Young Londoners and climate change – from anxiety to action
We know that contact with nature is good for our wellbeing, and are often advised to get out into green space to improve our mood. But for many young people, concerns about the environment are fuelling anxiety.
The COP26 UN Climate Change Conference is currently taking place in Glasgow in the hope of bringing parties together to accelerate action towards tackling climate change.
The presidency programme of COP26 includes a dedicated day for young people on Friday, 5 November that will demonstrate the critical role of education and training in climate action.
A month before COP26, Thrive LDN brought together two young environmental campaigners to discuss the question: Are young people a lone voice in the face of climate change?
The discussion was part of Thrive LDN’s World Mental Health Day Festival, organised and designed with and for young people around the theme of Never Alone LDN. On the panel were climate justice activist Noga Levy-Rapoport from the UK Student Climate Network, and Kismet Meyon, one of the young people involved in organising the festival, and part of the Mayor of London’s Peer Outreach team, with environmental geographer Dr Camilla Royle from the LSE in the chair.
“A lot of young people have a lot of anxieties and fears,” said Kismet. “The anxieties are very high.”
The discussion ranged across such questions as: Is there a collective responsibility placed on young people in the face of climate change? And how does this impact on mental health and wellbeing? How can young people come together in the face of climate change? And what do we need from those in power in order to feel more positive?
In a recent survey by Bath University of 10,000 16-25 year olds from 10 countries, three quarters (75%) said they were frightened for the future. Nearly half (45%) said climate anxiety and distress is affecting their daily lives. More than half of respondents said it had made them afraid, sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless or guilty. Two thirds felt governments were failing young people.
Kismet and Noga agreed that the voices of young Londoners need to be heard, but that it is governments and the big corporations who need to act. But they also had suggestions for taking care of wellbeing, from harnessing young people’s energy and excitement – what Noga called their ‘greatest asset’ – to using creativity to share fears, and the transforming effects of activism itself.
“I was so happy to find that kind of comradeship around so many other young people who did want to act on climate justice and social justice and change the world around us and that uplifted me so much,” said Noga.
Both Kismet and Noga will be at COP26, including a virtual meeting around the youth empowerment event on Friday 5th November.
As Noga said: “I think it’s important to stay optimistic even when that realism starts to creep in. We know that the leaders we have in charge across the world are not committed on the scale that we need them to be. But it’s important that we’re present at as many events as possible. We’re kind of reclaiming our spaces in our streets as much as we can to remind everyone that young people are not going away anytime soon, and that when politicians make decisions that condemn our generation to a lifetime of volatile ecological chaos we will not leave that doorstep, we will continue to stand there and we will demand to be taken seriously.”
You can read what other young Londoners have been doing this week to tackle climate change as part of the Mayor’s Climate Kick-Start, taking action for the environment in their schools and homes.
And check out Hubbub’s list of 10 things Londoners can take to help the planet, from reducing food waste to getting creative with your wardrobe.