This February, Student Energy was delighted to represent our Theory of Change at GLOBEForum 24 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Between the 13th and 15th of the month, hundreds of climate-conscious change makers converged to forge new connections, strengthen existing bonds, and provide a space for keen intergenerational engagement on key climate issues.

This year’s forum theme was “The Future is Regenerative,” exemplifying the event’s commitment to youth empowerment and sustainability. GLOBE Series operates as part of Profoundry, a collective of like-minded sustainability and climate experts dedicated to helping organizations create positive sustainable change. The group, including Delphi, CBSR, and Leading Change, is collectively focused on achieving its vision: a more sustainable, prosperous, socially just future within a generation.

In GLOBE’s own words:

The world is rising to meet the immense social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time, and there are more opportunities to create value in the clean economy than ever before. It is no longer enough to simply reduce our environmental impact or repair the damage that has already been done.

We need to rethink what’s possible, reimagine our economy, and reach beyond sustainability to regeneration.

Student Energy was fortunate to have several members of our team in attendance: Danii Kehler representing SevenGen, Julie Boyce representing Student Energy Career Training, and Piper Stump representing our global Chapters program! Piper was eager to share her reflections and takeaways from her participation in GLOBEForum24 with the Student Energy community.

Left to right: Piper Stump, Danii Kehler, Julie Boyce.

Piper’s Key Takeaways

This past week I attended LCForum24 and GLOBEForum as one of over 120 young sustainability leaders in Leading Change’s 2024 delegation! 

This conference was an incredible opportunity to connect intergenerationally with sustainability leaders across Canada on key issues that we as a nation face such as achieving net-zero targets, building a regenerative future, and the importance of intersectional, equitable, and diverse inclusion. A few of my favorite takeaways from my time at the GLOBEForum include:

• Pattie Gonia’s not only inspiring message to use nature as a mentor in business and in leading us to a regenerative future (“nature’s leadership is circular”), but also by kicking the conference off with a brilliantly rain-themed drag performance (perhaps the most epic start to any conference I will ever attend?).

• Both Maya Colombani and Jane McDonald’s insight into corporate sustainability and the importance of transparent and humble communication of sustainability impact and goals within the private sector. Following the discussion of “greenhushing,” Maya spoke on the “right to fail”, and how publicly acknowledging missed targets is a crucial step in achieving sustainability targets. 

• Lastly, Kat Cadungog’s closing message, urging organizations to take imminent action was especially empowering. She called for groups to be willing to learn from mistakes and contribute meaningfully to our economy and communities by putting plans in action tomorrow. Taking incremental steps everyday is imperative to achieving our 2030 and 2050 climate and net zero goals. 

Piper and Pattie, The Canada Cleantech Leadership Pitch Panel, and Annabelle Liao of G7 Research Group with Julie Boyce.

There were so many takeaways from this event and I am having a hard time expressing only a few but I truly appreciate the authentic intergenerational collaboration facilitated by GLOBE and Leading Change and am delighted to have had this opportunity to meet so many wonderful changemakers from across the country. 

I will leave you with these absolutely fundamental quotes from Pattie Gonia:

 “That commitment to bridging differences leads to innovation and momentum that enables the climate and #sustainability movement to go forward, and really speaks to the importance of embedding that diversity as a core value of this movement.”

“Everyone has heard the phrase, this team is operating like a well-oiled machine – but how different does it feel to say, this team is thriving like a well-nurtured meadow?”

More to come…

Stay tuned, because we have more to share! Coming later this month, Julie Boyce, the Program Manager for Student Energy Career Training will share her insights on the GLOBEForum’s unique position as an intergenerational space for discussion and youth empowerment, as well as her noted areas of growth and opportunity for similar events in the future!

“Clean Cooking is a youth issue. 90% of the world’s youth live in regions with the lowest access to clean cooking. This disproportionately impacts youth education, employment, and health.” – Katja Lasseur, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana, at the Forum’s Opening Plenary

Youth are taking action – as entrepreneurs, activists, researchers, and more – to raise awareness and improve access to clean cooking solutions in their communities and countries, but often lack reliable access to youth-inclusive opportunities to participate as equitable stakeholders across the clean cooking ecosystem.

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

First-ever youth delegation at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

In October 2022, The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) partnered with Student Energy to support a delegation of 20 global youth to participate in the Clean Cooking Forum in Accra, Ghana.  

