Climate change affects all generations but it is young people who will inherit the impacts for many decades to come. As a result, it is also young people who will rise to this challenge. To achieve this it is critical that they be given the means and opportunity to act as agents of change both at the grass-roots and global level.

What is Climate Generation?
The Climate Generation project identifies and trains talented young people to communicate climate change issues to their peers, the public and key decision-makers directly and via the media, encouraging positive action on climate change to be taken.

Activities will initially focus on participants’ communities but will extend beyond to have a regional, national and global reach.

How is this achieved?
This program tackles climate change locally and internationally through a network of Climate Generation advocates—young people aged 11-35, up to 50 of whom are nominated from each country.

They work to spread the word about climate change and get others involved within their communities. From this group, several are selected to take their efforts to a global scale.

The aims of the project

• Increase understanding of the case for tackling climate change
• Increase support for the achievement and implementation of international agreements that   address the threat of climate change
• Strengthen relationships and networks which lead to action on climate change
• Directly connect with 20,000 young people through the project, of which 2000 are Climate Generation advocates
• Engage via the web on climate change issues with 10 million young people

Partners and Reach so far
We are working with in-country partners across 13 countries—initially the G8+5 (Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, UK, USA)—to help set up Climate Champion initiatives. Partners include:

• High-level government agencies/ministries
• Private associations
• NGOs
• Companies
• Universities
• Media organisations

Project activities so far
Advocates have been involved in a wide range of local projects aimed at:

• Awareness raising – talks, DVDs, blogs, exhibitions, art works, newspaper articles, etc.
• Behaviour change – reclaiming derelict land, constructing vegetable plots, cleaning up beaches, competitions, tree planting, a “walking bus” school transportation programme, etc.

Networking to support the above aims has been continually carried out to share ideas and best practice with other Champions around the world.

In 2008 the advocates were given communications training and formulated a challenge which they presented to environmental ministers at a Climate Change Conference in Kobe, Japan in May. Three of them participated in the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva in June. They received strong press coverage around the world. Just six countries achieved an audience reach of 42 million and publicity worth £4 million.