Young people have been part of the conversation from the beginning

Carbon Capture Workshop

 

Carbon Capture was a one-day assembly we co-hosted with the Berggruen Institute – a US-based think tank who are helping to coordinate an international coalition of YES-like programmes.

We brought together seventeen participants, aged 18-25, to share their lived experiences of the climate crisis, community action, connection to nature, and developing skills for the future.

Participants shared photographs in response to one of four different prompts, using them as a springboard for offering input into the design of a Youth Environmental Service that would reflect the priorities of young people from across the country.

The Carbon Capture participants!

 

Thoughts from some of the participants on the day

The insights gained from these conversations have helped deepen our understanding of the opportunity, feeding into co-design discussions and shaping our vision.

A number of themes from the discussions were identified, supported by participant photographs. These were presented at the start of the co-design, helping set the right direction for our collective thinking.

These themes, along with reflections on the process and practical recommendations were documented in a report by jointly authored by The Berggruen Institute and the Youth Environmental Service, due to be published later this year.

 

Early themes from the event:

  • 1. Without the tools to address it, climate anxiety risks paralysing a generation

    There is a shared fear, both for themselves, and for their loved ones, that the climate crisis will define their entire lives. They see the need for a system-wide recalibration, but the scale of the challenge, and the unwillingness of decision makers to listen, makes it feel like a futile battle.

    Cracks in the current system are starting to show, but it isn’t clear whether they should be preparing for salvation or apocalypse.

  • 2. The environment is (surprisingly) universal

    While it isn’t always immediately obvious, everyone’s background is rooted in a connection to the environment. Nature and the environment needs to be valued for the bridges it offers to cross different divides – cultural, generational, economic, etc.

    Individually, we can’t escape climate change, but collectively we can work to find fair solutions to mitigating the unfairly distributed damage likely to be inflicted.

  • 3. Access drives connection, connection drives action

    Getting engaged doesn’t happen through a screen. All of their personal engagement in the issue stemmed from being able to experience nature and the environment in a tangible way

    Once you feel a connection you’re inspired to act, but not everyone has the opportunity to connect. Ensuring fairer, universal access to nature will create a movement of committed environmentalists.

  • 4. We need to find new sources of positive inspiration

    If we allow ourselves to get too bogged down in the negatives it quickly feels like it’s pointless to do anything. We need to create new stories and imagine new futures where positive actions help us towards a solution.

    Not all action has to be system-changing – there was a pragmatism that addressing the climate crisis means doing the small things, and being in it for the long-haul.

    But they’re up for the fight!