville, Papua New Guinea, have begun permanently

By Pip Starr. Courtesy o FoE Australia www.oe.org.au

Developing a societys ability

to handle conict will enhance

its capacity to adapt to climate

change. Though the tasks

seem diferent, the capacities

needed to carry them out areefectively the same

Jan Smith, Janani Vivekananda,

International Alert

Climate-induced migration is already a reality or small island states

evacuating their homes. Sea levels around the atoll have

risen 10 cm in the past 20 years.

Meanwhile the Pacic Island nation o Tuvalu is expected

to become uninhabitable due to rising sea levels over the

coming decade. Other islands are expected to be ooded.

People in Kiribati and Vanuatu have already relocated theirhomes due to rising seas.


30/36

0

Youngvisionsforthefuture:

Good morning,

Beautiful world!

Today, I woke up eeling good, I was very happy!

I looked outside my window and realised something good.

The trees were ull o owers and ruits

The air was pure, without contamination. Water was

crystalline.

In my backyard there was no pollution and the trash was

separated to be recycled.

Sewage was not going to the rivers; it was treated and

transormed into gas, and was not polluting any more.

Birds were having un in the orests. Animals were happy

because the pasture was green.

I noticed that the world was very, very dierent

I looked inside my house and saw my amily around the table,

drinking very hot tea and talking about cheerul things. My

brothers were happily playing, knowing that the world was

good.

On the television they announced the end o global

warming.

Violence, which used to be the biggest problem in the world,did not exist anymore.

Food was not inected and our health was better.

There were jobs or everyone.

There werent rich and poor people.

Corruption did not exist nor did racial prejudice.

People lived in peace, and all wars ended.

In this moment I realised that I was dreaming and I woke up

scared, with my mom calling me.

Reality today is not the way I dreamed it. But, today, we must

do more to make tomorrows reality the way we dream it

today!

Jonathan, So Jos do Rio Preto (SP), Brazil

Option 2ACTION = A Post-Carbon Era!

This blissl tre is within or reach!

So why isnt it happening?

1) Cost however we just cannot accept this argument. The

Solar Plan published in Scientic American in January 08

costed the transormation o the USA into a solar-hydrogen

economy with a nationwide HVDC grid at US$420 billion

dollars over 40 years. Thats a th o the money spent on the

Iraq War in just 5 years.

2) More research is needed energy, unds and political will

must be directed this way.

3) We are not shouting loudly enough to make our

governments do it!

We can create the world that Jonathan dreams of by

investing today for a post-carbon future.

A post-carbon world would include:

- massive o-shore wind-farms.

- solar installations covering thousands of square

miles.

- compressed air storage systems in disused mines and

underground caverns.

- high voltage DC (HVDC) grids to carry electricity.- ground source heat pumps and solar panels on

everyones houses.

- hydrogen fuelled planes.

- electric trucks and cars.

YounesD

okk

ani,Mo

rocco

2Cle

avesuswith2options:

Combating climate change demands that

we place ecological imperatives at the

heart of economics. The current state of

international cooperation is not t for the

purpose. As a priority, the world needs a

binding international agreement to cut

greenhouse gas emissions across a long

time horizon

HDR, page 16


31/36

31

Be the change

you want to see

in the world

Mahatma

Gandhi

Global problems to

individual solutions

Private victories

precede public victories

Stephen R. Covey

The easy bits

DanielaGia

rdotti,Argentina

Going to the shops or market- Bring your own canvas bags. Avoid plastic bags.

- Only buy ood that will be eaten! Annually, the UKdumps 6.7 million tonnes o ood. Most o the wasteis sent to landll where it rots, emitting the potentclimate change gas methane.

- Buy rom your local charity shop and donate your ownclothes, CDs and books etc.

- Use websites such as The Freecycle Network (www.reecycle.org) to give and get useul things or ree inyour own towns or www.Jnkk.com which is ull oideas or reusing items.

At school or college- Cycle or use public transport to get there. Travelling

by bicycle is about the greenest way to get around bicycles are the worlds most efcient vehicles!

