As research earlier this year by Bath University confirmed, young people have never been more concerned about the future of the planet. The landmark survey polled the opinions of 10,000 young people from ten different countries around the world and found:

• Nearly 60% said they felt very worried or extremely worried about climate change.
• More than 45% of those questioned said feelings about the climate affected their daily lives.
• Over half of the respondents (56%) said they thought humanity was doomed.

We caught up with some of the young people from our Youth Co-operative Action project to find out what they had to say about an issue that looks set to dominate their lives for years to come.

“it’s very important to me, I feel people are talking about it but nothing is happening fast enough,” commented Marium. It’s a view that’s held by a lot of the group too, “It's very important, because by the time I am an adult, the planet will be unliveable,” adds Isha.

What action would young people like to see?

The conversation quickly turns to action that the group would take if they were in charge and what changes they’d like to see.

“I’d change as many plastic things that I could and make them paper, make non reusable plastic bags illegal, try and develop electric cars. When they’re developed make them a reasonable price so maybe eventually most people will have them,” comments Ini.

The focus on plastic and electric cars is something the rest of the group also agree with too, “I’d change from plastic to paper and electric cars,” state Isha and Maira.  

The approach to take

Towards the end of the conversation, we focus on what they think is the best approach to tackling climate change, and all the young people are in agreement that protecting the planet isn't something that can be done alone.

“It's so important that everyone works together, because we can work faster to make a change. People have to take self-responsibility,” is the collective response. That’s not all either, as they're all united on the impact that can be made by working together, “We can get more done and it can impact the earth better.”

The final words from the session go to Maira and Isha, who emphasise just how important co-operation really is, “The best way to tackle climate change is together.”

---

Read more about tackling climate change together in our latest campaign. Running throughout COP26, it includes a free taster course and a special webinar featuring climate experts.

Read more about our #TackleTogether campaign