Nakuru County Government is harnessing the vitality and energy of young people to nurture their involvement in shaping sustainable nature based solutions to climate change actions.
The County Director for Environment Ms Grace Karanja said that youths who are now driven by innovation and boundless energy stand a better chance of playing the role of catalysts for global change.
Ms Karanja who spoke when she officially inaugurated a youth conference on climate change and actions in Nakuru, said it was time for governments, development partners and relevant stakeholders to invest in and support young climate justice activists to be included in decision-making on matters of climate change if meaningful achievements are to be realised.
The youth conference dubbed, ‘Youths Kenya 2024 forum on Nature based solutions on climate change actions’ brought on board over 100 participants who were to unite and amplify voices of Kenyan youth, share ideas and demonstrate youth solutions in the global battle against climate change.
Ms Karanja observed that the yearly conference will play a crucial role in shaping young people’s understanding of climate policy and that their future was at stake hence they need to be agents of change as innovators and valuable workforce.
“One of the most compelling reasons not to ignore the voices of the youth is that the long-term consequences of the climate crisis will impact them, and unlike the older generations who often dominate climate discussions and policymaking, it is the young generation that stands to suffer the most from climate change,” Ms Karanja noted.
The Director pointed out that technology has given youth a louder voice to speak up on issues such as adopting sustainable agricultural practices and technologies and advocating for renewable energy sources adding that across the world, the younger generation has greater access to digital spaces which give them an instant audience.
She however expressed regret that globally young people have been ignored in climate decisions for far too long and can no longer be seen as merely means to an end as it is their present and their future that’s at stake.
Karanja added that their concerns and their solutions must be at the heart of all decision-making adding that empowering young people presents a historic, transformational, and collective opportunity to advance an inclusive green recovery, accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and also lay the foundation for a peaceful and sustainable future.
The conference has brought together youths from environmental conservation lobby groups including Wash Parliament (WP), Kenya Water Ambassadors (KWA), Neissuit ward climate change planning committee, World wildlife fund (WWF), Youths 4 nature (Y4N) and Inuka Afrika (IA).
A recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Climate vote showed that nearly 70 percent of those under 18 view climate change as a global emergency.
Other studies by UNDP show that ‘eco-anxiety’ is increasing, particularly amongst the young. A global study of 10,000 youth from 10 countries in 2021 found that over 50 percent of young people felt sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty about climate change.
By Esther Mwangi
