UN YouthClimateChange Report

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... young people have made it abundantly clear that they want to be involved in the decisions impacting soci-

ety and addressing climate change is no exception. Throughout the world, youth have developed creative

ways to raise awareness, share information, build capacities, and work together on climate change mitigation

and adaptation practicesoften achieving impressive results through

their own initiatives. Young people can combat c l i m a t e

change not only as members of youth organizations,

but also as individuals. Each of the worlds 1 . 2

billion young women and men has an impact

on the environment. Through the choices

they make in their everyday lives, they

contribute to the preservation or

degradation of their natural sur-

roundings. Historically, the younger

generation has promoted change andembraced innovative values. In many cases,

youth have been the initiators of social

movements that have given rise to cultural and social

transformations. While the young people of today constitute

a major consumer group, many of them are dissatisfied with the consumer

societies in which they live and are seeking alternative lifestyles. This could mean a drive for change.

Young people around the world are increasingly making small but important changes that represent essential

steps in their transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. Youth can start right where they are, and many...

WorldReport

Youth &


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United Nations publication

Sales No. E.10.IV.11

ISBN 978-92-1-130303-2

Copyright United Nations, 2010

All rights reserved.

Printed by the United Nations, New York

This publication is available at www.un.org/youth. It is also available or Kindle, iPad, Nook and othere-book readers. For more details, please visit www.un.org/publications.


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desA

The Department o Economic and Social Aairs o the United Nations Secretariat is a vitalinterace between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and na-tional action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: it compiles, generates andanalyses a wide range o economic, social and environmental data and inormation on whichMembers States o the United Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock opolicy options; it acilitates the negotiations o Member States in many intergovernmental bod-

ies on joint courses o action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and it advisesinterested Governments on the ways and means o translating policy rameworks developedin United Nations conerences and summits into programmes at the country level and, throughtechnical assistance, helps build national capacities.

note

The designations employed and the presentation o material in this publication do not implythe expression o any opinion whatsoever on the part o the Secretariat o the United Nationsconcerning the legal status o any country, territory, city or area or o its authorities, or con-cerning the delimitation o its rontiers or boundaries. The assignment o countries or areas tospecic groupings is or analytical convenience and does not imply any assumption regardingpolitical or other aliation o countries or territories by the United Nations. The designationsdeveloped and developing are intended or statistical and analytical convenience and donot necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area inthe development process.


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eRU ii rui ui

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ngo -vra raiai

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Technical nte

In this publication, unless otherwise indicated,the term youth reers to all those between the

ages o 15 and 24, as refected in the WorldProgramme o Action or Youth. The termyoung people may be used interchangeablywith the word youth in the text.

Nte n cntry rpins andsrpins

Unless otherwise indicated, the ollowing coun-try groupings and subgroupings have beenused in this Report:

Asia: Aghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Hong

Kong Special Administrative Region oChina, Macao Special Administrative Regiono China, Democratic Peoples Republic oKorea, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republico Iran, Japan, Lao Peoples Democratic

exPlAnAtoRY-notes

Reerences to dollars ($) indicate United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.

When a print edition o a source exists, the print version is the authoritative one. United Nations docu-ments reproduced online are deemed ocial only as they appear in the United Nations Ocial Docu-

ment System. United Nations documentation obtained rom other United Nations and non-UnitedNations sources are or inormational purposes only. The Organization does not make any warrantiesor representations as to the accuracy or completeness o such materials.

The llwin areviatins have een sed in the Reprt:


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Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia,Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines,Republic o Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka,Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam;

Sub-Saharan Arica: Angola, Benin, Botswana,Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, CapeVerde, Central Arican Republic, Chad,Comoros, Congo, Cte dIvoire, DemocraticRepublic o the Congo, Djibouti, EquatorialGuinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia,Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya,Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi,Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte,Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria,Runion, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tomeand Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, SierraLeone, Somalia, South Arica, Swaziland,Togo, Uganda, United Republic o Tanzania,Zambia, Zimbabwe;

Latin America: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil,Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, ElSalvador, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), FrenchGuiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras,Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela;

Middle East and North Arica: Algeria, Bahrain,Djibouti, Egypt, Islamic Republic o Iran, Iraq,Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan ArabJamahiriya, Malta, Morocco, Oman, Qatar,Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia,United Arab Emirates, Occupied Palestinian

Territory, Yemen;

Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth

o Independent States: Albania, Armenia,Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland,Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation,Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan,Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, ormerYugoslav Republic o Macedonia;

Small island developing States: AmericanSamoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba,Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British VirginIslands, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cook Islands,

Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji,French Polynesia, Grenada, Guam, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kiribati,Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius,Federated States o Micronesia, Montserrat,Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia,Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau,

Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Samoa,Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles,Singapore, Solomon Islands, Saint Kitts andNevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and theGrenadines, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Tonga,Trinidad and Tobago;

Developed market economies: Australia,Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland,France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand,Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,United Kingdom o Great Britain and Northern

Ireland, United States o America.The llwin symls have eensed in the annex tales inclded intheReport:

Two dots (..) indicate that data are notavailable or are not separately reported.

An em dash () indicates that the item isnil or negligible.

A hyphen (-) indicates that the item is notapplicable.

A minus sign (-) indicates a decit or de-crease, except as indicated.

A ull stop (.) is used to indicate decimals.

A slash (/) between years indicates a statis-tical year, or example, 1990/91.

Use o a hyphen (-) between years, or example,1990-1991, signies the ull period involved, in-cluding the beginning and end years.

Details and percentages in tables do not nec-

essarily add to totals, because o rounding.

Annual rates o growth or change, unless oth-erwise stated, reer to annual compound rates.


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XII

Pia piiv uiui r jb 22

th irai uai 22

cia, fi, a yuh 24

Fia aayi 26

sui r urhr rai 28

III. ADDRESSINg CLIMATE CHANgE AT ITS RooTS 30

cupi par a uaiab iy 31

th ia yuh ar 32

Yu pp ia pri 32

th upi para: d yupp a h a? 33

euai r ha 35

ky aur iv uai ruaiab vp 35

cha i ipi uai ruaiab vp 38

n-ra ia ha uai 39

Prpari yu pp a avaa rjb ppruii 39

euai a raii 42

Yuh rprurhip 44

evira pubi py prra 44

sui r urhr rai 46

IV. MoVINg FoRWARD: YouTH TAKINg ACTIoN ANDMAKINg A DIFFERENCE 48

Pri yuh pariipai ihi h Ui nai 49

Yuh pariipai a h Ui nai

Frar cvi cia cha 51Yuh pariipai: ibi h ar arui pr 54

th ar pariipai 54

Yuh pariipai i ia ha iiiaivaru h r 55

Iri a uai yuh 55


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Yu pp hari irai abuii apaiy 57

Yuh appyi irai auiai hi 58

Yuh ahri a aayi irai 59

Yuh ivv i apaii,bbyi, a avay 60

Yuh ai i uai 61

Yuh ai h iiiaiv 61

Yuh pariipai i piy vp 63

Yuh a parr i ii-ai 64

Yuh biii hv: yuh- raiai 65

th r yu pp i pri ai ha 66

Barrir yuh a a h ay rar 69

cui 69

CALLINg ALL YouTH 72

bIbLIogRAPHY 76

STATISTICAL ANNEX 90

Irui 90

1. Yuh ppuai iiar, 2010 95

2. Urba a rura iribui yuh, 1990-2005 102

3. Yuh iray ra, 1985-2008 108

4. gr r rai r priary, arya riary uai, 2008 116

5. n r rai r priary aary uai, 2008 124

6. Priary ary h raii

ra, 2007-2008 132

7. Yuh abur r pariipai ra, 2008 138

8. Yuh upy iiar 144

9. Yuh ururii a hr privai 154

10. Yuh a aiai a ar 158

11. lai au ah a yuh 164


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IV.2 mairai iiu pp iu i ir-aia vp aia prra a

u ia ari ia ha 50

IV.3 Yuh vi a h h i hcr h Pari (coP 15) 52

IV.4 th au h yuh iuy i aivii arriu ur h aupi h Ui naiFrar cvi cia cha 53

IV.5 Yuh ia apaii ur 65


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IntR

odUctIon

IntRodUctIon

Why yth and climate chanenw?

