Climate Change Resources
YouthLead has curated a list of recommended tools and resources to aid you this week as we highlight the social impact of the climate crisis.
Food and Agriculture
MEL for Youth in Agriculture
Courtesy of: YP2LE
YouthPower Learning is supporting GFSS with the release of the Project Design Guide for Youth-Inclusive Agriculture and Food Systems (Volumes I & II), which bridges the U.S. Government GFSS objectives and builds on United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) youth inclusion policy embodied in its Youth in Development Policy.
What Works in Youth and Agriculture?
Courtesy of: YP2LE
Given the growing youth populations in sub-Saharan Africa and the state of economic livelihoods in the region, the agriculture sector — and particularly on-farm production — offers great potential for alleviating unemployment and underemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Read on to learn more.
Youth and Agriculture in Uganda: An Assessment
Courtesy of: YP2LE
The assessment describes Uganda's youth labor market, youth attitudes towards agriculture, access to productive assets and then considers them in light of value chains (coffee and maize) and how youth could be targeted. The assessment also addresses civic engagement, education, and business skills development.
YouthLead Webinar: Connecting Youth to Agriculture
Courtesy of: YouthLead
Agriculture is often overlooked by youth and others as an economically viable option: however it is an evolving sector that requires technical skills and forward-thinking solutions in order face the challenges that will be required to meet our global food demands. This webinar highlights how youth are changing the face of agriculture.
Energy
Scaling Up Renewable Energy
Courtesy of: USAID
USAID’s Scaling Up Renewable Energy (SURE) project helps developing countries implement clean energy solutions efficiently and effectively. Through SURE, USAID is promoting private-sector engagement to produce affordable, renewable electricity. SURE collaborates with governments to develop competitive systems and transparent policies for power procurement.
Women in Energy
Courtesy of: RTI International
The energy sector has been rapidly growing throughout the world, yet women are often underrepresented in the energy sector workforce. Hear how RTI International is working to address systematic barriers to strengthen the ability for girls and women to engage in this critical sector.
Webinar: Impact of COVID-19 on the renewable energy sector
Courtesy of: IRENA Youth Forum
Following the first IRENA Youth Forum held on 10 January 2020 at the margins of the Agency’s tenth Assembly, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is launching IRENA Youth Talk — a series of webinars aimed at strengthening the Agency’s engagement with the youth, amplifying their voice and actions in supporting renewables, achieving climate stability, and advancing the sustainable development agenda.
Impact
Climate Change Starter Kit
Courtesy of: YP2LE
This kit contains the best 36 resources on the YouthLead website related to youth combating climate change. They are a great starting point for youth interested in learning more about the climate crisis and include ways to take meaningful action and steps to take for advocacy campaigns. As the climate crisis continues, youth action will be especially important in making a difference.
Young African Innovators Transform Plastic Waste into Sustainable Products
Courtesy of: YP2LE
This article profiles the work of Tanzania’s EverGreen Recycling Industry, the first to start recycling plastic waste into new products.
Climate Adaptation
Courtesy of: USAID
USAID strengthens the resilience of vulnerable populations to the impacts of climate change by partnering with countries to apply best practices, science, knowledge, and tools.
FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate
Courtesy of: The White House
In April 2021, President Biden convened the U.S.-led Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate with 40 world leaders. Read on to see the new initiatives that were announced during the two-day summit.
Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Courtesy of: UN
Worldwide consumption and production — a driving force of the global economy — rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet. Read on to get the key facts and figures and to discover how COVID-19 has shifted responses.
Toolkit for Young Climate Activists
Courtesy of: UNICEF
Its goal is to share clear, concise, easily understandable information that describes the course that global, regional and national climate action is taking, in order to prepare young people for full and informed participation.
UNEP's Global Environmental Outlook: GEO-6 for Youth
Courtesy of: UNEP
GEO-6 for Youth is a one-stop-shop for a young person to understand the state of the environment, what they can do every day to drive markets to adopt environmentally sustainable products and services and how to develop their skills and choose environmentally sustainable careers. The report provides background to help understand the issues, but most importantly shows how youth have the power to bring about transformative change for the environment.
Impact of Climate Change on Ecosystem
Courtesy of: NASA
The journal 'Climate Change' records the study of how plant life would react over the next three centuries as a result of rising temperatures due to human-produced greenhouse gases (GHGs). According to the report, by 2100, climate change will mutate and modify plant communities that cover almost half of the Earth's land surface. This means that certain ecological community types, like forests or tundras, will be changed to different ones.
