Youth Involvement in Climate Change Vital
By Ivan Mungungeyo
On September 20, millions of young people across the globe took to the streets to demand that
governments and politicians act on climate change. The global action was led, not by an adult, but by 16-
year-old Greta Thunberg. This sent a message to world leaders that young people are politically aware.
Ugandan youths under the banner, “Youth Go Green” also joined the rest of the world in this cause as
they walked in protest against climate change. The walk by the young people and some of their partners
started from City Square on Kampala Road, proceeded to Jinja Road and then branched to Garden City
and Parliament. The young people are protesting inaction within Government and business against
climate change.
Climate change is a central discussion topic at the local, national, and international levels. Almost
everyone recognizes we are confronted with the greatest challenge to humanity, perhaps the greatest
threat to the very survival of the planet, we have ever encountered. Yet while we have advocated for
youth employment, youth education and training and other issues affecting young people, we have not
really engaged the youth on issues of climate change and why it is important.
Why should we think about climate change in the context of youth and youth services? One obvious
reason is that youth are the future of this country and are the majority. Thinking about the
consequences of climate change; heavy rains, flooding, landslides, drought, disease outbreaks and
epidemics, like malaria and cholera, as well as lightning strikes is an anxiety-provoking for generally for
everyone. These aspects are likely to have significant implications for agriculture, food security, and soil
and water resources. How do young people feel about being told their planet may not be around, at
least in habitable form, for too much longer?
How are youth services responsive to climate change? For example, in the context of young people
transitioning out of care, we have seen significant efforts to engage young people in employment
preparation programs. If we look more closely at those programs, we notice many are related to some
of the most unsustainable industries in relation to climate change. We regularly encounter such
programs in the context of unsustainable fast-food industries and other unsustainable industries which
worsens the situations of young people.
Why are we preparing young people to enter precisely those industries the rest of the world is trying to
eliminate? Why are we not exploring the opportunities presenting themselves through green industries,
technology-driven industries seeking to reduce carbon footprints, or rural industries seeking to find
respectful ways of living with the land? In the context of migration, we need to pay keen attention to the
number of young people and families who are climate refugees? How do we deal with the trauma
related to having one’s region rendered uninhabitable by the forces of climate change? Is this the same
as the consequences of war or economic hardship?
Uganda is signatory to many International conventions and accords on Climate change such as the Kyoto
protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which led to the
development of National Climate Change Policy and Implementation Strategy in 2012/13. A road map
for the development of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) was submitted to the Secretariat of the
United Nations Framework Convention on climate change at the beginning of 2015. Yet, the full
implementation of the priority adaptation and mitigation actions principally remains on paper because
they are conditional on the support of international stakeholders.
Youth are affected by climate change more than adults, with fewer agencies to respond proactively or
even reactively. They will have to live with the consequences of climate change for longer, or they will
have to find dignified ways of dying from our complacency. Youth should therefore be given a chance to
take an active part in the decision-making of local, national and global levels. They can actively support
initiatives that will lead to the passage of far-reaching legislation. A more defined role should be given to
the youth to prevent the adverse impacts of climate change.
The writer is a Lecturer at Muteesa 1 Royal University
Email: ivantorres967@gmail.com
