How we can use ‘hope’ in a strategic way when focusing on climate change

A haunting childhood image of a rainforest paved over by concrete became a life-defining moment for one climate activist, and which still inspires her to campaign for global climate justice.

In episode 17 of The Decarbonisation Dialogue, climate activists Charlotte Lastowecki and Olivia Horne from the UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC) share how their personal experiences and a lack of early empowerment helped shape their passion for climate advocacy. 

The organisation, driven by young people, aims to mobilise and empower youth to take action for systemic climate justice.

Olivia’s environmental journey began in primary school, where she first learned about the environmental impact of development and infrastructure on the rainforest. 

She explained how the learning gave her a sense of helplessness whilst she yearned for solutions.

She said: “We weren’t given any information about what we could do. It was presented as ‘this is a crisis that is happening, and it is out of our control.

“That’s what I like about UK Youth Climate Coalition, is that it is empowering people, rather than just focusing on what is going wrong, but what our power is and how we can change things.”

Charlotte echoed this, recalling a lack of depth in climate education during her secondary school years. This became apparent when learning about melting ice caps and recycling.  

She said: “There was no mention of justice or power, or the real impact of the world, it felt distant and abstract. 

“I didn’t wake up one day wanting to be an activist. I looked around and felt I had to be and needed to be, to make some kind of difference and make my voice heard in some kind of way.”

For both Olivia and Charlotte, it’s vital that young people are not only heard but seen as key players in climate decision-making.

“We need to treat young people as active participants, not passive receivers of things that are happening, so including them in decision making, visibility in the media and validation in classrooms,” Charlotte said.

She added that hope is central to this empowerment. It can be strategic and when shared, it becomes contagious. 

“People think hope is this abstract concept, out in the nether, that it can never be grasped back, but it can be strategic and when it’s shared it can become really contagious. 

“So, it’s treating those young people as active participants and giving them that hope, and those tools can be a really powerful thing.”

The UK Youth Climate Coalition’s mission goes beyond mere representation. As Charlotte explained, it seeks to “radically transform systems of power.”

“It means not just asking for a seat at the table, but redesigning the table, fundamentally and redesigning what it looks like and how young people are involved,” she said.

“We don’t just want to be consulted. We want to lead. We believe in shifting power to the margins, to the communities and nations most affected by the climate crisis.

“Because right now decisions are often being taken by people who won’t face the consequences or won’t face them as much as young people or marginalised people now.”

While recognising the importance of individual behaviour, both activists emphasise the need for broader systemic change.

“It’s easy to think this is too big for me, this is too much, this is too much for me to even think about and it’s easy to get yourself in that mindset, that you can’t do anything,” Charlotte added.

“It’s all about those little changes, that you can make, that can make yourself do better, not only for yourself but for the environment.

“Find your ways to contribute in a meaningful way. That is one step more than what you were doing yesterday.”

Ultimately, she says it is system change that will move the needle and whilst individual action helps build momentum, it sends signals to corporations and governments and shows that the community is demanding better.

Both campaigners agree that climate action begins with connections, connecting people, global governments and business.

“I think for me the key word is connection. One of the key problems today that has led to the climate crisis that we are in is the lack of connection both to the environment and to each other,” Olivia said.

Everyone agrees it’s a huge challenge, but we can change.

“Trying to be a little better each day is enough,” Charlotte added. “You don’t have to be perfect to make a difference.”

The UK Youth Climate Coalition is a voluntary, non-hierarchical, consensus-led organisation run by young people. Its work ranges from scrutinising MPs’ climate voting records to delivering educational workshops that equip young people with the skills and knowledge needed to fight for climate justice.

Let us know what you think of The Decarbonisation Dialogue. If you have ideas for guests or other podcast suggestions, please contact us at podcast [email protected]

We’d love to know what you think.

All episodes are available for streaming or download from your preferred podcast platform including Apple, Amazon and Spotify. The recordings are also available from our website.