Landscapes
Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land
Courtesy of: UN
Human activity has altered almost 75 percent of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into an ever-smaller corner of the planet. Deforestation and desertification—caused by human activities and climate change—pose major challenges to sustainable development and have affected the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. The health of our planet also plays an important role in the emergence of zoonotic diseases, i.e., diseases that are transmissible between animals and humans.
How Climate Change Affects Wildfires
Courtesy of: Environmental Defense Fund
Rising temperatures, a key indicator of climate change, evaporate more moisture from the ground, drying out the soil, and making vegetation more flammable. Learn how severe heat and drought fuel wildfires.
Principles For Sustainable Soil Management
Courtesy of: United National Global Compact
Soil should be factored into the wider context of sustainable development and the Food and Agriculture (FAB) Principles that encompass the entire agricultural value chain. Soil is not an isolated element, and several issues impact soil health both directly and indirectly.
Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources
Courtesy of: UN
Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future. However, at the current time, there is a continuous deterioration of coastal waters owing to pollution, and ocean acidification is having an adversarial effect on the functioning of ecosystems and biodiversity. This is also negatively impacting small scale fisheries.
Pollution
Clean Air Catalyst
Courtesy of: USAID
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched Clean Air Catalyst, a new flagship program to combat air pollution, alongside a global consortium of organizations led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Through this program, USAID and partners will work with local communities—starting in Indore, India and Jakarta, Indonesia—to better understand local pollution sources and identify, test, accelerate, and scale solutions for cleaner, healthier air.
Let's Talk Air Pollution
Courtesy of: Voices of Youth Today
Are you interested in taking some small steps for a healthier lifestyle? Check out their Hi-5 For Health series to connect with other youth, get tips from experts, join the discussion, and participate in challenges!
Programs/Learning Opportunities
Beyond Alarm Bell Ringing: How Young People Can Lead Climate Change Action
Courtesy of: YouthLead
Focused on the connection between localized learning and collective action, this webinar will build awareness around the issue of climate change, provide applicable skills and recommendations, and better equip young leaders and changemakers to take action in their own communities. The International Youth Foundation invites you to join Mohsen Gul—the co-founder of Green Box—and a panel of guest speakers from across sectors.
USAID Launches New Climate Risk Management Portal
Courtesy of: USAID
Climate risk management (CRM) ensures planning and programming is resilient to current and future climate impacts. To help development practitioners conduct CRM, which applies to all USAID investments in all development sectors, the Agency’s CRM team has worked with Climatelinks to develop a user-friendly portal.
The One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership
Courtesy of: UN
The UN has developed an online, self-paced learning platform covering several topics surrounding climate change, including the role of youth. The One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership, also known as UN CC:Learn, is a collaborative initiative of 36 multilateral organizations working together to help countries build the knowledge and skills they need to take action on climate change.
Courtesy of: World Bank Group, Italian Ministry of Environment, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Connect4Climate is a global partnership program launched by the World Bank Group and the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea, together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, that takes on climate change by supporting ambitious leadership, promoting transformative solutions, and empowering collective action.
Water/Sanitation
Climate Change and Municipal Solid Waste
Courtesy of: Environmental Protection Agency
Rising levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are causing changes in our climate, and some of these changes can be traced to solid waste. The manufacture, distribution, and use of products-as well as management of the resulting waste-all result in greenhouse gas emissions. Waste prevention and recycling are real ways to help mitigate climate change.
Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Courtesy of: UN
Worldwide, one in three people do not have access to safe drinking water, two out of five people do not have a basic hand-washing facility with soap and water, and more than 673 million people still practice open defecation. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the critical importance of sanitation, hygiene, and adequate access to clean water for preventing and containing diseases.
Why We Need Integrated Water Security Programming
Courtesy of: Brian App
Whether building strong economies, improving human health, or supporting thriving ecosystems, water is an integral and interconnected element with impacts far outside of the water sector in global development. This article touches on improved water management, ecosystem services, and integrated planning.
Weather
Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action
Courtesy of: UN
Climate change is affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme.
How Climate Change Affects Extreme Weather Around the World
Courtesy of: Carbon Brief
In the early 2000s, a new field of climate-science research emerged that began to explore the human fingerprint on extreme weather, such as floods, heatwaves, droughts, and storms. Known as “extreme event attribution,” the field has gained momentum, not only in the science world, but also in the media and public imagination. These studies have the power to link the seemingly abstract concept of climate change with personal and tangible experiences of the weather.
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