By: Marie Vanolli
Are we even taken seriously?
In 2019, at the height of the climate strikes, schools in Switzerland were heavily disrupted by the green wave. Facing public pressure, my region’s education minister, Cesla Amarelle, agreed to meet with a delegation of young people to work together on making education policies more sustainable.
On the evening of the appointment, we waited and waited for her in the small meeting room we had booked at the university, until the minister finally arrived two hours late. The first thing she said was “let’s be efficient, I’ve got an appointment in the city centre in 45 minutes.”
After the event, a press release was sent out, to show the public that politicians were taking young voices seriously. But, behind the scenes, all of the meeting’s recommendations were ignored and an invitation to continue working together never came.
Five years on, our youth has learnt a lot more about politics, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for elected representatives to be hypocritical about climate change. Today, in Switzerland there is a group of young people who are highly trained, very active, and well connected to decision makers and the public. We write papers, meet politicians, speak in the press, and build large youth moments.
And yet, despite all the efforts, barriers to change remain. We get discouraged and despair – if even in 2024, with glaciers melting and our future at stake, no one wants to listen to us, what’s going to happen?
A generation in despair
I am not the only one who has experienced this bitterness. In fact, studies show this feeling overshadows the daily lives of the overwhelming majority of our generation. It is called climate anxiety, and it now affects nearly 60% of young people worldwide. And this anxiety has a direct impact on almost half of our generation’s daily lives, causing sleep disorders, emotional distress, or a difficulty to concentrate and plan ahead.
For many of us, humanity seems doomed, as we see the things we value being destroyed around us. At the same time, young people have fewer economic opportunities than their parents, trapping us in these challenges. The journal Nature also found that half of young people feel dismissed or ignored when talking about climate change, particularly by adults in positions of power.
And with the number of climate-related disasters only trending upwards, time seems to be running out, and the future is getting more frightening everyday.
Somewhere, there is hope
So what does this mean? It seems difficult to grasp the implications of all this despair. With our young people struggling and governments not doing enough to protect the environment, this new generation’s pessimism may prevent us from taking necessary action.
Not only that, but broader society and politicians struggle to take climate anxiety seriously and prepare a worthy future for its youth.
Still, recognising our suffering and the gravity of the situation is an important first step in change. We must be alarmed at the fact that for the first time in decades, young people are no longer a bastion of optimism – representing the promise of a better future – which in itself is a sign of progress.
But we can see this trend from a more positive, encouraging, angle too. If our generation is worried, it is because we have received better climate education than our parents. We know our planet and the world better, and we are interested in its management and its future. There is no disappointment without expectations, and our expectations are a sign that we care for a better future.
And disappointment does not only inspire despair either. As a large majority of the younger generation think that governments are not doing enough, many young people are now taking small actions and implementing solutions out of their own initiative. Back at my old high school, there’s now a student-led sustainability group, my friends organise clean-up walks and launch circular economy start-ups, and at my university students push for free public transport and less meat in their cafeteria. At the same time, Swiss youth organisations are now preparing to join the country’s COP delegation. All around us, we see young people taking action.
And when there is action despite a widespread feeling of fear and anxiety, it shows us that deep in their despair, young people still have enough hope to build the world they aspire to.
Building the next generation
Today, as the huge climate strikes have disappeared, so has some of the pressure on our politicians. But not ours. Will young people one day go from being seen as cute apprentices who are given the floor from time to time to ease consciences, to the primary stakeholders in discussions on our future?
We are witnessing the first generation grow up that is hyper-aware of the effects of climate change on our planet and societies. This is also the most widely educated generation, and certainly the most motivated to tackle environmental issues. Even when excluded from the decision-making processes, we take it upon ourselves to start creating the world we want to see.
Taking action against climate change and young people’s anxiety and despair starts by taking us seriously, supporting our initiatives, and including us in creating change in meaningful ways. By believing in young people’s potential, we can build a new generation that believes in the hope of a better future again.
