YouthLead Climate Change: Starter Kit

This kit contains the best 36 resources on the YouthLead website related to youth combating climate change. They are a great starting point for youth interested in learning more about the climate crisis and include ways to take meaningful action and steps to take for advocacy campaigns. As the climate crisis continues, youth action will be especially important in making a difference. This kit is broken down into sections on the nature of the climate crisis, what other youth are doing currently, ways of starting a climate advocacy campaign, webinars on climate, websites and organizations to learn more from, and how climate change intersects with other issues like marine life and agriculture.

Webinars and Videos

In This Together: How Shared Value Grows Greener Cities - In this video, Laureate Global Fellow Alejandro Zapata, Executive Director of Portafolio Verde, a social enterprise based in Medellín, Colombia, shares his thoughts on growing greener cities.

Why I’m Not Going to Rio - In this video, “Climate change activist Richard Graves explores the potential for tangible, long-term progress on climate change issues and explains the growing roles of youth, social enterprise, and grassroots activism in translating ideas into action.”

Helping Communities Adapt to Climate Change - Learn about social entrepreneur Tsechu Dolma's efforts in Nepal to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal #13: Combat climate change.

Biodiversity and UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Webinar - Aung Thang Oo, our YouthLead Ambassador from Myanmar, shares his passion, experiences, lessons learned, and what  he is doing as a young changemaker in contributing to a sustainable planet and achieving the SDGs. Aung highlights ways in which youth can get involved in protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, and halt biodiversity loss.

Beyond Alarm Bell Ringing: Young People & Climate Change Action Webinar - Focused on the connection between localized learning and collective action, this webinar will build awareness around the issue of climate change, provide applicable skills and recommendations, and better equip young leaders and changemakers to take action in their own communities. 

Mobilizations on local Resources for Sustainable Development Webinar - In this webinar, our YouthLead Ambassador and social entrepreneur, Jupille Facile, shares his experience in creating sustainable communities using locally available resources (bamboo).

Resources on the Climate Crisis and Youth Involvement

10 Key Messages on Climate Change  - This article highlights the 10 main findings from a UN panel on natural resources.

The Essential Principles of Climate Literacy - This teaching document presents you with everything you need to know about climate change and ways to mitigate it. 

YouthXchange guidebook series: climate change and lifestyles - This guidebook, "explores the interrelationship between climate change and lifestyles through a scientific, political, economic, social, ethical and cultural angle and identifies actions young people might take towards more sustainable lifestyles." 

The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World - This humorous guide shows you how you can change the world with a few simple steps. 

Global Environmental Outlook 6 - This report "outlines the current state of the environment, illustrates possible future environmental trends and analyses the effectiveness of policies.”

Global Environmental Outlook 6 for Youth - Read UNEP's first fully interactive e-publication, GEO-6 for Youth, written by youth for youth to inform, engage, education, and lead youth towards environmental action.

I was Part of a Climate Action, Now What? - This handbook explains campaign tools and frameworks you can use to become a climate warrior. 

5 Ways You Can Help Fight Climate Change - This list introduces ways that you can work to end climate change through simple daily initiatives. 

Take Action in your Home, School, or Community - This toolkit shares ways you can reduce your emissions and ways to talk to others about climate change. 

4 Ways Teens can Address Climate Change and Save the Environment - This list shows how even teens can make a difference in the climate movement. 

What Can Teenagers Do to Fight Climate Change - For youth interested in learning more about what they can do for the climate movement, this article answers frequently asked questions. 

Everyone Has a Role in the Fight Against Climate Change - This extensive list shared over 20 ways to reduce your carbon footprint. 

Calculate Your Carbon Footprint - This calculator application can help you understand where the bulk of your carbon footprint is coming from. 

Energizing Entrepreneurs to Tackle Climate Change - Everyone has a part to play in reducing climate change, even entrepreneurs. This policy explains how they can get involved. 

Resources on Youth Currently Taking Action

What 6 Young Climate Activists do Every Day to Fight for the Planet - This list shares the stories of six climate activists and how they’re using their voice to make a change. 

10 Young Innovators Tackling Climate Change - This list examines how young people are both fighting climate change and engaging in sustainable economic growth projects. 

Why Young Climate Activists Have Captured the World’s Attention - This article shares why it is especially important for youth to get involved in climate issues, and what they can bring to the table. 

15 Young Climate Activists you Should be Following on Social Media - If you’re looking for inspiration, these young climate activists are great to follow to learn more. 

Youth in action on climate change: inspirations from around the world - This report shares the inspiring stories of youth around the world working to end climate change. 

Steps to Launching an Advocacy Campaign

10 Steps to Consider in Launching an Advocacy Campaign - This useful blog runs through the steps of launching an advocacy campaign.

Advocacy Training Resources - These comprehensive training tools will help you become a better climate activist. 

Mobilizing Citizens to Shape Policies - This blog post shares the story of how activists in Peru initiated a beach cleanup campaign with huge success. 

How Climate Change Interacts With Other Issues

Protecting our Marine Resources: Tool Kits - This toolkit presents actionable steps in protecting marine resources. 

Forest Creation Workshop - This workshop provides information, instruction, and inspiration for those interested in "afforestation"--the creation of a forest in an area where no forest previously existed. 

Fight Climate Change by Preventing Food Waste - Climate change is tied to food waste - this document explains why, and how to go about preventing food waste. 

Websites and Organizations to Learn More From

Check out any of the following websites for more information about the climate movement and how you can get involved. 

United Nations Environment Programme

350

Green Box

KinoSol

World Bank Youth Summit

Questions to Ponder 

What difference would you like to make in your community to combat climate change?

What role can/should young people play in addressing the issue of climate change?

Now What?: Putting the Starter Kit into Action

1. Check out these 5 ways you can help fight climate change, and share them with your friends and family, maybe even on social media!
2. Start recycling your personal products, buying/selling second-hand products/clothing, and recycling/picking up trash you see on the streets.
3. Check out this guide on how to take action with climate change, and reach out to your elected officials to build legislation about climate change and greener local communities.
4. Evaluate your success using the SMART Goals: A How to Guide rubric, making adjustments accordingly.