VUKANI NZOBE: Youth in climate change

Since 2012 the UN has found that young people across the world are aware that they will endure most of the consequences of the climate crisis. In Nigeria, 76% of young people aged 16-25 believe humans have failed to take care of the Earth, resulting in human-made climate change.

More than 77% of 17- to 19-year-olds in Japan are aware of the risks of global warming. In the US, a 2018 poll found that 51% of 18- to 34-year-olds believe climate change could wreak havoc in their lifetimes. 

Despite their engagement on this issue, young people are often marginalised in decision-making processes about climate change. A white paper by the SA Institute of International Affairs noted that youth involvement in climate-related issues is still seen as an afterthought, and young people are seen as beneficiaries rather than stakeholders. 

Yet there are ways governments can involve young people in their actions to address the climate crisis. In 2019 a group of young SA high school students from Vuyiseka Secondary and Dr Nelson R Mandela High School in Cape Town travelled around the globe to attend a youth environmental summit in the US, with the assistance of the SA Institute of International Affairs and the SA Youth Climate Action Plan.

As one of those high school students I now consider the growing voice of SA youth on climate change and wonder how I can help young people to meaningfully contribute to just and equitable ecological change. One might assume that unemployed young South Africans have other things on their minds when you consider that the youth unemployment rate, measuring jobseekers aged 15-24, rose to 61% in the fourth quarter of 2022. Black youths are disproportionately affected by unemployment. 

In a 2021 U-Report survey by Unicef in SA with over 3,600 respondents, three-quarters of whom were 24 or under, 65% of respondents said they were optimistic that the green economy would be a source of future jobs. However, this will require increased investment in relevant education and a “just and equitable transition to an environmentally sustainable and inclusive economy,” the report states. SA policy should support and encourage education and skills development for this envisioned economy. 

People in SA are taking responsibility for contributing to mitigating climate action. The SA Youth Climate Change Coalition and similar youth mobilisation groups have a growing and influential voice in the net-zero conversation. They liken the urgency of advocating for and participating in climate change to that of fighting apartheid. Historically, justice and progress were achieved through immense contributions and sacrifice from young people.

Today, their efforts are needed again. The youth needs to be the vanguard against climate change, to drive and lead all of society away from the consequences of our current, troubling trajectory.

Climate change is having a devastating effect on jobs. As a recent local example the looming threat of “Day Zero” due to the drought of 2016-2018 had a negative effect on Cape Town’s economy, with the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in traditional youth employment sectors such as agriculture and tourism.

But responding to climate change also presents opportunities. While some jobs in polluting or energy-intensive industries are being eliminated and others are being replaced or substituted as the industry changes, new jobs are being created. Studies show that transitioning to a low-carbon economy and mitigating the past impacts of carbon emissions results in a net increase in jobs. 

The desire of SA youth for action and jobs provides an opportune time for the SA government to flesh out its job creation goals and initiatives to address both climate change opportunities and growing youth unemployment. Ambitious urban climate action could create and support over 1.8-million green jobs in SA by 2030, according to the study by C40 Cities, a global network of mayors taking urgent action to address the climate crisis. Most importantly, creating green jobs will affect people’s entire lives, from ensuring a comfortable home to cleaning the air we all breathe to improving cities’ resilience to future extreme weather events. 

The climate protests at schools and the activism initiated by Greta Thunberg are examples of how important the issue of climate change is for young people. Globally, youth are taking positive action in mitigating climate change. In Seychelles, youth have improved ecosystem functionality by planting trees and ploughing palm trees to protect against coastal flooding, while an Armenian innovation project sees youth as “changemakers” who engage in a game-based environmental education programme focused on spreading adaptation knowledge. 

2023 marks the tenth anniversary since Madiba’s passing, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation is asking the critical question: how does his legacy continue to live through us all today? Climate change and food insecurity are a clear and present threat to human rights and could worsen already deepening levels poverty and inequality.

In recognition of the intersection between food insecurity and climate change, the Mandela Day team at the Nelson Mandela Foundation targets its efforts to capacitate community- and home-based food gardens while planting trees to mitigate against the effects of climate change.

The challenge for the foundation, our partners and the rest of society is to strengthen youth participation and voices in the struggle against the climate crisis and to create an equitable world from which future generations  can benefit. 

•Nzobe is with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.