U.S.-China Youth Push Leaders for Bold Climate Action

Representatives from CYCAN and SSC present their second US-China Joint Youth Statement at a press conference in Paris, France at COP 21.

In the almost two weeks since the United Nations climate talks started here in Paris, countless discussions have occurred, with civil society groups sneaking into meeting halls, negotiators rushing between public briefings and closed-door sessions, researchers presenting on possible outcomes, and everyone whispering amongst each other in an attempt to get a sense of where people, nations, and policies stood in the process.

Meanwhile, youth organizations from around the world are setting their own agendas, discussing their own points of leverage, and planning their own long term goals. Youth understand that these negotiations will not go far enough to achieve the outcome that is needed to avert looming planetary shifts. Youth -- as agents of change and inheritors of the problem -- are needed at every step of the process.

To illustrate this commitment to global climate action, the Sierra Student Coalition (SSC), which is the youth-run branch of the Sierra Club, and the China Youth Climate Action Network (CYCAN) have been sending youth delegations to the COP since 2009. That year, COP15 in Copenhagen was one like many others, a moment straddling the line between hope and skepticism, a moment promising a global accord that would set the world on a path towards a healthy and stable future.

But, Copenhagen failed to live up to the expectations that were set and ended in a confused mess of distrust, power plays, and political posturing. Despite its failure to reach the promised global climate accord, out of the rubble emerged a renewed sense of energy from civil society. This energy inspired collaboration between US and Chinese youth, who tried to do what their governments could not, to undo the political stalemate that had emerged between the two nations.

In September 2014, the rigid political dynamic between U.S. and China shifted. Presidents Obama and Xi released their U.S.-China Joint Climate Agreement and hope returned. But youth remain skeptical. For many of us, these negotiations have been happening our entire lives. Each year brings new promises and policies, and all the while global emissions continue to rise. We can’t afford to wait any longer.

Global youth present on grassroots climate actions at the China Pavilion at COP20 in Lima, Peru.

SSC and CYCAN recognized the opportunity before us: with our vast networks of youth leaders in our countries, we could take matters into our own hands, mobilizing for change at the local, national, and international level. As the next generation of leaders within the two largest emitting countries in the world, our impact has immense potential. We released our own US.-.China Joint Youth Statement on Climate Change to publicly demand more ambitious action from our leaders and created the Online Youth Exchange (OYE) program for sharing skills and developing environmental leadership across geopolitical boundaries. In the OYE, students and young activists in six countries (and counting) have committed to sharing experiences and best practices from the forefront of climate action, to bridge gaps and build solidarity in our movement.

We will push our campuses and communities to create the world we want to live in, and not simply live in the one that was thrust upon us. We are the agents of change. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.