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“I want to see leaders, governments, and corporations rise up for the people,” Nakate told CNN. “And that means putting an end to fossil fuel projects. Like I always say: we cannot eat coal, we cannot drink oil, and we cannot breathe so-called natural gas.”
Nakate’s generation is coming of age in a world that is warming far faster than scientists had predicted, and they see with clear eyes the climate catastrophe that looms.
They have long felt ignored by the older generation of leaders. Young activists who spoke with CNN said they didn’t think it would take this long for countries to commit to solving the climate crisis.
Vladislav Kaim, a 26-year-old Moldovan activist, started advocating for climate action in 2014, and in 2020 he joined the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. He now wears the suit and walks the walk among powerful decision-makers and policy influencers on the international stage, though he still feels that the youth needs to be recognized as an equal partner.
“If we do not implement this principle of co-equality of expertise with the youth, I’m afraid there will be no meaningful intergenerational dialogue and significant change in how the structures of power in the space operate,” Kaim told CNN.
“Finding those inroads in working with structures of power and also challenging them at the same time is a tightrope walk,” he added. “When I am interacting in those corridors of power, I am particularly pushing on the pinpoints that are important to my region, while also finding allies from other regions — vulnerable communities — who share the same cause.”
“If young activists alone are able…
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Source : cnn
