Get to know the recently graduated president of the Student Energy McGill Chapter, Chloe Guo, based in Montreal, Quebec. Chloe just finished her last year of undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at McGill University and will be staying at McGill for two more years as a Master’s student. She will remain in the SE McGill Chapter as a Graduate Student Advisor.

“I first joined the McGill chapter as the Vice President of Events two years ago during my first in-person semester at McGill. Going into university without having much interaction with others during the COVID pandemic, I wanted to get to know more peers with similar interests. I have always been interested in sustainability and sustainable energy in general.

…As VP Events, I organized several campus-wide in-person and virtual events. When I joined the McGill chapter, it was still a very young student group that many didn’t know about. Hoping to attract more like-minded students, the first event I organized was a virtual info session featuring some of the members on the Student Energy Management Team! After this event, we went on to host many more engaging workshops, webinars, and in-person networking events in collaboration with professionals from outside of the McGill community on topics such as climate migration and climate justice. During my time as VP Events and later on as the president, I learned so much from my teammates and energy leaders that I had the chance to talk with at our events. I’m glad that we have come thus far in the past two years and matured so much together as a team!” – Chloe Guo

If you want to connect with the Student Energy McGill Chapter, check them out on Instagram at @studentenergyatmcgill

Interested to start a Student Energy Chapter at your university? Head over to Starting a Chapter on our website and fill out an Expression of Interest form!

The ASES Solar conference held space for presentations, discussions, and speakers for both working professionals and youth to co-learn about social justice aspects of the energy sector– such as women in solar, intergenerational discussions on mentorship, and youth entering the labour market to name a few. The event ran from August 8-11th but I arrived in Boulder on the 10th, leaving me with little time to enjoy the rest of the conference. I was, however, lucky enough to listen in on a “Young Professionals” panel discussion on youth sharing their strategic ways on networking, and navigating their early career challenges in the renewable energy sector. The latter half of the session allotted for a rotating speed networking session with the youth panelists, where I participated and learned some common, yet relevant challenges that young people face in entering the green jobs market. Youth with backgrounds in engineering, public policy, and STEM research find it challenging to find meaningful work, and shared various ways such as pitching project ideas or research topics as a way to show their initiative and proactiveness in their work-learn opportunities and internships. Connecting with these young professionals informed me the same stories of all other young people globally who are passionate change makers, and have grit to make meaningful difference in the energy transition movement, but are struggling to enter the industry. Feeling even more inspired by this experience, I channeled the same level of positivity into delivering Student Energy’s workshop that speaks to the very nature of this conversation– how young people can enter the energy transition labour market. 

The workshop drew key insights from Student Energy’s recently published report “Energy Transitions Skills Project” and its own 14 years of youth engagement to provide some actionable recommendations on how youth can take hold of their own energy careers. I walk through the importance of reflecting values, desires, and skills before job searching as a way to remind young people what is important to them when selecting a career; and relating their values to the labour market demand will make it easier for them to target their job search. Later, I facilitated a storytelling session where participants pitch their stories amongst themselves as a practice run for future networking opportunities with industry professionals. While there was low attendance in the workshop, the youth who participated were very engaged and happy to share their stories and connect with one another. 

Sharing recommendations to young people to be part of the energy movement gives me joy as I was in the same position a couple of years ago–I did not know how to apply my own unique skills and lived experiences in the energy transition industry, and felt severe imposter syndrome as a result. I still am continuously navigating through this rhythm of learning collectively as I engage with other youth on how we can intercept high-level decision-making spaces, and make our voices heard through our work. From learning about energy education through the Leaders Fellowship Program, to now working as Research and Youth Engagement Special Projects Coordinator, Student Energy has expanded my potential in the way I see myself, and how to creatively apply my own unique skills in the energy space. This experience has given me the opportunity to connect with other brilliant minds that give me the optimistic feeling of a positive transformation of the energy industry, and preparing for the next generation of leaders to confidently reclaim and re-write their futures. 

Student Energy’s Shakti Ramkumar, Senior Director of Policy and Communications, had a conversation with Chris Palliser, host of The SolarPVcast podcast by Shift Energy Group in a podcast episode “Empowering Future Leaders: Student Energy’s Impact on Sustainable Energy Transition” published August 4 on Spotify and YouTube. The conversation delves into how Student Energy, a global, youth-led non-profit organization, is empowering young people to become leaders accelerating the transition to a just and equitable energy future.

