Tarumitra is a non-government organization that works with over 1,700 high schools in India. Tarumitra’s headquarters houses a bio-reserve of more than 525 endangered plant species and also hosts student exchange programs. While at Tarumitra, I participated in activities, such as tree-planting, conducting green parliaments for youth and children, studying the Ganges river and conducting marches to raise awareness.

 

My eight years with UNEP-TUNZA has shaped the person I am today (Tunza is the children and youth program of the United Nations Environment Programme). I treated Tunza as a great success that paved the way for millions of young environmentalists and continues to provide a venue to interact, and simultaneously raise voices of concern to decision makers. It has been a privilege to have organised and attended the UNEP-TUNZA International Children and Youth conferences in South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and the Global Youth Gathering in Nairobi. Some noteworthy benchmark initiatives included "Seal the Deal!" campaign, the Tunza children’s painting competitions, the COP 10 Nagoya declaration, and Plant-for-the-Planet.

 

In Plant-for-the-Planet, we mobilise youth across the world by conducting educational workshops. These workshops, or Academies as they are called, have resulted in thirty-thousand Climate Justice Ambassadors representing over 100 countries. One of the results has been the planting of more than 14 billion trees. Originally founded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Billion Tree Campaign was handed over to the student initiative Plant-for-the-Planet in 2012. In May 2015, Plant-for-the-Planet organised a Youth Summit in Tutzing, Germany. Youth from 23 countries participated, framing a youth manifesto for G7 leaders - calling on the G7 to support the greatest afforestation project in the history of humankind. Some youth from the summit initiated the “Climate Strike” which is to take place on 30 November 2015 - the same day the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) begins. For one day, we ask the young generation of the world to devote their day for environmental activities!

 

After witnessing the decision-making processes at UNEP-TUNZA and sessions of the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi - I’ve learned that this world and its peoples, economies, and environment are all intricately connected. To understand this complex system and its challenges, we need to better educate ourselves on these issues. As the years progress, more and more young people will understand the seriousness of the challenges posed by climate change. It is important to strive for greater collaboration or risk inter-generational conflict.

 

Today, the key environmental issues we need to address include energy consumption, biodiversity, and global decision-making. We have to make lifestyle changes, lower emissions from household usage, create green and inclusive markets, and gradually shift to a carbon neutral economy. Furthermore, we lose untapped information about living species every year. Creating bio-reserves and stricter implementation of laws against poaching are some ways we can tackle this issue.

 

It is time now to break the norms and speak up. Environmental issues such as climate change do not recognize political and geographic boundaries, and neither should the solutions. As the United Nations celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, let us work together on the post-2015 development agenda. The climate clock is ticking.

 

 

About the Author:

Yugratna Srivastava, age 19, is an undergraduate student of Electronics and Communications Engineering at Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad. She serves in the Global Board of Plant-for-the-Planet and is also a member of UNEP-TUNZA. She is the youngest person to address Heads of State at the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York in 2009 and holds two TED talks to her credit.