Climate change is one o the dening chal-lenges o the twenty-rst century. It is a chal-lenge that is global in both its impact and itssolutions but one that is not shared equally,as developing countries are likely to be amongthe most seriously aected by and the leastable to address the consequences o climate

change. Climate change touches every aspecto lie and impinges on development eorts,with consequences ranging rom immediateto long term. Major adjustments are requiredto promote more sustainable patterns o pro-duction and consumption at both the collec-tive and individual levels. Solid evidence existsthat climate change will have a more seriousimpact than initially anticipated and that ad-aptation and mitigation will entail signicantlyhigher costs i action is deerred than i theproblem is addressed now.

Addressing and adjusting to the challenge oclimate change is certain to be a dening ea-ture o the uture o todays youth. It is there-ore critical that young people educate them-selves and become more actively involved incombating this threat. The present Report isdesigned to assist youth and youth organiza-tions in such an endeavour. It is also meant toarm the status o young people as key stake-holders in the ght against climate change.The publication comes at a time when eortsto address climate change are receiving un-paralleled attention in the international arena,

oering youth a unique opportunity or theirvoice to be heard in the debate.


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Youth have long been involved in environmen-tal protection activities at the school and com-munity levels, but the time has come or themto participate more actively in shaping globaldecisions relating to climate change. Youngpeople must contribute to the process o ad-dressing this critical challenge, as they will eel

its impact most acutely throughout their lives.

Young advocates or the environment are be-coming more insistent that their voices beheard. In recent years, youth have been rec-ognized as a constituency, albeit with proba-tionary status, at the annual sessions o theConerence o the Parties to the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC), the worlds most important inter-governmental orum dealing with internationaleorts and commitments to combat climatechange. Young people must continue to move

orward, strengthening their position untilthey occupy a secure place in the decision-making process. To that end, the current WorldYouth Reportprovides an assessment o youthparticipation today and identies steps that canbe taken at the local and international levels toacilitate wider and more eective participationamong youth in addressing climate change.

overview the Reprt

Chapter I provides basic inormation on climatechange as well as an overview o the UnitedNations Framework Convention on ClimateChange and its Kyoto Protocol, the relevantinternational legal and policy ramework rec-ognized by most countries. The chapter con-cludes with a brie outline o the aims o theupcoming United Nations Conerence on Sus-tainable Development, Rio +20.

Chapter II ocuses on the consequences o cli-mate change, exploring how the threat it posesto health and saety, ood security, and liveli-

hood sustainability may directly aect youthdevelopment in developing countries. Thechapter also addresses the possibility o ensu-ing tensions and conficts over the control obasic natural resources and livelihood opportu-nitiesand their potential outcomes, includingmigration.

In chapters III and IV, the ocus shits rom howyoung people are likely to be aected by cli-mate change to how they can contribute toremedying the situation. Chapter III identiestrends in young peoples consumption behav-iours and liestyles. Youth, especially those indeveloped countries, constitute a critical mass

o present and uture consumers, and their con-sumption decisions could become a key actorin reducing or aggravating climate change andits consequences.

An overwhelming majority o youth indicatethat world leaders should do all they can tostop climate change, but do young people taketheir own responsibilities in this context justas seriously? Education has been identied asa crucial tool in raising environmental aware-ness and promoting behaviour change amongyouth. Chapter III highlights education or sus-

tainable development and the role o educationin preparing young people to take advantage ogreen job opportunities. It also includes briemention o additional measures that might betaken to promote green employment optionsor youth.

Chapter IV showcases existing youth mobili-zation eorts and initiatives to combat climatechange. Youth-led environmental organiza-tions constitute a highly successul model osel-mobilization among young people, andsuch bodies are likely to play a critical role in

tackling climate change challenges. The chap-ter concludes with an assessment o whereyouth currently stand in terms o involvement,celebrating recent political developments ac-knowledging young people as legitimate stake-holders in intergovernmental negotiations onclimate change but also identiying barriers toeective youth participation.

The rst three chapters end with a short anno-tated list o reerences or readers interested inmore in-depth inormation on climate change.

Ultimately, the present World Youth Report isintended to highlight the important role playedby youth in addressing climate change and tooer suggestions on how young people mightbe more eectively integrated as individual andcollective agents o change within the realm oclimate change adaptation and mitigation.


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cHAPteR I

YouTH AND CLIMATE CHANgE:

THE bASICS

Climate change is the dening

challenge o our era. No issue is more

undamental to the global challenges

we acereducing poverty

maintaining economic growth

ensuring peace and stability.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General o the

United Nations1

1UN News Centre (2009), Remarks at UNFCCCCOP15 High Level Segment.

cH

APteR

I


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The acts at climate chane

Climate change is happening, and it is hap-pening quickly. Although the issue has been asource o controversy among scientists andpolicymakers, there is growing evidence that theearths temperature is rising and that polar ice

caps and glaciers are melting. For many key pa-rameters, the climate system is already movingbeyond the patterns o natural variability (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007a).

Over the past hundred years, the average tem-perature o the earths surace has increased by0.74 C (see gure I.1) (Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, 2007a). The most compel-ling evidence o climate change has emergedover the past couple o decades, with 11 o the12 warmest years on record occurring between1995 and 2006 (Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change, 2007b).

Fire I.1

Global warming is also leading to a rise in sealevels through thermal expansion o the oceans,glacier retreat, and the melting o ice sheets.Between 1993 and 2003, the global average sealevel increased by approximately 3.1 millimetres.

The extent o Arctic sea ice has shrunk by 2.7 percent per decade over the past 30 years (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007b).During the summers o 2007 and 2008, seasonalmelting created an ice-ree channel in the North-west Passage, a water route through the islandso northern Canada separating the Atlantic andPacic oceans (United Nations Environment Pro-gramme, 2009). Antarctica is also losing ice at anunprecedented rate; it is estimated that ice lossrom the West Antarctic ice sheet increased by60 per cent between 1996 and 2006. I this icesheet were to melt completely, sea levels couldrise by as much as 5 metres (United Nations En-vironment Programme, 2009).

Source: United Nations Environment Programme/GRID-Arendal (n.d.).

Fire I.1

Trends in lal averae srace temperatre

0.6

0.4

0.2

0

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6

1885 1905 1925 1945 1965 1985 2005

Dierences in temperaturerom 1885-1990Mean value, C

Estimated actual glomean tempera

Mean value

1

1

1

1

1

1

-


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8

and reviewers. The eorts o thesescientists are supported by the IPCCsecretariat, which plans, coordinates,and oversees the Panels activities.

The major output o the IPCC is its

assessment reports, which compriseseparate publications rom each work-ing group and, since 1995, a synthesisreport. These scientic reports providethe worlds most comprehensive cov-erage o climate change. The First As-sessment Report, published in 1990,identied climate change as an issuerequiring an international political plat-orm. The Reportserved as a catalystleading to the establishment o theFramework Convention, the landmarkinternational treaty created to reduce

global warming and compel countriesto deal with the consequences o cli-mate change. The Second Assess-ment Report: Climate Change 1995contributed key input to the processleading to the adoption o the KyotoProtocol to the Framework Conventionin 1997. The third and ourth assess-ment reports were published in 2001and 2007 respectively. The participa-tion o the scientic community in thework o the IPCC has grown substan-

tially in terms o both the number oauthors and contributors involved inthe writing and reviewing o the re-ports and the geographic distributionand topics covered in the publications.

Along with the assessment reports, theIPCC produces special reports, meth-odology reports, technical papers, andsupporting materials. Through theseand other means the Panel providesthe United Nations Climate Changesecretariat, the Conerence o the Par-

ties to the Framework Convention, andother environmental conventions withinormation on technical and scienticmatters.

Srce: Inormation summarized andextracted rom the Intergovernmen-tal Panel on Climate Change website(http://www.ipcc/ch).

The united Natins Framewrk

Cnventin n Climate Chane

The Framework Convention is an internationaltreaty that establishes broad goals and rules oraddressing climate change. Its ultimate objec-tive is to ensure that GHG emissions linked to

human activity remain below the level at whichthe climate system is adversely aected. TheConvention is general and fexible in character;its importance derives not rom the provision odetailed environmental protection guidelines,but rather rom its role in securing global recog-nition o climate change as a major challenge.The Convention has laid the groundwork ormore ocused action, including the adoption othe Kyoto Protocol (United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change, 2009c).

The Conerence o the Parties (COP) is the su-

preme body o the Framework Convention. Itcomprises all countries that are Parties to theConvention and usually meets annually or aperiod o about two weeks within the largercontext o the United Nations Climate ChangeConerence. The yearly sessions, which are at-tended by several thousand government del-egates, observer organizations, and journalists,provide the COP with an opportunity to evalu-ate the status o climate change and the eec-tiveness o the treaty (United Nations Frame-work Convention on Climate Change, 2009a;2009b).

