What C-U youth are doing to stop climate change

On Saturday, October 13, 5 students from across town held the C-U Youth Sustainability Summit after five months of planning. The goal of the meeting was to educate young people in the community on climate change, to start conversations and to empower young people to initiate dialogue around finding solutions at a more local level.

“We hope that it will inspire students to make a difference and continue to take action, whether it means taking personal steps (getting a rain barrel, for example) or fighting for local government to adapt better climate action policies,” says Lili Banihashem, one of the five students leading the summit and a senior at University High School.

Banihashem also explains why summits like this are so important. “Our generation, and the generations that come after us are the ones that will be most impacted by global climate change,” she says. “It is in all of our best interest to ensure a safer planet for ourselves and our future children.”

Creating a conversation about climate change and educating youth on the subject is important because this is not just a problem that can be swept under the rug.

Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report explaining how climate change will cause catastrophic changes to the environment as early as 2040 if changes aren’t made now to reverse it. Scientific reports like these coming out show how there is no better time than now to begin action.

Starting small in local communities is an important step because it allows people to have the knowledge to change. Hopefully with these small steps, Champaign-Urbana can become more eco-friendly and help trigger other communities to do the same.