The Clean Cooking Forum is the sector’s flagship event, convening leading policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, donors, and other key partners working towards achieving clean cooking for all and accelerating progress toward global development and climate goals. The addition of a youth delegation to the Forum recognizes and celebrates the vital role of youth in realizing these ambitions.

The delegation included 20 diverse participants from 14 countries, identified through Student Energy and CCA’s youth networks.  Delegates from across Sub-Saharan Africa, where the lack of clean cooking is particularly pronounced,  made up 70% of the youth delegation, and more than 50% of delegates were women, acknowledging the gender equity dimensions of the issue.

Delegates not only had the opportunity to attend the Forum plenary and breakout sessions, innovation expo, and networking receptions, but many of the youth delegates participated as speakers, moderators, and exhibitors throughout the three-day event.  For example, the session, “Changemakers of Today: Youth Advancing Sustainable Action,” featured a panel of six young entrepreneurs and innovators discussing how they are tackling clean cooking challenges and the support youth need to scale their efforts.

“From where I stand, clean cooking is not just about food. It transcends the goings-on confined to the kitchen and spills into health, gender equality, economic gains and sustainable societies.”- Cherop Soy, Ecowarrior Kenya and Youth Delegate at the 2022 Clean Cooking Forum

Student Energy supported delegates with preparatory and interactive webinars focused on presentation and networking skills, and provided on-site support and a post-event debrief. Delegates were able to share their expertise through speaking engagements, engage in discussions about youth involvement in decision-making, and help spread the forum’s key messaging by taking on communication roles. The active involvement of young people at the forum led to greater ambition from stakeholders in collaborating with them on clean cooking initiatives.

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

Intergenerational Roundtable on Youth Engagement in Clean Cooking

On the final day of the Clean Cooking Forum, an Intergenerational Roundtable on Youth Engagement in Clean Cooking brought together eminent senior leaders from the clean cooking sector to engage in dialogue with the youth delegation and other youth attending the Forum. The Roundtable was designed to showcase the emerging talent of young changemakers to participate in clean cooking transitions, understand the challenges young people are encountering in the sector, and discuss how senior leaders can support youth-led change and create an enabling and inclusive environment for youth to acquire, develop and utilize their skills.

More than 15 youth participants were joined by senior leaders, including H.E. Samira Bauwmia, Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of Clean Cooking Alliance; Sheila Oparaocha, Director of the ENERGIA Network; and Mohan Das Manandhar, Chairperson at Sustainable Prosperity Initiative Nepal, in an interactive discussion facilitated by Jaff Marilyn Bongmo, a youth delegate from Cameroon. 

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

The lively dialogue explored why inclusive youth participation is vital for achieving universal access to clean cooking and the challenges youth currently face in having their voices heard, getting a seat at decision-making tables, and accessing opportunities for meaningful engagement.  

Participants discussed a variety of ways to increase intergenerational collaboration, empower youth leaders, and support education and capacity-building activities in the clean cooking sector.

“Clean Cooking is a youth issue. First and foremost young people need to be creative participants and at the center of solutions. Young people also benefit from clean cooking from access to health, education and employment opportunities.” – Helen Watts, Executive Director of Student Energy

Youth Delegation Calls to Action

Following the Forum, the Youth Delegation developed the following calls to action, which focus both on what youth themselves can do to effectively self-organize and increase momentum behind this cause, and what organizations and decision-makers should do to ensure that youth are meaningfully included across the clean cooking ecosystem:

1. Stakeholders in the clean cooking sector should proactively work to ensure that youth are equally represented at the table and have their core needs met, in able to meaningfully participate. 
2. Capacity building for youth does not end with providing skills training. Youth must also be provided with industry opportunities to use these skills and connect them to the market.
3. Stakeholders across the clean cooking ecosystem must recognize and work to remove barriers that limit the participation of youth, women, and marginalized communities, actively creating incentives and opportunities for inclusive engagement, training, and employment in the clean cooking sector.
4. Established leaders in the clean cooking sector should leverage the power of youth as changemakers and innovators: this can be particularly valuable in the form of mentorship, which is a two-way learning process.
5. There is no one way to contribute to clean cooking. Young people should seek actionable ways to participate in clean cooking, leaning into their unique skills and expertise – as entrepreneurs, engineers, storytellers, artists, and beyond.
6. Young people should collaborate to form a unified effort, which requires working at a grassroots level with students and other youth and being ready to present clearly defined, data-driven asks when they have seats at the decision-making table or a chance to speak directly with established leaders. 