The teenth session o the Conerence o theParties (COP 15) was held in Copenhagen rom7 to 18 December 2009. The meeting was at-tended by 120 heads o State and Govern-ment, highlighting the growing importance andurgency attached to climate change by theinternational community. Country leaders andother high-ranking Government ocials anddelegates present at the United Nations Cli-mate Change Conerence adopted the Copen-hagen Accord, through which they committedto signicant emission reductions and to theestablishment o the Copenhagen Green Cli-mate Fund to support action on climate changein developing countries. Following COP 15, 55countries that together account or 78 per cento global emissions pledged to cut and limitgreenhouse gases by 2020 (United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change,2010), and developed countries agreed to pro-vide approximately US$ 30 billion or Climate


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Fund activities during the period 2010-2012(United Nations Framework Convention on Cli-mate Change, 2009c). Throughout 2010, nego-tiations will continue as Member States engagein sustained eorts to convert the Copenhagen

Accord into a legally binding instrument.

At COP 15 or the rst time, youth were o-cially recognized as a ormal constituency (al-beit on probationary terms), legitimizing theirstatus as stakeholders. Over a thousand youngenvironmental activists rom approximately 100countries attended COP 15 (UNFCCC YouthConstituency, 2009a), participating not only inormal interventions but also in activities suchas workshops, media events, and silent dem-onstrations. On 10 December a youth day withthe theme Young and Future Generations washeld. A more detailed description o youth in-volvement in the activities surrounding COP 15

is provided in chapter IV o the present Report.

The Kyt Prtcl t the unitedNatins Framewrk Cnventin nClimate Chane

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 Decem-ber 1997 ater two and a hal years o intensivenegotiations, and entered into orce on 16 Feb-ruary 2005. The Protocol established legallybinding emissions targets or developed coun-

tries and incorporated innovative mechanismsto assist those countries in meeting the targets.

Under the terms o the Kyoto Protocol, 37 in-dustrialized countries and the European Unionas a whole are required to reduce GHG emis-sions by an average o 5 per cent relative to1990 levels over the ve-year period 2008-2012. While the Framework Convention en-courages industrialized countries to stabilizeGHG emissions, the Protocol commits them todoing so. In recognition o the act that the cur-rent high levels o GHG emissions are a result

o more than 150 years o industrial activity, theProtocol places a heavier burden on developednations.

The Kyoto Protocol introduces three mecha-nisms that provide countries with fexible op-tions or meeting their commitments. The rstis emissions trading, which allows countrieswith spare emission units to sell this excesscapacity to countries that have exceeded their

targets. Since carbon dioxide is the principalGHG, this mechanism is oten reerred to asthe carbon market. Second is the Clean De-velopment Mechanism (CDM), which allowsa country with an emission-reduction or emis-sion-limitation commitment to implementan emission-reduction project in developing

countries. Such projects can earn saleable cer-tied emission reduction (CER) credits, eachequivalent to one ton o CO2, which can becounted towards meeting Kyoto targets (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, n.d.).

An example o a CDM project might be a ruralelectrication project using solar panels or theinstallation o more energy-ecient boilers. TheCDM, operational since the beginning o 2006,has registered more than 1,650 projects to date(United Nations Framework Convention on Cli-mate Change, n.d.). The third mechanism is

joint implementation, which allows a countrywith an emission reduction or limitation com-mitment to earn emission reduction units(ERUs) rom an emission-reduction or emissionremoval project in another country with low-er emission-reduction or emission-limitationtargets (Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange, n.d.).

The CDM and joint implementation mechanismallow developed countries to transer some otheir technologies or reducing GHG emissionsto countries that are expected to become moreindustrialized. As stipulated in the Protocol,countries actual emissions, as well as theirtransactions, are monitored and recorded bythe United Nations Climate Change secretariat,based in Bonn, Germany.

The Kyoto Protocol is generally regarded as animportant rst step towards the establishmento a truly global emission reduction regimethat will stabilize GHG emissions, providingthe essential architecture or international cli-mate change agreements yet to come (UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate

Change, n.d.).Almost two decades ater the adoption o theFramework Convention and more than a de-cade ater the adoption o the Kyoto Protocol,there is a growing consensus that addressingclimate change requires both stronger emis-sion reduction eorts among developed coun-tries and the active participation o develop-ing countries, in particular the large emerging


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cHAPteR

II

cHAPteR II

Cmprmised tres? Ythdevelpment and the eects climate chane

Climate change is a real phenomenon, andits eects are apparent. There are importanttipping points that may already have beenreached or passed, causing irreversible dam-age to many human and ecological systems.


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(United Nations Development Programme, Bu-reau or Crisis Prevention and Recovery, 2004;Center or Hazards and Risk Research at Co-lumbia University, 2005).

While extreme weather events are more likelyto aect the subregions mentioned above,

other parts o the world are vulnerable as well,as climate change is a truly global phenom-enon. Populations unaccustomed to particularnatural hazards oten do not have adequateresponse mechanisms in place. An upsurge indemand or emergency services and suppliesollowing a natural disaster may put a severestrain on institutions, creating a orce multipliereect whereby health concerns are elevated toa health and saety crisis.

particlarly where sanitatin is

pr and wastewater manaementinscient

In many o these contexts, the higher incidenceo extreme weather events combined with poorsanitation can give rise to pervasive healththreats. Climate change is oten associatedwith periods o excessive or insucient pre-cipitation. Where fooding occurs the water canbecome contaminated with human and animalexcrement, while extended drought can reducethe amount o water available or washing andsanitation. Under such circumstances, cholera,

typhoid and diarrhoeal diseases can fourish(McMichael and others, 2003; Prss-stn,Bos, and Gore, 2008).

More than a quarter o the worlds youth livein countries where at least two thirds o thepopulation does not have access to adequatesanitation (World Health Organization and Unit-ed Nations Childrens Fund, 2006). All o thesecountries are in Arica, Asia, or Oceania. Ac-cording to the Townsend Centre or Interna-tional Poverty Research, some 30-50 per cento youth in most Arican countries are deprived

o adequate sanitation, and the situation is thesame or at least 30 per cent o young peoplein six Asian countries (United Nations, 2007b).Health conditions can deteriorate rapidly un-der circumstances such as these. At present,the incidence o diarrhoeal diseases potential-ly attributable to climate change is highest inSouth-East Asia, where more than 100 millionyoung women and men reside (United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change,2007a; United Nations, 2009c).

Even in countries with adequate sanitationand water treatment acilities, extreme weath-er events may disrupt water supplies as sys-tems are overloaded during and ater intensestorm activity. Water contaminated with bio-logical and chemical toxins (wastewater) mayspill over into bodies o water and agriculturallands. Wastewater exposure and consumptionnot only threatens human health but may alsodevastate ecosystems.

Redced access t clean water cm-

prmises health

Climate change has a direct impact on waterquality, with negative implications or health.Clean water is essential or survival (Prss-stn, Bos and Gore, 2008). However, potablesupplies will come under growing pressureas the warming temperatures associated withclimate change increase water pollution rombacterial growth and algal blooms (Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007b),leading to a rise in the transmission o diar-rhoeal diseases and bacterial inectionsotenwith deadly consequences. Already, more than560 million Arican youth do not have accessto sae drinking water (United Nations, 2007b).

Extended periods o drought expected in someareas as a result o climate change could urtherlimit access to clean water or many, leading tohealth consequences associated with malnutri-tion, dehydration, and inadequate sanitation.

Hiher temperatres increase exp-

sre t disease

Not all o the maniestations o climate changewith implications or health are as dramatic asthe extreme weather events and water scar-city issues addressed above. The act is thatthe warming temperatures alone can increaseyouth exposure to health risks, including vec-tor-borne diseases. A prime example is dengueever, which has been identied by the WorldHealth Organization as one o the endemic dis-eases to which a signicant proportion o theglobal population will be exposed. The geog-raphy o this disease is related to consistentlywarm temperatures and adequate precipitation.


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the Townsend Centre or International PovertyResearch, more than hal o all Arican youthlack adequate shelter, and the same is true ormore than one third o young people in somecountries in Asia and in Latin America and theCaribbean (United Nations, 2007b). It is theseyouth who are most likely to eel the heat.

