Originally Published on Climate Generation
Today was Young and Future Generations, or Youth day at COP21. Wanting to hear from people of all ages and backgrounds about why they thought youth were important to the climate change conversation, we took to the street and interviewed people throughout our day – on buses, between conference events, and waiting in line. It took a little to get beyond our nervousness in approaching complete strangers, but we quickly realized that the world community at COP21 possess a passion and commitment for all things climate related – especially the youth voice. Everyone was very willing to discuss his or her support for elevating the youth climate work and expressed an understanding and gravity around the work we have left for this generation. Although later in the day we were approached good-naturedly by a woman who referred to us as the “people who were accosting people on the bus,” it seemed that there is a shared commitment and community at COP21 that we have found unique to these discussions. This is the kind of community we need to continue to build and nurture.