Young people will inherit a world facing the impacts of climate change. http://t.co/nFJx0HyDqn
— World Bank (@WorldBank) May 4, 2014
Earlier this summer, the Bank projected catastrophic consequences of climate change by 2030s if we as a global community fail to act. From Asia to Africa, there will be irreversible consequences. In Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 80% of cropland could become infertile by the 2040s. And we will see an 11% drops in crop production in Vietnam.
The urgency of climate change is real. It will directly shape our lives. Our employment opportunities, our ability to feed ourselves, our ability to breathe clean air and access energy depend on the people in power and how this generation manages the tradeoff, Kyte said. That is why young people need to be as activist as possible, she believes.
An environmental activist herself in the 1980s, Kyte says climate change is not “about your kids. It’s about you.” “What would happen to the generation that would come after us and our responsibility to them,” she says was the motivating factor for her and her peers in 1980s. “That still has to be the motivating factor for this generation.”
While the motivating factor to fight the climate change might not have changed, the global society is now definitely more complex and interconnected than it was three decades ago. For us as a global society to mitigate the effects of climate change, we need to change the way we live our lives and use resources. These changes won’t be easy.
But the value shift in young people makes Kyte optimistic about our ability to help the world walk a path to sustainability. I asked Kyte what her advice is for young people.
“Do the courageous thing. If we all do that, then we can make a big difference in a very short period of time.”
Source:World Bank Blog