Photo courtesy of the Clean Cooking Alliance at the Clean Cooking Forum 2022

Youth Insights Feature: Check out youth delegate Cherop Soy’s blog post “What Clean Cooking Isn’t” for more insights gathered by young people at the forum on clean cooking.

Conclusion: Clean cooking is a youth issue

The Clean Cooking Forum 2022, placed young changemakers at the forefront of the clean cooking dialogue, with youth and senior leaders aligned on the urgent need for action and the essential role young people will play in achieving universal access. 

“The places where the biggest gaps on clean cooking have the highest youth populations. Youth are on the ground and have the knowledge to bring”. –Akil Callendar, Youth Specialist at Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), at the Forum’s Youth Closing Plenary

CCA continues to recognize the vital role of youth in achieving universal access to clean cooking and has recently undertaken a youth consultation process and interactive webinar to inform its forthcoming youth engagement strategy.  

Student Energy is excited to continue working with CCA in 2023 and beyond in expanding the youth engagement agenda in clean cooking. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements and activities to help youth act and lead on clean cooking in their countries and communities.

About Clean Cooking Alliance

Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) works with a global network of partners to build an inclusive industry that makes clean cooking accessible to the three billion people who live each day without it. Established in 2010, CCA is driving consumer demand, mobilizing investment to build a pipeline of scalable businesses, and fostering an enabling environment that allows the sector to thrive.

Clean cooking transforms lives by improving health, protecting the climate and the environment, empowering women, and helping consumers save time and money.

About Student Energy

Student Energy is a global youth-led organization empowering young people to accelerate the sustainable energy transition through a variety of initiatives, including university-based Chapters, a digital Energy System Map that has reached over 13 million views, and the largest student-led energy conference in the world. Student Energy works with a network of 50,000 young people from over 120 countries to build the knowledge, skills, and networks they need to take action on energy.

A first of its kind report, the Outlook will set the baseline for what young people expect from the sustainable energy transition, and how they want to work with governments and energy industry companies to make change happen. 

Learn more about the Outlook, and the team that’s helping to make it all happen at www.studentenergy.org/outlook

Our goals

• To empower young people to effectively communicate with their elected representatives and other decision makers
• To demonstrate that young people around the world have the ability to come together in a cohesive way to imagine their energy future, making young people one of the most important partners in building a sustainable energy system
• To demystify what young people want want to see in the sustainable energy transition, and outline the principles to guide the transition

How is the Outlook being developed?

With Student Energy, twelve youth Regional Coordinators from around the world are working to engage a total of 50,000 young people in a 6-month long research process to identify young people’s priorities for their region across policy, technology, society, and finance. 

Following a two-phase research process, they will develop regional roadmaps to 2030, outlining how their region can decarbonize its energy system, and how young people want to be part of that transition. 

These regional roadmaps will be a guide for policymakers and elected representatives, companies in the energy sector, academic institutions, and other organizations to be able to form more meaningful and equitable relationships with young people in their region.

With uncertainty about the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the world’s resiliency and climate commitments, it will be more important than ever that young people are empowered and mobilized to raise ambition on the sustainable energy transition in the next decade. 

What’s next

Phase 1 Research Questionnaire

The development of the Outlook takes place in two phases: a broad questionnaire aimed at young people 18-30 from all backgrounds, followed by a Phase II that includes regional community dialogues. Fill out the questionnaire here.

Regional Coordinator Interview Series

In the next few days, we will introduce each of our Regional Coordinators through an interview series on Student Energy Stories and on our Instagram.

Partnership Launch

The Outlook development process couldn’t take place without the important contributions of our funding partners and strategic partners. Over the next few weeks, we will introduce our partners, outline the support they’re providing for the Outlook, and share new partnership opportunities.

Introduction

In 2019, young people around the world are bringing a renewed sense of urgency to climate action as the world faces record-breaking sea ice loss, heat waves, biodiversity loss, and other climate change-related impacts. In addition to advocating for urgent, ambitious action from governments and industry, young people are also leading the way in developing and implementing innovative solutions, from developing novel energy technologies and policy instruments, to implementing ecological restoration projects. However, the role of youth-led innovation in fighting climate change remains undervalued and under-researched, particularly within the national climate plans developed by governments and intergovernmental organizations.

