A youthful bid to tackle climate change
Straits Times 31 Dec 07;
TWO young Singaporeans are doing their bit to save the world - or at least, the climate.
As part of the newly formed action group Asian Young Leaders Climate Forum (AYLCF), Shanthan Selvakumar, 27, and Ramanathan Thurairajoo, 25, joined regional youth leaders from 14 countries to present a communique to world leaders at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali.
The group was brought together by the British Council with the support of the World Wildlife Fund and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Here is their experience.
IT ALL happened in tandem.
As world leaders convened in Bali to address climate change earlier this month, young leaders representing 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region gathered in Bogor, Indonesia.
Over a week, a group of 35 discussed how the youth of today - who as global leaders of tomorrow would inherit the brunt of climate change - could take the lead at driving solutions.
Then, seven were selected to represent the AYLCF and present a communique on the role of youth in climate security, among them, the two of us.
This, after two weeks of days that started at 6am and stretched into the wee hours, during which we examined each other's strengths, networks and cross-sectoral perspectives on climate change.
We finally came up with a holistic approach to engaging youth for the UN Conference - nothing less than a mind-blowing experience.
We had a 'divide and conquer' strategy and broke up to introduce ourselves to and network with heads of states, political leaders, scientists, world experts and researchers at as many sector-specific conferences as possible.
The highlight?
Meeting renowned economist Sir Nicholas Stern, who authored the Stern Review, the global 'gold standard' reference for direct links between man's activities and climate change.
He spent close to an hour with us in a closed session, listening as we explained project plans for each sectoral engagement.
Sir Nicholas was inquisitive and engaged us in detailed discussions - best of all, he endorsed the AYLCF. He also agreed to be our mentor in our efforts to empower youth to drive climate solutions.
The Bali experience was invaluable. From the exposure and networking, we were able to build a platform to drive solutions from the government, community, corporate, media and education sectors.
We were also able to meet existing 'action-oriented' youth groups to exchange best practices, which will enable us to leverage off existing networks in the Asia-Pacific.
Within such a short time, we have evolved into a dynamic regional network of young people with a concrete road map. More than 300 people have already registered on our website, community.britishcouncil.org/aylcf.
We feel charged with so much positive energy.
Perhaps in a decade or so, the next generation can then look to us and ask how we faced the challenge of addressing climate change, the biggest threat facing mankind.
Shanthan Selvakumar, 27, is a climate solutions regional analyst with AES Corporation while Ramanathan Thurairajoo, 25, is a second-year environmental engineering student at Nanyang Technological University
