As the world flocks to Egypt for the UN climate talks, the Dhaka Tribune's Abu Sayeed Asiful Islam sat down with Ejaj Ahmad, the founder of the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre and the Global Youth Leadership Centre, to discuss youth climate action.
A graduate of St Andrews and the Kennedy School at Harvard, Ahmad is in Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27.
Here are some key takeaways from the interview:
The planet is in trouble
We just hosted a large global summit in Khulna, Bangladesh, where I had a conversation with Sir David King, who is one of the world's leading climate scientists, as well as chairman and founder of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. The data that he presented is quite alarming.
I think there is consensus among the scientific community that we are in a climate crisis. In 2015, countries in the Paris Agreement committed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels or less, but we are already at 1.35 degrees Celsius in 2022, so there is no way we can achieve the goal that we set in 2015. Temperatures may rise by two degrees or even three degrees by the end of the century.
This means we could see a six-metre rise in sea levels by the end of the century. For a country that is near sea level, like Bangladesh, even an increase of one metre would be devastating. I think the sea level rise will be the biggest challenge for humanity, and it will have major consequences for Bangladesh. We have to figure out a way that we can return to normal level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to limit the rise in temperature.
People don't always take the long view
We all are short-sighted, and we do not like the idea of loss. By loss, I mean the idea of adjusting, making sacrifices in our own way of leading life. The issue is not about why humans have been resistant to changing because I don't think people are resistant to change.
For example, if I give you a million dollars today, that's a change in your life, but you would not resist it, rather you would welcome it. People resist change when there's loss attached to it; so, people are actually resisting loss.
I think the reason why businesses, citizens, and governments have not taken this seriously is, first, because we think that the future generation will take care of this problem and it is not going to happen in my lifetime. Second, we sometimes feel powerless, thinking ‘what can just one individual do', so citizens don't take action.
Life isn't fair
Along with 54 countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, we are responsible for only 5% of global emissions and yet stand to lose the most. So there's clearly an element of climate injustice that the countries which contribute least to the problem suffer the most. Rightly, the Bangladesh delegation at COP27 is going to press for loss and damage.
We should keep on advocating for loss and damage. But if we don't get support, then how do we adapt to this changing reality? How do we build our own resilience?
Bangladesh has a youth unemployment rate of more than 10%. So, a large number of young people coming to the job market every year, around 2.3 million young people for 200,000 jobs. We have to create self-employment opportunities.
I think entrepreneurial education around climate mitigation and climate adaptation should be a priority. So how do we create more self-employment opportunities in this space? Large-scale education around climate science and entrepreneurship.
The youth must have a seat at the table
I think the youth have the biggest role to play in this because it's their future that is at stake. Unfortunately, our generation, including myself, have passed on this problem to the next generation and now they have to figure this thing out.
I think young people need to have a seat at the table, and I'm delighted to see that there is youth representation in the party delegation from Bangladesh this year for the first time at COP27. Their voices have to be heard.
They need to do advocacy around loss and damage, which is something that Global South young people are doing. At the same time, I think young people need to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities around climate mitigation and adaptation, such as new technologies, new business models.
Together, we can do this
How do we create businesses that are sustainable, but also can generate employment and resources for people? So that's something that I think young people have a role to play in the Global South and in the Global North. Also, we are seeing a lot of youth energy around climate change ... I see that very positively.
In the Global North, young people can push their governments for mitigation, for loss and damage, and also for restoration. The other argument could be you don't have to pay us anything, but just take down what you put up. You do your part of the world because you've created the mess. Just take care of that part and then the planet will be fine. And then we can all continue living in a stable and sustainable planet.
I see a major role for young people. It's not just one thing. There has to be advocacy, there has to be leadership, there has to be organizing, there has to be entrepreneurship. And also, before we all preach for changing the world, we must also ask ourselves, what changes am I bringing to my own life?