This case study explores the work of Student Energy, a global non-profit that empowers young people to accelerate the sustainable energy transition. Throughout the organization’s ten year history of working with post-secondary students and young professionals around the world, there are a few factors that seem to consistently enhance youth innovation:

1. Actively empowering young people with opportunities and resources to develop critical soft skills that complement their academic and professional education.
2. Connecting young people to a diverse global network of peers, and providing opportunities for collaboration.
3. Creating spaces for young people to directly engage with established actors in the energy system.
4. Advocating for organizations to sufficiently value and meaningfully engage young people throughout their work.

The chapter begins by setting the context for Student Energy’s (and other youth-led movements’) work, followed by a brief overview of Student Energy’s theory of change and core programs, through which the organization engages a network of over 50,000 youth. The chapter then identifies some of the factors that make young people particularly good innovators, drawn from Student Energy’s experiences and stories from the network, as well as from emerging research. The section ‘Youth-Led Innovation in Action’ features seven profiles of young people in Student Energy’s global network and illustrates the many ways young people conceptualize innovative climate action.
This case study demonstrates how organizations like Student Energy can help bridge gaps between young people and large institutions to accelerate climate action, and demonstrates how young people’s innovative abilities can be unlocked and supported by the right resources, networks, and platforms.

Context

To fight climate change and limit warming to below 1.5°C, scientists are calling for an urgent transition to a low-carbon energy system, as the energy sector is the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions (International Energy Agency, 2018). The global energy sector is already undergoing large shifts that contribute positively to decarbonization, including increased electrification and rapidly declining prices of renewables, allowing clean energy sources to compete with fossil fuels. However, overall demand for energy is projected to continue to increase in the coming years, due to growing demand for electricity, heating, and cooling services in warming regions (International Energy Agency, 2018). Keeping up with rising demand, particularly in the Global South, is of critical importance as providing sufficient and reliable energy access is one of the key factors in alleviating poverty. Currently, approximately 840 million people globally still lack reliable energy access, with the majority being people in rural communities.

As energy intersects nearly every aspect of society, transitioning the energy system requires innovation on all fronts: decarbonizing the energy supply, improving energy access, reducing the ecological impacts of energy development projects, and reducing energy use on a large scale.

About Student Energy

Student Energy, a global charity, creates the next generation of energy leaders who will accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy future. Founded in Calgary, Canada, in 2009, by three post-secondary students, the organization’s network has now grown to include 50,000 young people in over 130 countries.

Student Energy’s vision is centered on the knowledge that we need to transition the energy system to one that is both equitable and sustainable. A guiding theory of change document identifies six building blocks that are necessary to realize this sustainable energy future:

1. Intergenerational and Global Equity
2. Cultural Shifts
3. Collaboration and Cooperation
4. Mobilized Finance
5. Policy Frameworks
6. Technologies Developed and Implemented

To set up these building blocks, Student Energy intervenes by empowering young people with the skills and networks they need to be systems-level critical thinkers who can take action on complex energy challenges in their local communities, and in their academic and professional careers. Student Energy also creates a space for young people to act within decision-making institutions by working with governments, companies, and organizations to identify how they can meaningfully engage young people in their work.

Core programs

Energy Systems Map

Student Energy’s digital Energy Systems Map reaches over 2 million unique visitors annually, providing an accessible, simplified overview of the energy system.

Chapters

Student Energy Chapters are university-level clubs that empower students to take action in their local communities. Currently, Student Energy has 40 chapters in 19 countries. Chapters have engaged over 20,000 people through their local events and initiatives, with over 5,000 people engaged in the first half of 2019.

International Student Energy Summit

The international Student Energy Summit (SES) is the largest student-led energy conference in the world, taking place every two years in a different region, and organized by a team of students in the host country, with support from members of Student Energy staff. SES 2019, the sixth Student Energy Summit, took place in London, UK, and brought together 650 students from 98 countries.

Space for Youth

Through the Space for Youth program, Student Energy partners with governments and other institutions to create meaningful opportunities for young people to engage with decision-makers. For example, Student Energy worked with Natural Resources Canada to bring 60 young leaders from all 25 member countries to the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation (CEM/MI) forum in 2019. Typically, these ministerial meetings have not included young people, so this marked a first for CEM/MI. Young people were not only in the audience, but participated in bilateral meetings, as panellists, and held official side events.

How do young people redefine innovation?