- Print out school and college notes on both sides o thepaper and encourage others by placing reminder signsat photocopiers.

- Carry a long-lie mug with you to avoid using polystyrene,plastic or paper or tea/coee breaks.

What can you do?

It is easy to eel like David fghting Goliath or the

tortoise racing the hare when we think about what we,

as individuals, can do to tackle the problem o climate

change. But we must take heart and remember who

was victorious in those amous stories

Dense scientifc acts and talk o

apocalyptic consequences can

alienate us rom the issue.

But we must remember

the ancient Chinese

symbol or crisis depictstwo characters danger

and opportunity. As well

as sensing the danger,

we must acknowledge the

opportunity to take action!

Firstly, lets talk about the more

simple things that you can begin doing NOW,

as soon as you put this booklet down

At home- Remove your amily name rom junk mailing lists.- Recycle, Recycle, Recycle: glass bottles, cans, cardboard,

paper, CDs, batteries, envelopes, magazines, newspapers,telephone books, catalogues, cardboard and plastics.

- Turn o your TV, computer, and phone chargercompletely rather than putting them on stand-by.- Repair and mend your things rather than throwing them

away.- Fit energy saving light bulbs.

- Create a compost heap.


32/36

IF NOT NOW,

GiselaJoos,Argentina

Make yor home eco-riendlyTalk to your parents about how energy efcient your home

is. Are your windows and walls well insulated? Could you

source some o your energy naturally by installing solar

panels or a ground source heat pump (GSHP)? GSHPs draw

warmth rom the ground to heat your home and water.One small home system will save 7 tonnes o carbon being

pumped into the earths atmosphere.

Lobby or eed-in time!Lobby your government to introduce eed-in taris. They are

a simple, cheap and eective way to encourage renewable

energy use and development. The scheme is simple:

governments encourage people to produce renewable

energy or their own homes, or example through solar or

wind power, and then sell any excess renewable energy

back into the national electricity grid. Germany has becomea world leader in this eld and in 2005, 10.2 percent o the

countrys power came rom renewable sources, 70 percent

o which was rom eed-in taris. This means a saving o 52

million tonnes o carbon dioxide by 2010.

X = AMOUNT OF CARBON WE CANAFFORD TO EMIT EACH YEAR

Y BILLIONS = THE WORLD POPULATION

THEREFORE

X/Y = YOUR PERSONAL CARBON QUOTA

Is it a good idea? Would it work? Join the debate at:

www.brainnoodles.com/weblog/archive/2006/06/04/

Personal_Carbon_Quota_Allowance_Ration.aspx

Getting harder

Small changes are important. However, the scale o

this problem means that it also demands some radical,

and perhaps uncomortable, liestyle adjustments. Ater

all, nothing in lie worth having ever came easy.

Measre yor ootprint

Calculating your individual carbon ootprint is the best way to

measure your impact on climate change. There are a variety o

calculators available on the net. The UK government one can be

accessed at:

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/actonco2/

DG_067197

Think about a personal carbon quota

How you would survive i you were tied to a set amount o carbon

emissions each year? Many living in Bangladesh or sub-Saharan

Arica would never reach their limit while many in Europe and

North America would constantly exceed it the average

North American emits more than 100 times more carbon

than the average Arican.

THIS IS HOW A CARBONQUOTA WOULD WORK


33/36

33

Youth action:

Taking to the streets!Todays generation o young people under 25 is the largest

ever 3 billion, nearly hal the global population. Clearly,

we have the numbers to eect change through lobbying,

Debating

the uture in Delhi

On May 28th, 2008, 150 youth, young proessionals and

observers rom NGOs gathered or the rst ever Delhi

Youth Summit on Climate (DYSoC). The summit was

arranged to discuss and debate the uture o Delhi

in light o the impending threat o climate change.

Issues as diverse as water supply, waste management,

energy and transportation were discussed andsolutions rom young people were drated into a

Delhi Youth Charter on Climate (download rom:

http://whatswiththeclimate.org).

