Youth can do more to help fight climate changE: Aniva Clarke

The Pacific Representative of the Teen Committee of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (C.R.C) Aniva Clarke has stated that the youth can do more to help fight climate change.

Ms. Clarke told the Eyespy Radio on Thursday that there are so many simple things youth can do to help fight climate change.

“Simply walking, using public transport or carpooling makes a huge difference. Eat local foods and reduce the amount of packaged items your family buys. Stop the burning of garden waste and plastic - try composting and recycling instead,” she told Eyespy Radio on Thursday.

“Clothing and fast fashion makes a huge contribution to climate change. Upcycling, reusing or gifting clothes to someone else can make a difference. Try going meat-free for one day a week to reduce your carbon footprint.

“If we all took these simple steps, then together we could have a huge impact. Youth in Samoa can follow in the footsteps of myself or Brianna Fruean by tapping into their love for our beautiful islands of Samoa.”

She stated that the youth can start by joining or setting up an environment club, whether that is in their school, their village or their church group.

“Start with small projects within the group and encourage members of the community to participate. Simple projects could be beach cleanups, holding meetings with the youth in the church, village or school and teaching them about climate change and what everyone can do to protect our planet,” she said.

“Join me in my work with the Children’s Advisory Team for the UN Child Rights Committee! We are reaching out to youth worldwide to listen to them about the climate crisis.

“We currently have an online questionnaire for young people to share their experiences on the environment and climate change at https://childrightsenvironment.org/get-involved/ . This is an important tool to listen to young people’s concerns. It will be followed by workshops as we work on guidance to make governments accountable to protect children’s rights to a healthy environment and make sure we can live in a clean, green and healthy world.

“I have a regional youth network, called Eco-Toa Pacific, with a purpose of bringing Pacific youth together to empower and amplify their voices on climate change and child rights. Eco-Toa Pacific social media pages, @ecotoapacific on instagram and on facebook, have more information about our work to create networks, promote climate knowledge and share opportunities. Follow our pages to keep up to date on our projects and opportunities. We can also help you set up an environment club so please reach out and we can work together to protect our environment!”

Ms. Clarke added that she would love to see more awarness about climate change in schools and that it should be included in all subjects.

According to her, the climate crisis should be covered in every class and the youth need to be taught about how to protect the planet and ways to address the climate crisis.

“This is not only something lacking in Samoa, but for many places across the world. Samoa is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impact of the climate crisis, therefore, it is extremely important that youth in Samoa understand what the climate crisis is and what they can do to help stop it,” she said.

Ms. Clarke explained that there have been many opportunities for the youth to speak about environmental issues such as the meeting with top UN bodies such as the C.R.C.

“We are also seeing many young people start or join environment groups at their schools and get active in reducing plastic pollution, doing beach clean ups and caring for our beautiful country,” she said.

“We can all play our part every single day by making better, greener choices. Refill a water bottle instead of buying another plastic one. Choose locally made food that hasn’t travelled halfway around the world to get here. Clean up around your school or village and stop rubbish washing into our rivers and out to our oceans. Every little bit counts and is a step forward to change.”

In terms of waste management issues in Samoa, she it is a huge problem that stems from many sources.

“There is a lack of education about it at schools and in homes. There is also a lack of resources for youth to understand how our actions create plastic pollution and damage to the environment,” she said.

“At the heart of it, we all need to understand the importance of taking responsibility for our actions and how every action counts, no matter how small. We need to understand the impact rubbish has on our environment and oceans and take responsibility for dealing with our rubbish properly.”

Ms. Clarke said that schools, churches and community groups can all play their part with this message about reducing waste and dealing with it better.

“We are also seeing great work being done with recycling programmes through Samoa Waste Management that schools and churches can get behind,” she said.