A theme that is evident in Student Energy’s programming is that young people are constantly redefining and broadening the scope of what ‘innovation’ means, by prioritizing social and policy innovations on par with technological innovations.

One of the ways Student Energy facilitates open-ended opportunities for students to define innovation for themselves is through the ‘Innovation Jam’. The Innovation Jam is a fast-paced collaborative brainstorm session where students pitch solutions to a room of their peers, and form groups to brainstorm and refine their solutions, often pivoting and iterating on their original idea based on the group’s feedback and knowledge. Students often name these sessions as their number one highlight, and many ideas that were initially generated at an Innovation Jam have gone on to become fully-fledged start-ups and conferences, or have inspired participants to pursue new career paths (see the ‘Youth-led Innovation in Action’ section for some in-depth examples from Student Energy’s network).

What makes young people particularly good innovators?

“They are collaborative, creative, observant, curious, willing to experiment, willing to challenge the status quo, risk-takers, action oriented, and visionary.” (Dougherty and Clarke, 2017)

The idea that today’s young people think and work differently than previous generations is not a new one – however, diving into why young people are good innovators reveals a compelling case for why there is an urgent need to invest resources into youth-led innovation. By examining Student Energy’s programs and impact reports, there appear to be four factors that contribute to young people’s unique ability to create change in institutions:

1. Ability to raise the level of ambition

As national governments continue to move slowly on setting and meeting emissions reductions targets, young people have been advocating for bold climate action in creative ways, from direct action, to youth voting initiatives, to engaging with the policy creation process at forums like the UNFCCC COP.

Student Energy’s Space for Youth program identifies opportunities where young people can directly engage with high level energy actors, particularly in spaces where youth are typically underrepresented. For example, at the 2019 Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation Forum, youth delegates participated in an informal Q&A with the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, Amarjeet Sohi, where they asked about Canada’s plans to upskill and transition fossil fuel workers to renewable energy, Canada’s industrial and residential energy consumption, and how the government plans to address the impact of energy projects on local Indigenous communities. The discussion that followed made it clear that young people have clear priorities for federal governments that sometimes differ from and often go beyond the discussions taking place between member states.

Research shows that young people are more willing to question the status quo, examine why things are done the way they are, and radically reimagine alternative systems (Jones, Reedy & Weinberg, 2014). Constructive spaces to engage directly with decision-makers, like the exchanges at CEM/MI, let young people exercise their own political agency and break down traditional structures of authority and expertise, allowing for innovation in discourse within traditional institutions.

2. Ability to implement unique localized solutions

Young people today are connected to each other across disparate geographies and backgrounds, owing greatly to technology access. This growing global consciousness and access to information, coupled with knowledge gained from their lived experience, allows young people to develop innovative local solutions that tackle multiple aspects of energy and climate issues at once.

Student Energy runs Greenpreneurs, a 10-week, virtual, green entrepreneurship accelerator, in partnership with the Global Green Growth Initiative and Youth Climate Lab. In two years, Greenpreneurs has helped 25 teams from developing and emerging economies take their local energy solutions from idea to fully viable business plan, and has provided winning teams with seed funding. A central focus of the program is that the solutions presented must be based on an in-depth understanding of the teams’ local context, identifying the social, ecological, cultural, and economic aspects of their selected program, in addition to addressing sustainability. The story of WEYE Clean Energy Enterprise and Kakembo Galabuzi Brian, described in the ‘Youth-led Innovation in Action’ section, illustrates how young people innovate to address multiple local challenges at once.

3. Valuing and implementing diversity of thought

Another theme that emerges from Student Energy’s global network is a broad consensus that all climate action must be just and equitable. Climate change is inherently a justice issue; relatively few countries have contributed the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, while some communities (the poor, island nations, women, and racial minorities) bear a disproportionate burden of climate impacts. Research suggests that Millennials and Generation Z have a “heightened awareness” of their social context and relationships, supported by broad, global interconnectedness through technology (Ito et al., 2008; Tapscott, 2009). Given this unprecedented exposure to diverse people and communities, collaborations between young people (and intergenerational collaborations led by young people) prioritize creating space for diverse voices and ideas.

In January of 2019, Student Energy’s Mount Royal University Chapter in Calgary, Canada, hosted SevenGen, the first Indigenous Student Energy Conference. The goal of SevenGen was to create space for Indigenous youth to connect with each other and with Indigenous leaders in Canada to see how they could take a leadership role in Canada’s energy transition. Recognizing that Indigenous communities have historically been left out of this conversation, SevenGen aimed to build new networks between Indigenous youth across Canada, and with the Canadian government and actors in the energy industry.