The d secrity dilemma

Food security is already being threatened byclimatic shits. This issue raises importantconcerns about hunger, poverty, health, andproductivityand thereore about broaderprospects or human development. Food avail-ability and access constitute one o the mostbasic and essential requirements or maintain-ing healthy and productive lives. At present,hunger and malnutrition combined comprise

the number-one threat to human health (WorldFood Programme, 2009). Climate change willcontinue to aect all aspects o ood security,especially in Arica, Asia, and Latin America andthe Caribbean (Bates and others, 2008; Foodand Agriculture Organization o the United Na-tions, 2009b), where more than 1 billion youngmen and women live (United Nations, 2009c).

Food insecurity is likely to be particularly chal-lenging or developing countries that are vul-nerable to extreme weather events and thathave low incomes and a high incidence o hun-

ger and poverty (Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change, 2007b; Food and AgricultureOrganization o the United Nations, 2009b).Residents o these areas are already at risk andwill nd it hard to overcome the ood produc-tion and income losses resulting rom extremeweather events. Such a situation could meanshort-term and long-term losses in ood avail-ability and access. Short-term inrastructuraldamage rom extreme weather events o grow-ing intensity may also make ood distribution

dicult.

Young women are likely to be the most seri-ously aected by compromised ood security.The results o research carried out in India indi-cate that nutritional decits are greater amonggirls than among boys when ood is scarceand/or when ood prices are high. The researchalso shows that rainall shortages, which serveto reduce ood availability, are more stronglycorrelated with death among girls than among

boys (Stern, 2007). Distinct social and culturalpreerences and customs aecting girls andboys translate into dierent gender-specicvulnerabilities within and across regions. Inmost cases, these norms work to the detrimento young emales (United Nations ChildrensFund, Innocenti Research Centre, 2008).

Much o the potential threat to ood securitycomes rom the negative eect climate changecould have on agriculture. Agricultural produc-tivity could decline between 9 and 21 per centin developing countries as a result o climatechange (Food and Agriculture Organization othe United Nations, 2009b). It is likely that sucha decrease would derive largely rom shits inhydrological patterns and compromised wateravailability, as agriculture accounts or 70 percent o global water use (Bates and others,2008; Food and Agriculture Organization o the

United Nations, 2009a).

Projections indicate that with the combina-tion o climate change, population growth, andthe consequent increase in demand or ood,energy, and biouels, almost hal o the globalpopulation could be living in areas o high wa-ter stress by 2030 (United Nations World Water

Assessment Programme, 2009). The anticipat-ed rise in temperatures and sea levels owingto climate change will aect the availability oreshwater sources, with a negative impact onboth quantity and quality. In addition, the rateo glacier and snow-cover retreat is likely toincrease throughout the twenty-rst century,reducing water availability and hydropowerpotential and changing the seasonality o melt-water fows in regions where major mountainranges are key water supply sources (Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007b).

Rice, wheat, and maize production has de-clined in some parts o Asia because o the in-crease in water stress brought about by climatechange. At present, the worlds highest rates

o malnutrition attributable to climate changeare ound in South-East Asia (United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change,2007a; Bates and others, 2008). Communitiesin China, India, and Pakistan, which togetheraccount or more than 40 per cent o the worldsyouth, will be especially hard hit by the reduc-tion in meltwater fows rom the Himalayas andother high, mountainous areas. In act, India is


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Ongoing confict can exacerbate the conse-quences o climate change in aected areas.Many young people in the developing worldreside in areas that have endured extendedperiods o armed confict, resulting in seriousresource depletion and reduced adaptive ca-pacity (Harbom, Melander and Wallensteen,2008). Prolonged confict has direct and indi-rect health consequences relating to displace-ment, the breakdown o health and socialservices, and the heightened risk o diseasetransmission. Any threat climate change posesto youth development is likely to be aggravated

by drawn-out conficts.

FInAl AnAlYsIs

Climate change potentially represents a ma-jor threat to the health and socio-economicstability o youthparticularly in developingcountries, where the vast majority o youngpeople live. Certain groups, such as indigenous

youth, are especially vulnerable and are likelyto encounter even greater obstacles within thecontexts highlighted in this chapter (see boxII.4). Unless the causes and consequences oclimate change are addressed very soon, theyouth o today and tomorrow may eectivelybe prevented rom participating ully and pro-ductively in society, which could have a seri-ous impact on national development in the longterm.

bx II.4

Climate chane andindiens yth

Regardless o where they live in theworld, indigenous youth are among themost vulnerable to the threats posedby climate change. In some cases,they are also among those who standto lose the most as a result o inter-

Source: United Nations Environment Programme/GRID-Arendal (2009a).

Fire II.2

Dependency rati in renewale water

Note: The dependency ratio in renewable water represents the percentage o total renewable water resources originat-ing outside o a country. This serves as a good indicator o the potential or tension and confict over water-sharing.


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which violates the provisions o theUnited Nations Declaration on theRights o Indigenous Peoples, ad-opted by the United Nations General

Assembly on 13 September 2007. This

is already occurring in some areas andin certain instances has led to confict.Disputes may also arise over water,wood, or other dwindling resources inindigenous lands and territories.

sUggestIons FoR

FURtHeR ReAdIng

Food and Agriculture Organization o theUnited Nations (2009). New challenges:climate change and bioenergy. Issue pa-per prepared or the World Summit onFood Security, held in Rome rom 16 to18 November 2009. Available romtp://tp.a.r/dcrep/a/meetin/018/

k5987e.pd.

This brie paper, produced by the Food andAgriculture Organization o the United Nationsor the 2009 World Summit on Food Security,provides a summary o the impact o climate

change and bioenergy development on oodsecurity.

Ganeshan, Shamanthy, and Wayne Dia-mond (2009). Forecasting the numberso people aected by natural disastersup to 2015. Oxam papers and reportson climate change, 2009. Available romhttp://www.xam.r.k/resrces/

plicy/climate_chane/dwnlads/

recastin_disasters_2015.pd.

Ganeshan and Diamond oer projections on

the human impact o climate change, predict-ing that by 2015 more than 375 million peopleper year will be aected by climate-related di-sasters.

International Organization or Migration(2009). Migration, climate change andthe environment. IOM Policy Brie. Ge-neva, May. Available rom http://im.ch/jahia/wedav/shared/shared/main-

site/plicy_and_research/plicy_dc-

ments/plicy_rie_envmi.pd.

This policy brie provides a general introductionto the dynamic relationship between migration,climate change, and the environment and de-scribes the Organizations perspectives and in-volvement in this eld.

McMichael, A. J., and others, eds. (2003).Climate Change and Human Health:

Risks and Responses. Geneva: WorldHealth Organization. Available romhttp://www.wh.int/lalchane/

plicatins/cchhk/en/.

Produced jointly by the World Health Organi-zation, World Meteorological Organization, andUnited Nations Environment Programme, thispublication addresses the present and utureimpact o climate change on human health andproposes ways in which societies can moder-ate those eects through adaptation strategiesand the reduction o GHG emissions.

United Nations Childrens Fund, Inno-centi Research Centre (2008). ClimateChange and Children: A Human Security

Challenge. Policy Review Paper. Avail-able rom http://www.nice-irc.r/plicatins/pd/climate_chane.pd.

This policy review paper examines the vul-nerability o children and young people in the

context o a changing climate and in the con-texts o global, national, and subnational poli-cies and rameworks on climate change andhuman security. It is argued in the publicationthat existing agreements and policies do notsuciently address childrens issues within thebroader rameword o climate change.

United Nations Framework Conven-tion on Climate Change (2007). ClimateChange: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Ad-aptation in Developing Countries. Bonn,Germany. Available rom http://nccc.int/resrce/dcs/plicatins/im-

pacts.pd.

This publication highlights the needs and con-cerns o developing countries as they adaptto the eects o climate change. The book de-scribes the impact o and adaptation to climatechange in Arica, Asia, Latin America, and smallisland developing States.


