US and UK youth demand ethical climate policies for a livable future

Climate change is a health emergency, a crisis in which the wellbeing of bodies and minds should be as central to the conversation as levels of carbon dioxide are. As young people, we are some of the most affected, yet least represented, by climate policy decisions. In the eight months leading up to COP26, a coalition of more than 50 young people from across the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) joined forces to amplify our concerns to the decision-makers who will craft national and international climate policy. Through an open-ended and iterative process, we co-produced policy briefs on four themes—Lands & Ecosystems, Youth Mental Health & Wellness, Just Transitions, and Global Security—which we invite you to explore on our website. Here, we outline the intimate ties that we see between climate policy and our health.

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Lands, waters, humans: many parts of one interconnected body

We recognise functional ecosystems as one form of preventative healthcare: they reduce infectious disease, provide clean water, prevent wildfire, absorb storm surges, and provide a wealth of services that, if provided by institutions, would be considered ‘public health’. In turn, healthy human populations are better able to steward the lands and waters where they live. While the US and UK commit vaguely to protecting biodiversity and respecting Indigneous peoples, we are tired of empty promises and demand accountability. We call on our governments to:

1. Restore land rights and ecosystem management authority to Indigenous peoples and local communities;

2. Rewrite economic policy to recognise that our economies are embedded within nature, not the other way around: consumption and pollution must remain within the limits that Earth’s ecosystems can absorb;

3. Employ a transparent, universal mechanism for monitoring progress toward national biodiversity targets; and

4. Develop national government bodies responsible for carbon accounting to ensure that offsets are accurate, permanent, and just.

Invisible wounds: youth mental health, forced migration, and the climate crisis

The sea is rising. Extreme weather is increasing in frequency and severity. Environmental crises such as hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts harm the mental health of all, but especially youth, leading to heightened depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Imagine how this harm is compounded when youth are forced to migrate due to irreparable damage to their homes. And yet, youth are usually left out of climate decision-making, and our mental health struggles are underreported in media and public health research. We call on our nations to: 

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1. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45% compared to 2010 levels by 2030 to keep warming to no more than 1.5C; 

2. Identify legal routes of action and protection for internal and external climate-displaced persons: pass Bill S.1335 in the US Congress and develop humanitarian visas in the UK's National Adaptation Programme;

3. Fund and finance disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation interventions that will lessen the psychological impacts of disasters on populations; and

4. Create opportunities for youth to participate in collective engagement and decision-making on climate change and youth mental health.

Just transitions: no exploitation for energy

Energy comes at a cost. In Appalachia, the home region of one of our youth coalition members, mountaintop-removal coal mining has exposed families to higher risk of death from cancer, respiratory disease, and cardiovascular illness. Remnants of the twentieth century ‘company town’ dynamic continue to make social services inaccessible, shorten life expectancies, and exacerbate the outmigration of youth from Appalachian communities. When poorly regulated, low-carbon fuels also come with a high social and ecological price. For example, cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for renewable energy storage pollutes water and air and exploits labour, producing a ‘decarbonisation divide’ in which the Global North demands ‘clean’ energy from the Global South while ignoring the human and ecosystem harm to mining communities. To break the destructive cycle of extraction, policy must centre just energy transitions. We propose that our governments:

1. Adopt an immediate moratorium on fossil fuel extraction projects and reduce overall energy demand;

2. Mitigate the ecological and social harm caused by extraction through the remediation of abandoned mine land that can restore balance to ecosystems, reduce public health harm, and create jobs in regions with high unemployment;

3. Protect the communities surrounding mines and e-waste disposal facilities from harm through rigorous environmental regulations and healthcare provision; and

4. Redistribute power currently held by extractive industries to the most affected communities through participatory decision-making and equitable resource distribution.

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Global security: prioritising the dignity and prosperity of people and the planet

Security is a contested term and is constantly redefined by governments, individuals, and nongovernmental organisations. Modern security discourses touch on a range of disparate topics such as terrorism, cyber attacks, border control, food safety, pandemics, and critical infrastructure. Still, various framings of security share in common that they seek to identify and manage “unwanted futures - risks, dangers, or threats”.

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The way in which governments define security impacts their ability to craft ethical policies. We envision policymaking processes that prioritise the dignity and prosperity of individuals, as well as the health and restoration of the natural world around us; these principles must serve as foundational components when we define security in policy settings.

The US and UK have both referred to the current era as one of renewed “great power competition”. Yet such terms convey an adversarial mentality, which is counterproductive to the collective, international action required to address the climate emergency and ensure the security of individuals and ecosystems. Ultimately, the UK and US should: 

1. Utilise their positions of power within the international community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis, and mitigate risks caused by environmental degradation. This includes reducing emissions created by their security apparatuses, including their militaries, which are responsible for a large share of global emissions; 

2. Strive to influence international organisations and alliances of which they are part to pursue climate-conscious paths forward; and

3. Within their own bilateral relationship, the UK and US should explore the links between security and the climate crisis. They should place emphasis on addressing the root causes of environmental degradation, asking questions such as: 

   a. How can the UK and US militaries operate more sustainably? 

   b. What are the benefits of using biofuels and other renewable energy sources to power modern military operations? 

   c. How can the UK and US militaries expand their efforts to prevent illegal logging and fishing around the world, especially in conflict zones where the natural world and those who protect it are most vulnerable?

Conclusion

Eight months ago, we—as a handful of passionate young people representing a wide range of disciplines—looked ahead to COP26 and asked ourselves, “What could we contribute?” Some of us had never worked in policy, and others brought significant experience. We knew two things: that the weight of the climate crisis falls on our generation, and that collective action is essential. Our process of self-education, conversation, and co-creation culminated in four policy briefs that express some of our most pressing concerns and solutions, but they won’t make a difference on their own. Everyone’s mental and physical health is at stake. Every voice is important: we invite you to add yours.