Youth ‘must insist on climate action’

YOUNG people must pressurise political leaders in order to meet the challenge of climate change, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations intergovernmental panel on climate change told delegates to the Partnership for Change — Climate Change Conference in Cork.

Dressed in cricket gear and speaking from his home in India via video link, the Nobel laureate said: “We are at a crossroads in terms of climate change and young people must start to exert pressure on the rest of society to start taking the right set of actions so they will not have to lose out in the future.”

A key aspect of the conference was the focus on youth, and representatives from 16 secondary schools were invited to attend to hear for themselves the devastating affects of climate change from leading international experts. More than 100 students from universities and third-level colleges also participated.