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cHAPteR IIIAddressin climate chane at itsrts

Climate change is a global challenge, with dis-cussions tending to ocus on the greenhousegas emissions o countries or regions. Gov-ernments must impose solutions, but it is alsoessential that climate change be addressedsustainably at the human level. Developing asense o ownership and accountability beginswith explicit acknowledgement that it is the

behaviour and liestyles o individuals and thesocieties in which they live that are ultimatelyresponsible or the emissions that drive cli-mate change.

cHAPteR

III


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Chapter III examines how young peopleschoices are aecting the environment. Manyyouth do not ully understand the environmentalimpact o their liestyles. Education can play akey role in helping them make the connectionbetween their consumption behaviourand ecological concerns. It can also

help prepare young people to take ad-vantage o environmental advocacyopportunities and the growing numbero green jobs available, providing themwith opportunities to eect change inthe workplace and the world.

consUmPtIon

PAtteRns AndsUstAInABle

lIFestYlesHuman consumption is a major contributor toclimate change. What people consume andhow they consume it aects the natural envi-ronment. A signicant amount o energy is re-quired or the production, transportation, use,and disposal o the goods consumed, result-ing in substantial GHG emissions. Moreover,the extraction o natural resources, the use owater, and the creation o pollution associatedwith the various stages o the consumptionprocess contribute to environmental degrada-tion in general. Across the spectrumrom thedesperate struggle to meet basic needs to theexcessive use o resources to satisy wantsconsumption puts enormous stress on the en-vironment. The present chapter will ocus onthe latter end o the spectrum.

The human race has consumed more naturalresources in the past 50 years than in all othe previous years o human history combined(Bentley, Fien and Neil, 2004). In many devel-oped and emerging economies, the growth othe market-based system has been paralleledby the emergence o a consumer society. Insuch a society, the quality o lie o individu-alsand even the denition o happinessisincreasingly associated with the expansion oownership o material goods (Clover, 2001).

What, exactly, is consumption? The term isgenerally associated with the use o goods andservices, including ood or energy. However,that is just one aspect o the consumption pro-cess. As illustrated in gure III.1, consumption

actually involves the selection and purchase oproducts, their use, and their disposal. Eacho these three stages has an eect on theenvironment.

Consumption and energy-intensive liestylesare not equally distributed around the world. Itis estimated that the 12 per cent o the worldspopulation living in North America and West-ern Europe account or 60 per cent o globalprivate consumer spending; in contrast, theone third living in South Asia and sub-Saharan

Arica account or only 3 per cent (Gardner, As-sadourian and Sarin, 2004).

Much o the available data relating to youngpeoples sustainable consumption patterns

and liestyles ocus on youth in the urban andsuburban areas o developed countries. Theseyouth constitute a minority, but it is their be-haviour that has the greatest environmental im-pact. Conversely, the 79 per cent o the worldsyouth who live in regions where agriculture ac-counts or more than one third o employmentand where almost hal o all youth are rural resi-dents generally leave a substantially smallercarbon ootprint, but will bear the brunt o cli-mate change over their lietimes.

While inequalities in consumption remain high,

growing numbers o people in developing coun-tries are adopting liestyles that incorporate themaniestations o a modern existence, includ-ing rerigerators, televisions, computers, andautomobiles. It is estimated that the number oindividuals with discretionary spending powerworldwide is approaching 1.7 billion peopleand that nearly hal live in developing econo-mies (United Nations and United Nations Envi-ronment Programme, 2007). This trend seems

Fire III.1The cnsmptin prcess

Source: Anders Nyberg and Eivind St (2001).


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Nations Educational, Scientic and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) launched a survey in2000 on the consumption patterns o more than5,000 middle-class urban youth in 24 countries.The UNEP/UNESCO Survey on Youth and Con-sumption: Is the Future Yours? constituted parto the UNESCO/UNEP project on Youth, Sus-

tainable Consumption and Lie Styles. The ewother existing studies on young peoples per-ceptions about sustainable consumption havesupported the ndings o the UNEP/UNESCOresearch. UNEP is currently in the process oconducting a ollow-up study, the Global Sur-vey on Sustainable Liestyles, which will shedmore light on the perceptions and behaviourso youth in developing countries with regard tosustainable consumption and liestyles.

bx III.1

Denin sstainale liestyles

Sustainable liestyles can be denedas practices and choices at the indi-vidual and collective levels that enableindividuals to meet their needs andaspirations with a sense o responsi-bility or the well-being o present anduture populations, taking into accountthe environmental and social conse-quences o their actions. Sustainableconsumption behaviour is an impor-

tant component o a sustainable lie-style and is characterized by the ol-lowing: satisying basic human needsrather than the desire or luxuries;valuing quality-o-lie concerns overmaterial standards o living; minimiz-ing resource use, waste and pollution;taking a lie-cycle perspective in con-sumer decision-making; and actingwith concern or uture generations.

Srce: Matthew Bentley, John Fienand Cameron Neil (2004), Sustainable

Consumption: Young Australians asAgents o Change.

The consumer behaviour o young people sug-gests that their concern or the environment isnot refected in their purchasing decisions. TheUNEP/UNESCO study ound that young peo-ple oten ailed to consider all three phases oconsumptionshopping behaviour, the use o

products, and the disposal o productsin as-sessing the eect o their own consumption onthe environment. Most recognized the environ-mental impact o the second and third phasesbut did not acknowledge the critical role theirinitial product selection and purchase playedwithin this context. Whether it is a case o not

knowing enough or not caring enough, environ-mental concerns appear to be given lower pri-ority than other criteria in shopping decisions.The UNEP/UNESCO Survey ound that environ-mental impact was assigned less weight thanactors such as trendiness, price, and quality inyoung peoples buying decisions (Nyberg andSt, 2001). These results were conrmed bysubsequent studies, which showed that vari-ables such as price, brand name, quality, andpeer pressure all seemed to exert a greaterinfuence on young peoples purchasing deci-sions than did sustainability considerations. In

act, an Australian study ound that only 1 percent o young respondents ound the sustain-ability o a product to be the most importantactor infuencing their consumption (Bentley,Fien and Neil, 2004).

Several actors, including age, education, andgender, seem to infuence youth perspectiveson sustainable living. A number o studies haveconrmed that younger members o the youthcohort are less inclined than older youth to be-lieve they consume too much and are less con-scious o the eects o their behaviour (see, or

example, Bentley, Fien and Neil, 2004; and Au-tio and Heinonen, 2004). Interest in sustainabledevelopment and sustainable consumption ap-pears to be positively correlated with the levelo education (Maggi and others, 2001). Withrespect to gender, many studies have showna particular tendency among girls and womento avour green values. Whereas males seemto associate environmentally conscious behav-iour with limitations on their personal reedom,emales generally appear to understand it as arefection o the need to take action (Autio andHeinonen, 2004). In the UNEP/UNESCO study,

more young women than young men reportedbasing their purchasing decisions on the eco-riendliness o a product (Nyberg and St, 2001).

The incongruity between young peoples pro-essed concern or the environment and theirconsumption behaviour is linked to severalreal and perceived barriers that may deterthem rom adopting sustainable consumptionpractices and liestyles (Bentley, Fien and Neil,


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2004). Many young people perceive existinggreen products to be incompatible with theirneeds, too expensive, or not readily available.In some cases, there may be no green prod-ucts that can substitute or everyday goods orthat serve the same identity-building unctionas the more popular consumer items. A sub-

stantial number o young people acknowledgethat they may require more inormation aboutalternative products and services. Youth alsoneed to be made aware o what constitutesover-consumption, as they may nd it increas-ingly dicult to ignore the constant barrage oadvertising messages directed at them.

Although many young people are genuinelyconcerned about the environment and climatechange, their purchasing behaviour and leisureactivities suggest that they do not ully compre-hend the extent to which their purchases andactions aect the planet. Helping youth under-stand and acknowledge the impact their lie-styles have on the environment can help themmake the connection between their consump-tion behaviour and environmental concerns.Education plays a crucial role in this regard.

edUcAtIon FoR

cHAnge

Environmental education is a prerequisite oreective youth engagement and participation

in eorts to address climate change. Youngpeople need to be well-inormed about climatechange science and mitigation options and tobe made aware o the consequences o theirconsumption behaviour so that they can playa strong role in combating climate change andpromoting changes in attitudes and behav-iours. Education and training in the eld o cli-mate change can also prepare young people totake advantage o new employment opportuni-ties arising rom the shit to a greener economy.

Climate change education is an element o the

broader interdisciplinary ramework o educa-tion or sustainable development, which pro-motes understanding o the social, cultural,economic, and environmental dimensions osustainability and teaches students how to makedecisions that take into account the long-termuture o the economy, ecology, and society.