The conversation begins with the humble beginnings of Student Energy – how a team of three students (Janice Tran, Kali Taylor, and Sean Collins) in Calgary back in 2009 managed to build the world’s largest organization working on energy with a network of 50,000+ global youth 14 years later. Starting with the first International Student Energy Summit, the founders successfully brought together 350 young people from over 30 countries to gather in Calgary and provide a space for collaboration alongside world leaders and energy experts. And so, Student Energy was born as a non-profit with a mission to empower aspiring young leaders to take an active part in a just energy transition.

Shakti shares the organization’s many initiatives, including the impact of Student Energy’s programs ecosystem engaging thousands of global young people in building the skills, education, training, and project development experience to empower them in tackling various energy, climate, and equity issues both at a local and global level. In particular, Shakti talked about Student Energy’s Guided Projects program, with the first cohort installing solar PV projects within their local communities in varying contexts. A pre-pilot solar PV project was successfully installed by students at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alberta before the official cohort launch. Led by students Jack Harding and Ethan Buchanan, power generated from the solar array is now being sold to the University, and the students are using the proceeds to fund their Chapter’s work. Since then, the Guided Projects program brought on six teams from all over the world as part of the first cohort. Two of these solar projects are now successfully installed – the Shames Mountain team providing power for a community-owned ski hill in Northwestern BC, and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) team’s project aiming to electrify Gachororo Primary School in their community in Juja, Kenya.

At the core of Student Energy’s work is education. The aim is to demystify the energy system by leveling the playing field on who gets to understand the energy system by simplifying technical jargon, making energy education accessible to anyone, and empowering people to feel comfortable explaining the energy system. The Energy System Map, the Energy 101 series on Student Energy’s social media platforms, and energy education videos on Student Energy’s YouTube channels are the many ways the organization shares educational resources so anyone can be empowered to learn about the energy system.

Listen to the full podcast on Spotify and watch the full episode on YouTube!

Spotify

YouTube

Global Clean Energy Action Forum:

• Meredith Adler, and SevenGen Council members Mihskakwan James Harper and Serena Mendizabal met with The Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister for Natural Resources Canada, to discuss youth-led action on clean energy in Canada, and to recognize the announcement of the Government of Canada’s $5.3M contribution to promote youth participation in the clean energy sector.
• Student Energy hosted an official side event at the GCEAF, “Mobilizing Youth for a Just Transition”, moderated by Shakti Ramkumar and featuring speakers Serena Mendizabal (SevenGen), Isabella Pfoser (Austrian Youth Climate Council), Yasemin Yavari (Danish Youth Climate Council), and Efrem Bycer (LinkedIn).

• Shakti moderated the final panel at the Creating the Energy Futures Forum Closing Plenary, featuring youth clean energy researchers and advocates who outlined technologies they are eager to see scale in the near future.
• Student Energy participated in a special side event, “From blindspot to hotspot”, with Shakti moderating audience engagement for a session on sustainable cooling organized by the Government of India, UNEP, Mission Innovation, the Cool Coalition, and Clean Cooling Collaborative, and featuring special guest Secretary John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, USA.

In addition to these events, we were thrilled to meet youth delegates from around the world who participated in the GCEAF.

New York Climate Week:

• We participated in a Youth Movement Building & Climate Justice Re-Granters meeting alongside climate justice activists and re-granting/funding organizations to explore the critical resourcing needs of youth climate justice activists
• Helen spoke at the UN Global Compact Private Sector Forum, alongside Ester Baiget, CEO of Novozymes, H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, President of IUCN, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Rebecca Miano, CEO of Kenya Electricity Generating Company

• Shakti attended the inaugural Youth Climate Leaders Luncheon, co-hosted by Ahmed Badr and Louise Mabulo, in partnership with We Are Family Foundation, SAP, Narratio, The Cacao Project, and Connect4Climate

In addition to these events, Helen and Shakti also participated in the Hub Live event, the Nest Summit, the Climate Forward Summit by the New York Times, and met with Student Energy’s alums and partners throughout the week during New York Climate Week.

