Greta Thunberg, the 16 years old climate activist addressed the issue of climate change in crystal clear words; when she voiced her resentment about the clouds of darkness hovering over the planet. We could all on some level relate to every bit of her speech. She stated, “You are failing us, but the young people are starting to understand your betrayal… the world is waking up and change is coming whether you like it or not.” We can no longer embrace the role of silent spectators of climate change; it is about time that Gen Z capitalizes on its vigor and undying zest to help the earth successfully combat against the deadly climate crisis.
Increasing participation
Two virtues principally define the present generation and they are their inclination to question everything at hand and a tendency to rebel. This infers that the youth will no longer blindly follow the mass and they will do everything to make things better. When young people participate in climate action, they automatically encourage the prominent leaders of the country and everyone around the world to join them with sustainable and out-of-the-box ideas. For example, Kherann Yao, the UNICEF Youth Advocate, discussed how schools can be made from recycled plastic bricks. This will not only help to fight pollution, but also increase employment by fabricating a whole new market for recyclables and inescapably escalate the literacy rate.
Force politicians to deal with climate change
In a study conducted by the University of Yale, it was confirmed that the young voters have delineated climate change among the top 10 issues that will influence their decision in the upcoming election. Additionally, 37% of the millennials were of the opinion that they can get in touch with the politicians to discuss climate change if given a chance. And this is, however, not the story of a single country; the picture everywhere is pretty much the same. Owing to the sensitivity of the youth towards climate change, the politicians will be forced to implement wiser regulations in their reign to confirm that their most crucial vote banks are winning the poles for them.
The power of social media
After witnessing a steady rise in its popularity, social media has now successfully stepped into the vicinity of what we call the “mainstream” because of Gen Z. By coupling the latest social media trends with constructive campaigns such as the challenge to turn vegan, remove plastic waste from beaches or simply using hashtags to spread awareness will inevitably ring a bell with everyone else. The goal is to wake people up and show them in the eye that we will have to pave a more sustainable path and there can be no other recourse.
The leaders of the world must listen
If the leaders of the world carefully look around, they will see that Generation Z is not asking for anything that is major or unattainable. They are only looking forward to implementing a few fundamental changes in the ways of the world because to roll out a fresh start, the government must take meaningful actions to address the emergency. Like we have already mentioned, the youth wants to do away with the basic glitches that are, reduction of inequality and enrollment of useful reforms that can halt the abuse of power and motivate the leaders to rescue the world from its deathbed with its ability to amend.
By educating
Even though it is believed that knowledge is passed on to us by our previous generations, Gen Z should turn the table on this sequence for the better. According to surveys, children qualify as the decision-makers of the house as far as procuring daily needs from the market is concerned. This implies that whenever you go out shopping with your parents or the elders of your family, instead of tagging along with their choices that might leave a negative impact on the environment, you can educate them on how and why should they steer away from purchasing anything that is not good for the body or the environment.