The need to raise awareness around climate is an immediate matter and ranges from more extreme weather to increasing food prices to general health. This is supported by WHO, the United Nations, WWF, and the list goes on. 

Every European region is affected by climate change in one way or another. The impact ranges from heat extremes, flooding, and changes in climate to biodiversity loss, higher risk for diseases, wildfires, and loss of water. The impact is already felt on the ecosystem, economy, and people’s health. Read more about the specific impact in your region here. 

Currently, the biggest polluters in the EU are energy industries and transport sector. Still, the emissions of greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 30% in comparison to 1990. To further tackle the problem of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the EU developed a set of goals and actions that will bring Europe to climate neutrality by 2050. Read more about the future plans for climate neutrality here.

People are mostly not aware of how big the issue of changing climate is, and even when they are, they feel helpless and stuck. 

Creating dialogue around climate must start somewhere. By planting a seed in people’s minds, we wish for it to grow and influence their environment afterward as well. The best-case scenario would be for it to reach many more people and, through this, be in service of all humans on Earth. 

During the meetings and discussions in the Climate Carrier project, we realized how little trust young people have in the EU. Even though they do know something about climate issues, they do not trust that the EU is doing a good job in tackling it. There is a lack of easily accessible information about the EU and how young people can be involved in, among other things, contributing to solving climate issues. This is one of the reasons why we see more and more young people showing up for activism and demonstrations to demand action and responsibility for climate. The EU recognized the reason to meet and talk about what the community can do to get the young people involved in the long haul. Therefore, the Climate Carrier project by Samsø Energy Academy and INFORSE investigated young people’s thoughts on the EU and climate change. It all led to the Community Climate Day which was fully organized by a group of six Kaospilot students who had an opportunity to run a climate-oriented event and influence other young people in Aarhus, Denmark. Read more about the project here.

If you want to get involved in creating a change there are many paths you can take. Whether you want to start from your home and reduce your consumption, learn how to talk to other people about climate change, or do more hands-on work, there is plenty of materials that you can find on the EU and the UN’s websites, as well as from the other reliable sources. If you are especially interested in volunteer work and seminars about sustainability, we recommend checking your local youth environmental association. They can give you better information on how to help in your area. Find your local association here.

All those tips and materials can help you find your way through the mess called climate change and hopefully lead you to a better understanding of how you can get involved.