DiryaKanan,India

WhenIlearntthattheBritishgovernmentwasplanningtobuildanew,thirdrunwayat

HeathrowAirportinLondonIwasoutraged.Buildinganewrunwayisahugestepbackwards.Nationalityisirrelevant-thecarbon

emittedfyinginandoutoHeathrowwillnothangoverBritainalone.CO2knowsnoboundaries.Whatuseisitorindividualsto

livesustainablyiourgovernmentscontinuetodragusdownaroadtowardsdangerousclimatechange?ThatiswhyIwaskeentobeapartotheprotestmarchwhereparticipantsjoinedtoormtheworldsbiggestno.Nototherunway,notoclimatechangeandnotoagovernmenthij

ackingouruture.

SPELLINGOUTTHEMESSAGEINENGLANDbyVirginieMercier,France

Ph

oto

: Matthia

sSchm

idt,

Germ

any

SustainUS is a group o young people advancing sustainabledevelopment and youth empowerment in the United States.Prior to the World Summit on Sustainable Development(WSSD) in 2002, the group grabbed media attention bylaunching the Bet campaign with US President Bush. Theybet Bush that they could conserve 20,000 tonnes o carbondioxide in pledges by youth. I they succeeded, they wouldcall on Bush to attend the WSSD with a group o 5 youngpeople. I they ailed, they would volunteer to chaueur Bushor a member o his administration in a bicycle rickshaw or aweek.SustainUS won the bet against Bush youth carbon dioxideemission savings hit 20,000 tonnes. However, Bush ailed tocommit to attending the WSSD.

I am the President o the Bangladesh Association o YoungResearchers (BAYR), the only national youth research anddevelopment organisation in Bangladesh.Young people are essential in the process o inormingand educating people about climate change. ManyBangladeshis have no idea that their suering may berelated to climate change caused by human activity. Theyalso have no inormation on how to protect themselvesagainst climate change eects. With this in mind, we haveorganised a number o climate change projects includingthe Environment Friendly Programme 2008 in cooperationwith Green Earth Bangladesh and Act Now, a programme totrain young people around the country about how to saveour climate.

Sustaining the pressurein the US

Naz Zaman Shuva,Bangladesh

www.sustainus.orgUSA

Working at the coalacein Bangladesh

campaigning, protesting, demonstrating and debating. Many

young people around the world, brimming with ideas and

enthusiasm, are already using these tools o activism to make

their voices heard. Get involved and join in the chorus!


34/36

4

Youth action:

Extraordinary tales

Raphael Wanjaria Njararuhi, along with ellow

members o dynamic youth organisation, Youth

Intercommunity Network (YIN), is taking action

to change the way rural Kenyans use energy in

an eort to stop deorestation in his country.

YIN is constructing and distributing energy-

saving stoves or cooking in order to discouragethe use o rewood, which is depleting wood

supplies and driving deorestation. According

to Raphael, 75 percent o rural Kenyans currently

use rewood or cooking which is contributing to

environmental degradation. This results in ood

insecurity that is a big problem or Kenyans.

The majority o the stoves are built by young

people themselves using traditional techniques

and local materials (mainly sticky soil and stones).

Energy-saving stove recipients get trained in

using, caring or, and maintaining the stoves so

that they can train others in the uture. The key isto pass the message on!

Through the project, YIN empowers rural

residents and young people by taking practical

and eective steps to tackle the current and

uture eects o climate change.

FromthemouthsofbabesAttheageoonly12,SevernSuzukiromCanadaspokemoving-

lytodelegatesromacrosstheworldatthe1992EarthSummit

inRiodeJaneiro.Shebroughttheyouthperspectiveonclimate

changetotheworldsattentioninherspeechwhenshesaid,

Comingheretoday,Ihavenohiddenagenda.Iamfght-

ing or my uture. Losing my uture is not like losing an

electionoraewpointsonthestockmarket.Iamhereto

speakorallgenerationstocome.In 2002, Severn helped launch an internet-based think tank

calledTheSkyfshProject, amembero thenSecretary-Gener-

al o theUN, KofAnnans, Special Advisory Panel.Now inher

twenties,shecontinuestospeakaroundtheworldaboutenvi-

ronmentalissues,urginglistenerstodefnetheirvalues,actwith

theutureinmind,andtakeindividualresponsibility.Severnsa-

mouscalltoworldleaderscanbeviewedatwww.youtube.com/

watch?v=uZsDliXzyAY.