In addition to helping put the world on a moresustainable path in the uture, climate change

education can produce tangible benets to-day. For instance, teaching energy-saving andresource-conserving behaviours not only pro-motes sustainable liestyles but can also leadto cost savings. Similarly, learning about disas-ter risk reduction in schools can increase stu-dents awareness and understanding o their

immediate environment and provide them withempowering tools that will acilitate their activeinvolvement in preserving the saety o theircommunities. Young people can also dissemi-nate inormation on disaster risk management,educating their amilies and communities aboutdisaster preparedness (Regional ConsultativeCommittee on Disaster Management, 2007).When the residents o an area are aware o therisks around them and take the time to developcrisis response strategies, the injuries, dam-age, and trauma associated with disaster situ-ations are signicantly reduced.

Key eatres eective edcatin

r sstainale develpment

Education or sustainable development can bepresented as a cross-cutting, interdisciplinarytheme or integrated into the curricula o exist-ing subjects such as geography, earth science,chemistry, economics, social studies, biol-ogy, and technology. The learning outcomeso climate change education and educationor sustainable development should includethe acquisition o attitudes, knowledge, skills,and behaviour that promote scientic inquiry,ecological and social responsibility, communityaction and involvement, and global solidarity(Thoresen, 2008).

Experience has shown that it is important tocomplement thematic teaching with practicalactivities and projects. These help make ab-stract inormation and theories more concreteand allow young people to see the connectionbetween the target messages and their every-day lives. Students who are able to identiy the

direct relevance o a concept to their own livesare more likely to retain the inormation and actupon it. An ineective approach to promotingenvironmental awareness would be to teachonly the scientic acts, leaving out any reer-ence to the personal and social relevance othe inormation (Uzzell, 1999). In environmentaleducation, the connection between the stu-dent, climate change, and personal action isbest emphasized through active learning meth-


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Improving energy eciency in building andconstruction constitutes another area with con-siderable potential or creating green jobs oryouth. There are currently 4 million jobs in Eu-rope and the United States devoted to energyresource optimization, and this number couldincrease signicantly. Youth who are willing to

complete apprenticeships in this eld may ndthemselves well positioned to take advantageo new employment opportunities in the com-ing years.

Young people, in particular rural youth whoseek continuity in their livelihoods, may wantto take advantage o green jobs aimed at mini-mizing the negative impact o climate changeon agriculture. Various eorts are under way tomake agriculture more sustainable, both by re-ducing its eects on the environment and bysaeguarding it against the consequences o

environmental change. Organic arming is onearea with enormous growth potential. This typeo production is environmentally riendly, butit is also relatively labour-intensive, so a con-tinued shit in this direction could lead to thecreation o more jobs in the agriculture sector.Organic arming is expanding rapidly; in 2006,sales in this subsector amounted to US$ 100billion globally (United Nations EnvironmentProgramme and others, 2008).

The rural non-arm economy, which accountsor 35-50 per cent o rural income across de-

veloping countries, also constitutes a poten-tial source o green jobs or youth (Haggblade,Hazell and Reardon, 2009). Rural non-armsectors, including energy production, trade,agroprocessing, manuacturing, and commer-cial and service activities, represent a viablecomplement or alternative to agriculture instimulating rural income growth. Although non-arm sectors still requently rely on a robust andsuccessul agricultural sector, these two seg-ments o the rural economy are increasinglydecoupling as improved inrastructure opensup new opportunities that are less dependent

on agriculture.

A number o dierent jobs or youth can begenerated in environmental protection andsustainable land management. In South Arica,the Governments Expanded Public Works Pro-gramme has created more than 800,000 jobsin inrastructure, services, and agriculture.One particular programme, Working or Wa-ter, has provided at least 6,000 young people

with short-term employment and is describedin some detail later in the chapter (IRIN, 2009).

The recycling industry may oer young peopleentrepreneurial opportunities; however, care-ul implementation is necessary to ensure thatpractices undermining human development arenot perpetuated. While recycling is a growth in-dustry that accounts or a substantial numbero new jobs, many o these do not constitutedecent work and are concentrated in the inor-mal sector, where wages tend to be relativelylow and conditions precarious. Nevertheless,young people in developing countries havesuccessully started small-scale recycling busi-nesses, an area with great potential or expan-sion (see box III.6).

bx III.6

City arae recyclers in lw-incme estates

A orward-thinking entrepreneur andormer truck driver, Andrew Macha-ria, won grants and awards to ad-dress the ever-increasing problem osolid waste, especially plastic bags,in the slums o Nairobi. With the sup-port o local authorities and the Gov-ernment o Kenya, the Kenya Instituteo Manuacturers, the United NationsChildrens Fund, the United Nations

Development Programme, and othercollaborators, he helped set up 20community groups to collect plas-tic polyethylene waste products andturn them into reusable items such asence posts, roong tiles, rain gutters,and washbasins. The groups, whichare all part o a cooperative primarilymade up o youth and women, have al-ready collected more than 100 metrictons o waste. The project has createdemployment or over 500 women andyouth and has helped raise income

or over 5,000 Nairobi slum residents.The project has also allowed coopera-tive members to save and take part incredit schemes, urther improving theirlivelihoods. Macharia is encouragingthe ormation o additional recyclingcooperatives and small business ven-tures that turn urban waste into prod-ucts such as charcoal briquettes,


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42

nutrient-rich soil, and mattresses, all owhich are ultimately sold back to thecommunity.

Srce: City Garbage Recyclers, Ke-nya (2008), Unclogging sewers and

drainage systems in Nairobis low-in-come estates.

The green economy must be developed in abalanced and sustainable manner, with at-tention given to social development consid-erations. Green jobs have the potential to en-hance employment in rural areas and acrossthe globe. However, without careul implemen-tation and proper monitoring, some green ac-tivities, including certain recycling practicesand the production o biouel crops, could ac-

tually undermine human development by, orexample, perpetuating substandard workingconditions or threatening ood security (Foodand Agriculture Organization o the United Na-tions, 2009b).

With climate change expected to bring aboutmajor shits in the labour market and with un-precedented numbers o youth entering thelabour market in the years to come, Govern-ments must strive to ensure that young peopleare ready to take advantage o new environ-ment-oriented employment opportunities. Cur-

rently, too ew o the green jobs that are beingcreated are lled by youth, primarily becausemost lack the necessary skills. This is alsohampering growth in green sectors. Green en-ergy operators have noted that one o the pri-mary impediments to continued growth in thecoming years will be insucient access to newtalent and employees. Although some progresshas been made in providing young people withthe knowledge and technical skills they need totake advantage o new employment opportuni-ties aorded by the shit to a greener economy,much remains to be done.

Edcatin and trainin

As new entrants to the labour orce, youth havean advantage over many adults in that theyare less likely to suer the negative eects otechnological change. While older workers mayexperience job dislocation with the introductiono new technologies to combat climate change,youth are well positioned to acquire the req-

uisite skills while they are still in education ortraining programmes.

In response to the increased interest in green-ing the workorce, universities and other post-secondary institutions have set up specializedprogrammes designed to ensure that youthacquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Inrecent years, the number o university coursesand degrees ocusing on environmental issues,renewable energy, and sustainable practiceshas surged.

Although tertiary studies can prepare studentsor a proessional career in the environmentsector, many green jobs do not require a uni-versity degree. Adjusting educational curriculaand encouraging youth to take up technolo-gy-related subjects in secondary school areimportant steps in acilitating the transition togreen employment. Vocational training orientedtowards new technologies is equally essential.This type o training can range rom coursesat secondary schools and workorce develop-ment centres to longer, more specialized post-secondary programmes that prepare candi-dates or positions requiring particular skills.

Along with classroom-based learning and or-mal vocational training, green internships con-stitute an important means o promoting youngpeoples interest in environmental employmentand acilitating the development o relevant oc-cupational skills. In the United States, the pub-lic transport sector has launched several ini-tiatives that provide internship and educationopportunities or young people. The Coner-ence o Minority Transportation Ocials has aninternship programme or students, and similaropportunities that expose youth to the work-ings o the sector are oered by municipalitiesand campuses around the country throughthe National Summer Transportation Institute(United States Department o Transportation,Federal Highway Administration, Oce o CivilRights, 2007). During the Summer Institute

students learn about problems such as traccongestion, inecient modes o transportation,urban sprawl and appropriate land-use plan-ning, as well as sustainable transportation in-rastructure and energy eciency in the designo transportation projects. This initiative aimsat creating awareness o transportation careersamong secondary school students and encour-ages them to consider transportation-relatedcourses in their higher-education pursuits.