Energy Transformation Policy Sprint

From a youth perspective, the policy-making process can sometimes seem quite opaque. Many of us know in general the kinds of changes we need to see in order to accelerate the energy transition, but how do we drill down into specifics? Who will implement these new programs, assign incentives and disincentives, and evaluate progress? How can we address specific local issues while ensuring policy packages are scalable?

To get a taste of what the policy-making process involves, Student Energy ran an Energy Transformation Policy Sprint at Leading Change, challenging participants to design a policy addressing one of three of the largest sources of carbon emissions in Canada: Industry, Transport, or Buildings.

What if? Unpacking energy scenarios and what they mean for canada

On February 12th, Student Energy’s Executive Director, Meredith Adler, moderated a mainstage panel at GLOBE 2020, with speakers representing organizations that produce or rely on energy scenarios in their decision-making:

• Ken Elser – Senior Vice President, Project Finance and M&A at DNV GL | DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook
• Mallika Ishwaran – Senior Economist and Policy Advisor at Shell International | Shell’s Sky scenario
• Jonathan Arnold – Senior Research Associate at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices | Charting Our Course

This panel dove into the assumptions behind energy modelling and forecasting, unpacking how people relate to complex energy topics, and energy scenarios inform policymaking.

Energy scenarios are highly influential in determining the scope, timeline and ambition of climate targets across all sectors, from energy companies to the financial sector to governments’ policies, so it’s important that these models are aligned with climate science. Young people are deeply concerned that many governments and companies may set emissions targets that are too low, with timelines too far away to limit warming to 1.5C. Many of these timelines and targets are heavily influenced by energy scenarios. Whether they are intended to be neutral data sets and analysis or recommendations, energy scenarios set a standard for what is considered feasible or economically advantageous

Our takeaways from the panel

• Most influential energy forecasts are based on current and historical trends – there are few forecasts that actually predict and provide pathways to achieving a 1.5 or 2C future, which could contribute to setting targets that are too weak or too gradual.
• Scenarios that do show pathways forward often include solutions that are not yet sufficiently scalable (carbon capture and storage, certain types of nature based solutions).
• Models can sometimes overlook social issues like affordability and accessibility in the energy transition (for example, whether people can afford to adopt necessary new technologies, retrofits, or transition careers).

Highlights at Leading Change and GLOBE 2020

As GLOBE takes place in Canada, the conference is undoubtedly affected by current events in Canada. Right now, land defenders from the Wet’suwet’en and supporting Indigenous nations are leading actions across Canada to halt construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline through unceded traditional territory and oppose police intervention on these lands. So the topic of Indigenous sovereignty (particularly in relation to climate change) was at the forefront of many of the conversations we witnessed at the conference, including in MC Larissa Crawford’s opening remarks and delegate Christie McLeod’s question.

We appreciate GLOBE’s openness to making space for these important conversations.

Another highlight for us was Faceoff: The Energy Panacea, an exciting panel debate that explored whether there are any silver bullet solutions in the energy transition (spoiler alert: there aren’t), and whether we’ve prioritized the right solutions and industries to take us forward. You can check out the full panel here!

The Canadian Election is coming up in just over a month, and that means time to get informed, get loud, and vote on October 21st!

At Student Energy, we believe uplifting young people’s perspectives, concerns, and solutions are critical to addressing the climate crisis, and elections are one of the biggest opportunities we have to make our voices heard. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing resources on voting (particularly the great resources created by young people!) and other ways to participate in the political process.  Click to see our list so far.

We hear repeatedly from Student Energy’s Canadian youth network that you are deeply concerned about climate change and our current unsustainable energy system, but sometimes feel powerless in shifting large institutions.

If you are an eligible young voter who wants to urge Canada to take action at a scale and pace that matches the urgency of the climate crisis, here are three good reasons why you should vote in this year’s election:

1.   YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOW THE LARGEST GROUP OF VOTERS IN CANADA

In the upcoming Canadian federal election – for the first time in 151 years – Millennial and Generation Z voters will form the largest voting bloc in the country. We have an unprecedented opportunity to bring climate change to the top of the political agenda.