What did Gandhi

meanwhen he de

clared, we must b

ecomethe

changewewishto

see?Forme, itm

eanthavingthew

illto change

myownbehaviour,to low

ermy impactand

toleadbyexampl

e.SoI

decidedtocircumn

avigatetheworldbybicycle.

All inall,Icovered

nolessthan19,000

kilometres,across15countries,

3 continents and e

ventually connecte

dVancouverto Be

ijing by only

goingeast.

Notwodayswerea

like.Islept,cookeda

ndgenerallylivedou

tside.There

werebearencoun

ters inCanada,a r

oadlessGobideser

t inMongolia,

treacherous road

conditions in Sib

eria and so muc

h more.The

journeytaughtme

enormouslyabout

humancharacter,

humilityand

aboutnatureherse

l. I realisedthaton

ly rarelynowadays

dowetruly

ndourselvesully

exposedtothenat

uralworld.Whenw

edo,weare

inevitablyhum

bled.

Idontexpectthethousandsopeople

Imetduringmyad

venturetoever

reproducemyjour

ney.However, Idohopethatp

erhapsmyexampl

e

will serve as an in

spirationthatwill

enable some othemtomake

adiference.And i

itdoesnt,wellat l

east, IthinkImad

eadiference.

Thanks,Mr.Gandhi

. ByDamienA.Ct,

Canada

Carolina Santiago, Malaysia

SoroucheMirmiran,Cana

da

Home-cooked youth action!


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Further action

by youthNow you know the acts, youve heard the stories and you

realise the consequences o inaction. Ask yoursel what

more can I do? and take inspiration rom this page!

Know more its time to learn more! Read up onyouth websites and in magazines such as the UN

Environmental Programme magazine, TuNZA, global

online communities like http://itsgettinghotinhere.

org and coalitions like www.stopclimatechaos.org

and www.yothagainstclimatechange.org.

Create more art can be a powerul way o gettinga message across. Write, paint, photograph, act, sing, and

dance your vision.

Take inspiration rom the musical, Green Peace Child,

written to empower and educate the young people

who rehearse, perorm and rewrite it. The script can beobtained by contacting [email protected].

Question more not only your government butalso the corporations that serve you. Your custom is very

important, so important that some businesses may grow

a green conscience i you ask enough! For example,

combat illegal logging and deorestation by only buying

items with an FSC (www.sc.org), Woodmark or Smart

Wood label. Think about how all o the products you

buy made their way to your local shop. Be curious, be a

conscious consumer!

Celebrate more why are you passionate aboutpreserving the planet? Because it is precious and it is

beautiul. Celebrate the sacredness o our environment

and let it inspire you to protect it!

DOMORE!

ChloGaudet,Can

ada

RobertvanWaarde

n,Canada

ChloGaudet,Can

ada

KarinaPilarSando

val,Peru

JOIN IN MORE get involved with an organisation in

your own country such as:

Energy Action Coalition (North America)

www.energyactioncoalition.org

Arican Yoth Initiatie on Climate Change

www.ayicc.orgEco-Leage International Team (Japan)

http://gathering.eco-2000.net/global

China Yoth Climate Action Network(CYCAN)

http://groups.takingitglobal.org/CYCAN

Indian Yoth Climate Networkhttp://iycn.in

Join networks on climate change. Stop Global

Warming on Facebook and Myspace now has

almost 2 million members! Also, join in the debate on

Chinas role in the climate challenge at

www.chinadialoge.net

DOMORE!DOMORE!


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We must learn to live

Together as brothersOr perish together as fools

Martin Luther King Jr.

RuthSimm

ons,UK

Two Degrees Youth

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Transcript of Two Degrees Youth