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Recent experience in green job training hasyielded valuable lessons. First, in order to en-sure the maintenance o high standards and

job transerability, certication programmesmust be developed; both Governments andindustry leaders can play an important role inthis regard. Second, training institutions must

work closely with local employers and indus-try associations to meet emerging labour de-mand. Finally, it may still be necessary to raiseawareness among some employers about theuture potential o green sectors. A survey con-ducted in Australia among young tradespeopleindicated that youth were willing to learn greenskills; 87 per cent o the respondents were ei-ther interested or very interested in acquir-ing such skills, but three quarters o them eltthey lacked the knowledge and opportunity topursue their interest. While a signicant propor-tion o those surveyed cited cost as an obsta-

cle to the implementation o green skills on thejob, an even larger percentage identied lacko interest by employer or work attitudes asbarriers (Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2008).

Aside rom ensuring that young people are pro-vided with a quality education and appropri-ate skills training, there are two key strategiesthat may be adopted to help youth make thetransition to green jobs: promoting green entre-preneurship and (temporarily, at least) involv-ing them in environmental public employmentschemes.

Yth entreprenership

With increasing numbers o youth joining thelabour market, entrepreneurship can be animportant source o job creation and can o-er young people the chance to eect change.Young entrepreneurs can exploit opportunitiesto promote environmental sustainability in anumber o dierent sectors including agricul-ture, renewable energy, and recycling.

Young peoples entrepreneurial potential is u-

elled by their creativity and willingness to trynew approaches. However, their relative inex-perience and limited resources and networksplace them at a disadvantage. Starting a newbusiness is risky, and potential entrepreneursmust be well prepared. In order to ensure theviability o green youth ventures, young peoplemust be provided with entrepreneurship train-ing, including support in the development obusiness plans and access to technology and

technical know-how. Once the groundwork hasbeen laid, seed grants and manageable nanc-ing options need to be made available to youthto start their own businesses.

In some regions, notably the Middle East andNorth Arica, entrepreneurship is still regardedas less appealing than public sector employ-ment. In these areas, new initiatives that osteran entrepreneurial spirit among youth shouldbe implemented, and increased emphasis ongreen and social entrepreneurship should beincorporated in existing initiatives.

Envirnmental plic emplyment

prrammes

Environmental public employment programmescan provide young people with marketable skillsand work opportunities while at the same timeengaging them in environmental rehabilitationand conservation. Historically, public employ-ment programmes have been used to create

jobs or the poor and unemployed in times ocrisis. In some cases, these jobs have contrib-uted to environmental sustainability while alsoproviding a livelihood or those in need. TheCivilian Conservation Corps, established in theUnited States in 1933 as one o the New Dealprogrammes during the Great Depression, isone such example. Active until 1942, this initia-tive provided employment or 2 million people.The Corps planted between 2 billion and 3 bil-

lion trees, controlled erosion on 40 million acreso armland, acilitated mosquito control over230,000 acres o land, established 711 Stateparks, and developed 3 million acres o landor park use (Lieuw-Kie-Song, 2009). Althoughthis type o environmental public employmentprogramme typically targets the poor, a casecould be made or expanding it to include un-employed youth.

In response to the global nancial and econom-ic crisis set in motion in 2008, leaders aroundthe world have called or the implementation o

the Green Economy Initiative, or Global GreenNew Deal, launched by UNEP. Components othis initiative could be executed through publicemployment programmes, with specic areaso concentration selected on the basis o localand national needs and priorities. A numbero countries, including India and South Arica,have piloted public employment initiatives thatprovide poor unemployed or underemployedindividuals with labour-intensive work, and


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many o these could be adapted to providegreen jobs or youth (Lieuw-Kie-Song, 2009).The Working or Water initiative in South A-rica is one such example (see box III.7). Publicemployment schemes could also be a useulmechanism or involving youth in specic in-dustries such as public transportation, which

might otherwise not seem like an obvious ca-reer choice or young people.

bx III.7

Yth emplyment thrhinvasive alien species

eradicatin

Under the South Arican GovernmentsExpanded Public Works Programme,more than 800,000 jobs have been

created in sectors such as inrastruc-ture, services, and agriculture. Oneparticular programmeWorking orWaterhas provided at least 6,000young people with short-term jobs andtraining in clearing invasive alien spe-cies and has supplied them with the in-ormation and experience they need tostart their own micro-enterprises in thediscipline. The Programme employsout-o-work youth and poor residentsto clear areas where invasive alien

species o plants are causing prob-lems. Such eorts allow less-water-demanding native vegetation to four-ish, increase stream fows and wateravailability, raise land productivity andhence land values, and strengthen re-silience to res.

The Programmes success has spurredthe creation o spin-o initiatives us-ing a similar labour-intensive, cost-eective, and sustainable approach todealing with natural resource issues.

These initiatives include Working orWetlands, Working on Fire, Workingor the Coast, Working on Waste, andmore recently, Working or Forests andWorking or Energy. The last initia-tive listed is designed to help provideuniversal access to aordable energyservices through the use o decentral-ized renewable energy technologies

such as solar water heaters. Becausethese types o technologies play suchan important role in climate changemitigation and adaptation, there issubstantial support or the rapid im-plementation and scaling up o this

initiative, which could greatly benetenergy-poor communities and unem-ployed youth.

Srces: Maikel R. Lieuw-Kie-Song(2009), Green Jobs or the Poor: APublic Employment Approach; andIRIN (2009), South Arica: need to cre-ate more jobs or the youth.

In order to ensure sustained success, envi-ronmental public employment programmesmust include components that acilitate youngparticipants transition to more permanentemployment. One option might be to estab-lish a link between these public employmentprogrammes and existing youth training pro-grammes in order to provide young people withtargeted skills and environmental awareness sothat they will be able to identiy entrepreneur-ship opportunities in the eld o environmen-tal conservation and rehabilitation (Lieuw-Kie-Song, 2009).

Despite the divide between the environmen-tal concerns and the consumption behaviouramong youth, progress is being made. Cli-mate change education is critical to bridge thisgap and can teach youth to adopt a lie-cycleperspective when making their consumptionchoices. What is important is or young peo-ple to have access to environmental educationthat is developed in a way that is relevant totheir specic context. There is an opportuni-ty or youth rom all walks o lie to contributenow, whether it is in their homes, schools ortheir places o work. Considering the infu-

ence young people have over the purchasingdecisions o their riends and amilies, changesmade now could produce not only immediatetangible benets, but also have a ar-reachingeect on the uture o the economy, ecologyand the societies o generations to come.


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46

sUggestIons FoR

FURtHeR ReAdIng

Bentley, Matthew, John Fien and Cam-eron Neil (2004). Sustainable Consump-tion: Young Australians as Agents o

Change. Canberra: National Youth A-airs Research Scheme.

This study explores how young people can beencouraged and empowered to make changesin their own consumption patterns as well asbeing catalysts or change in the wider com-munity. The ocus is mainly on Australian youth,though international evidence is reported whereavailable.

United Nations Educational, Scienticand Cultural Organization and Unit-ed Nations Environment Programme

(2001). Youth, Sustainable Consump-tion Patterns and Lie Styles. Preparedwithin the ramework o the UNESCOManagement o Social TransormationsProgramme. SHS-2001/WS/13. Avail-able rom http://nesdc.nesc.r/imaes/0012/001242/124238e.pd .

This report examines the results o the 2000UNEP/UNESCO Survey on Youth and Con-sumption: Is the Future Yours?, which consti-tuted part o the UNESCO/UNEP joint projecton Youth, Sustainable Consumption and Lie

Styles. An eort is made in the report to interpretsome preliminary ndings on young peoplesattitudes towards consumption, and to iden-tiy the potential role o youth in the transitiontowards sustainable consumption liestyles.

United Nations Educational, Scienticand Cultural Organization and Unit-ed Nations Environment Programme(2008). Towards Sustainable Liestyles:youthXchange Training Kit on Respon-sible ConsumptionThe Guide. Avail-able rom http://nesdc.nesc.r/imaes/0015/001587/158700e.pd ; theonline training kit is available rom www.ythxchane.net.

The youthXchange guide and related websiteconstitute a toolkit to help teachers, NGOs,and youth groups raise awareness o sustain-able consumption and empower youth to puttheory into practice. By providing accessibleinormation, concrete examples, and specic

acts and gures, UNEP and UNESCO endeav-our to show young people that it is possible totranslate their aspirations or a better world intoeective action.