Unfortunately, young people have historically had low turnout rates in elections. However, contrary to popular belief, this is not because young people don’t care about politics. A new study shows that young people might actually be the most politically engaged generation. From discussing politics with their peers, to having a favourable view of democratic institutions, to attending meetings and rallies, young Canadians are taking civic engagement seriously. This year, let’s turn out at the ballot box too.

2. THIS ELECTION COULD BE THE TURNING POINT FOR CLIMATE ACTION

Let’s be clear: Right now, Canada is not on track. We have a crucial opportunity on October 21st to let our elected representatives know that we need to raise the level of ambition on climate action.

A recent survey by Abacus Data shows that public support for climate action among Canadians is far higher and more widespread than previously thought, especially for renewable energy policy. We’ve seen the same in Student Energy and City Hive’s pan-Canadian Youth Voices Report: there is broad consensus among youth that we need to increase investment in renewable R&D, provide more pathways to clean energy jobs, and raise the level of ambition in setting and meeting emissions targets.

Voting in this election is one of the tools we can use to translate the incredible momentum young climate activists are building into tangible policies.

3. YOUNG PEOPLE CAN BRING NEW VOTERS TO THE POLLS

Young people across the country are engaging their peers, their parents, and underrepresented communities to make sure that more voices are represented in the political process than ever before. This fall, youth-led organization Future Majority plans to engage 80,000 youth, and personally bring 30,000 students to the polls. Our Time, another youth-led organization, is training and mobilizing youth to turn out a historic youth vote and build support behind a Canadian Green New Deal.

Resources

Register to vote: https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=reg&document=index&lang=e

Future Majority: https://futuremajority.ca/about

Shake Up the Establishment: https://www.shakeuptheestab.org/

Our Time for a Green New Deal: https://our-time.ca/

2019 federal election platform guide:  Where the parties stand on everything: https://www.macleans.ca/politics/2019-federal-election-platform-guide-where-the-parties-stand-on-everything/

What does it mean to be an informed voter? It’s not as complicated or as time consuming as it sounds! Check out this guide.

Public opinion on climate change (U Montreal): https://www.umontreal.ca/climat/engl/index.html

Climate Emergency Polling (Abacus Data): https://abacusdata.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Climate-Emergency-Polling-July-2019-RELEASE.pdf

You Have Our Attention: https://www.samaracanada.com/research/active-citizenship/you-have-our-attention

Climate change named top election priority by AFN: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/09/09/news/afn-outlines-first-nations-election-priorities-ahead-fall-vote

Energy Policy Simulator by the Pembina Institute: https://www.pembina.org/media-release/student-leaders-design-canadas-climate-and-energy-future

This fall, Natural Resources Canada embarked upon Generation Energy, a series of public consultations that culminated in a forum – working to define the vision for the future of Canada’s energy system. Obviously, when we’re talking the future of energy Student Energy knows the youth voice should be front and center because the energy future is what defines our future. With support from NRCAN, we did just that, gathering youth from across the country to host dialogues in their communities and collectively create the Youth Voices Report – a pan-Canadian vision of what young people expect for the future of our energy system.

With close to 300 young people from 11 provinces and territories contributing, and over 7,000 Canadians participating online, the 2017 Youth Voices Report is a cohesive declaration of what the next generation of Canadians believe we need to achieve a sustainable energy future. Canada’s youth have come together to reach a consensus on what steps the country should take to achieve this sustainable future, and how young people want to contribute to solutions.

The objectives are clear. By 2050 young people want Canada to: have a zero-carbon thriving economy, be a world leader in clean technology, have depoliticized, collaborative energy governance, and operate an equitable decolonized energy system that provides equal opportunities to all Canadians without negatively impacting our environment.

Young Canadians know that our sustainable energy future will not happen overnight, and we will need to work hard to ensure there is a just transition that provides Canadians with economic security and an enthusiastic outlook for the future ahead.

Young Canadians are ready and willing to work with the generations that have come before us, as the engines of innovation who will deliver on our energy future. We know that Pan-Canadian collaboration is the only way to overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities we face in undertaking this rapid transition.

Download the report from the link below to hear what youth across Canada have to say about our energy future and how we work towards these ambitious energy goals. 

2017 Youth Voices Report.pdf