United Nations Environment Programmeand others (2008). Green Jobs: To-wards Decent Work in a Sustainable,Low-Carbon World. Report prepared byWorldwatch Institute, with assistancerom Cornell University Global LabourInstitute; commissioned and unded byUNEP as part o the joint UNEP, ILO, IOE,ITUC Green Jobs Initiative. Nairobi: Sep-tember. DRC/1069/PA. Available romhttp://www.nep.r/lar_envirn-

ment/PDFs/greenjs/uNEP-green-

Js-Reprt.pd.

The Green Jobs report explores the impact atransormation to a green economy could have

on work, enterprise, and the way people earn aliving. Drawing on inormation rom around theworld, this study is the rst that has provided a

global overview o these issues.

Worldwatch Institute (2004). State o theWorld 2004Special Focus: The Con-

sumer Society. New York: W.W. Norton/Worldwatch Institute.

This edition o State o the World examines howand why people consume and what kind o im-pact their consumption choices have on the

planet and their ellow human beings. It arguesthat Governments, businesses, and concernedcitizens can harness their purchasing power tobuild markets or products that do not destroythe environment and maintains that a less con-sumptive society is not only possible but es-sential.

Worldwatch Institute (2010). State othe World 2010Transorming Cultures:

From Consumerism to Sustainability.New York: W.W. Norton/Worldwatch In-stitute. Available rom http://www.wrldwatch.r/nde/6369 .

The most recent edition o State o the Worldargues that consumerism has enguled hu-man cultures and the worlds ecosystems. Inthe report, 60 renowned researchers and prac-titioners describe how the worlds leading in-stitutionseducation, the media, business,Governments, traditions, and social move-mentscan be used to reorient cultures to-ward sustainability.


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cHAPteR

IV

cHAPteR IV

Mvin rward: yth takin actinand makin a dierence

The combined acumen and involvement o allindividuals, rom regular citizens to scienticexperts, will be needed as the world movesorward in implementing climate change miti-gation and adaptation measures and promot-ing sustainable development. Young peoplemust be prepared to play a key role within thiscontext, as they are the ones who will live toexperience the long-term impact o todayscrucial decisions.

The present chapter ocuses on the partici-

pation o young people in addressing climatechange. It begins with a review o the variousmechanisms or youth involvement in environ-mental advocacy within the United Nationssystem. A ramework comprising progressivelevels o participation is then presented, andconcrete examples are provided o youth in-volvement in climate change eorts aroundthe globe at each o these levels. The role oyouth organizations and obstacles to partici-pation are also examined.


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PRomotIng YoUtH

PARtIcIPAtIon wItHIn

tHe UnIted nAtIons

The United Nations has long recognized theimportance o youth participation in decision-making and global policy development. Envi-ronmental issues have been assigned priority inrecent decades, and a number o mechanismshave been established within the system thatenables youth representatives to contribute toclimate change deliberations. A variety o youthadvisory bodies and youth caucuses provideyoung people with opportunities to share theirideas. However, as shown later in the chap-ter, the existing participatory mechanisms re-quently do not allow them to contribute mean-ingully to the decision-making process.

The Convention on the Rights o the Childemphasizes that participation is a substantiveright and is the means through which childrenand young people may take part in and infu-ence processes, decisions, and activities inorder to achieve justice, shape outcomes, ex-pose abuses o power, and realize their rights.The intent underlying this Convention was rea-rmed in 1995, when the United Nations Gen-eral Assembly adopted the World Programmeo Action or Youth to the Year 2000 and Be-yond (United Nations, 1995), and again in 2007,

in the Supplement to the World Programme oAction (United Nations, 2007a). Generally con-sidered the rst global blueprint or developingeective policies or young people, the WorldProgramme o Action or Youth2 identies ulland eective participation o youth in the lieo society and in decision-making as one oteen priority areas requiring action by Gov-ernments, the international community, civil so-ciety, and the private sector (see box IV.1). Asstated in the World Programme o Action, thecapacity or progress o our societies is based,among other elements, on their capacity to in-

corporate the contribution and responsibility oyouth in the building and designing o the u-

2 In its resolution 47/1 on policies and programmesinvolving youth, adopted in 2009, the Commission orSocial Development stated that the World Programmeo Action or Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond (UnitedNations, 1995) and its Supplement (United Nations,2007a) would henceorth be reerred to as the WorldProgramme o Action or Youth (United Nations, Com-mission or Social Development, 2009).

ture. In addition to their intellectual contributionand their ability to mobilize support, they bringunique perspectives that need to be taken intoaccount (United Nations, 1995, para. 104).

bx IV.1

The Wrld Prramme Actin r Yth n theimprtance participatin

The World Programme o Action orYouth recognizes that the active en-gagement o young people is centralnot only to their own developmentbut to the development o society asa whole. It acknowledges that youngpeople are part o the solution to thediculties acing societynot anotherproblem to be solved.

Because the economic, social, andpolitical participation o youth is es-sentially a prerequisite or the imple-mentation o the proposals included inall the other priority areas o the Pro-gramme o Action, promoting the in-volvement o young people is criticallyimportant. Proposals or action relat-ing specically to youth participationinclude the ollowing:

(a) Improving access to inormationin order to enable young peopleto make better use o their oppor-tunities to participate in decision-making;

(b) Developing and/or strengtheningopportunities or young people tolearn their rights and responsibili-ties, promoting their social, politi-cal, developmental and environ-mental participation, removingobstacles that aect their ull con-

tribution to society and respecting,inter alia, reedom o association;

(c) Encouraging and promoting youthassociations through nancial, edu-cational and technical support andpromotion o their activities;

(d) Taking into account the contri-bution o youth in designing,


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share in managing the decision-making pro-cess, which includes identiying solutions andreaching agreement as to how the solutionsgenerated will be implemented.

At each o the levels o participation represent-ed by the rungs o the ladder, actions initiatedby youth improve their prospects or exertinggenuine infuence. Every level constitutes anecessary step to the top but is also importantin itsel. Participation on the lower rungs otenleads to action urther up the ladder and to en-hanced empowerment; however, even thoseyoung people whose involvement remains onthe lower rungs may contribute to an initiativessuccess.

In general, the key principles o eective andauthentic participation are clarity o intent (thepurpose is understood by all involved); inclu-

siveness (participants are diverse and includethose not oten heard); participativeness (op-portunities are available or two-way exchange,mutual learning, and relationship-building); andthe scope to infuence (the potential exists tobring about change in some way or to somedegree).

YoUtH PARtIcIPAtIon

In clImAte cHAnge

InItIAtIVes ARoUnd

tHe woRldYouth initiatives ocusing on climate changehave a broad range o entry points, and thereare examples rom all over that show how youthhave been involved in mitigation and adapta-tion eorts. The youth activities highlighted inthe sections below constitute a representativesample o the types o advocacy in which youngpeople are currently engaged. Most o the ex-amples derive rom contributions submitted byyouth and youth-led organizations in response

to a call or inputs to the present World YouthReport. They are not linked to specic rungson the ladder o participation but instead re-fect the gradual progression rom awareness-raising to active collaboration. The examples inthis chapter are illustrative and do not comprisea comprehensive catalogue o youth initiatives.The seeming predominance o developedcountry activities in the sections to come is arefection o the availability o relevant inorma-

tion and inputs; it is unclear at this point wheth-er youth involvement in climate change initia-tives is more prevalent in developed countriesor whether youth in developed countries aresimply more likely to report on their activities.It is also possible that many youth initiativesin developing countries are subsumed under

another headingsuch as disaster planning orrelieand are thereore not readily identiableas relating to climate change.

InFoRmIng And edUcAtIng

YoUtH

Beore young people can participate eectivelyin mitigation and adaptation activities, they mustlearn about both climate change and success-ul advocacy. Increased content knowledge isessential, but young people also need to knowhow to interpret data and assess risks, prob-

abilities, and opportunities. It might appear thatparticipation at this level is limited to one-way,top-down communication in which expertstell young people what they think they shouldknow, contributing little to their empowerment.However, there are many examples (includingthose highlighted below) o youth actively andsuccessully educating each other in ormal,inormal, and non-ormal contexts. Qualitativeevaluations o peer education in other areashave shown that young people appreciate andare positively infuenced by well-designed and

properly supervised peer-led instruction. Youthserving as peer educators have the opportunityto improve their own knowledge and skills andgenerally nd the experience both challengingand rewarding. In many instances peer educa-tors have been shown to be more eective thanadults in establishing norms and changing at-titudes (United Nations Childrens Fund, 2009).

Documents

UN YouthClimateChange Report