4. Ability to engage their peers

The ability of young people to engage and mobilize their peers is a key climate innovation, as building widespread public support is one of the biggest barriers to taking bold climate action, according to many governments and industry. Student Energy Chapters address this challenge by leveraging peer-to peer engagement and providing engagement pathways for people who are new to climate action. Chapters are led by local students, allowing them to respond to their communities’ needs. This means that Chapters’ annual activities range widely – from running regional Summits and collaborating on local energy issues, to hosting green building tours and documentary screenings, to installing solar power projects in their cities.

Youth-led Innovation in Action

The following profiles are a sample of the innovative work led by young people in Student Energy’s network. These stories have been selected to demonstrate the broad ways innovation takes place in youth-led climate action.

Kakembo Galabuzi Brian – Uganda
CEO, WEYE Clean Energy Company, Ltd.

Kakembo Galabuzi Brian was inspired to start the Waste to Energy Youth Project at an Innovation Jam at the 2015 Student Energy Summit in Bali, Indonesia. The project rallies youth to transition East Africa from wood fuel to affordable fuel briquettes and biogas. Initially, Kakembo’s initiative engaged over 200 young people, with the goal of providing energy to the 85% of Ugandans who cannot afford clean energy sources. As of 2019, the project has become a fully-fledged commercial enterprise with 12 full-time and 4 part-time staff working across two production units. In addition to producing and distributing briquette stoves, WEYE Clean Energy Company also holds training workshops for women and youth, for which they were awarded the iF Social Impact Prize. Demand for WEYE’s technology and products is currently growing faster than their production capacity, a positive indicator that the sustainable energy transition in Uganda is underway.

“Diversity in education, gender, language, location, origin, culture, and nationality will be a very big advantage to any initiative. In my case, my finance background was helpful in sourcing and managing funds, but every colleague in the initiative plays a unique role.” – Kakembo Galabuzi Brian

Emma Wiesner – Sweden
Energy Marketing Analyst at SWECO; Centerpartiet First Substitute for the European Parliament

Emma gained valuable understanding of the international perspective on energy while attending SES 2015 in Bali, Indonesia. Her experience there inspired her to work in the European energy system and ultimately to run for European Parliament in the 2019 election as an engineer wanting to change the energy system politically. As a young candidate, she’s working to empower youth in the energy sector. With a foot in both the energy industry and in energy policy, Emma helps her clients understand the energy transition, create scenarios for the future energy system, and analyse policy instruments.

“Student Energy gave me this really international perspective. I’ve always been involved in politics, so I’ve been mixing politics with engineering and energy engineering and always knew that I wanted to work with policy to influence society, but before Student Energy I was more interested in national politics. But Student Energy really broadened my perspective, I was starting to think more in an international way, how can we influence the energy system on a global level. So being at Student Energy Summit in Indonesia really gave me perspectives from all around the world and really seeing that the energy system is much broader and you have to work with it on a global level.” – Emma Wiesner

Alec Macklis – USA
Founder and CEO of Gridspan Energy

At SES 2017 in Merida, Mexico, Alec gained access to key advisors and mentors who have helped him to build his company, Gridspan Energy. The company is pioneering new markets and new use-cases for energy storage systems with a clear value and market in small island developing states (SIDS). To date they have raised over $700,000 in funding, and have signed publicly-facing agreements for their 1st project with both the Government of Anguilla and ANGLEC, the local utility. Alec has lived the Student Energy experience of creating a company that understands the multi-disciplinary nature of energy and the challenging road of commercializing a novel, technology-enabled business model.

“Student Energy has had a huge influence on my career path. I ended up meeting a great mentor who was a founder of Student Energy, a co-founder of Student Energy: Janice Tran and she played a big role in mentoring me and advising during the last two years of starting this company.” – Alec Macklis

Ashley Pilipiszyn – USA
Project Lead, Grid Resilience & Intelligence Platform Participant, Global Himalayan Expedition

Ashley first attended SES 2013 in Trondheim, Norway, as a biotech student at Harvard. Inspired by her participation in the Summit, she decided to switch gears to work on energy systems, after learning that transitioning the energy sector is one of the greatest challenges facing the planet. Now, Ashley’s mission is to create a sustainable energy future by using AI for Planetary Good. Ashley is currently a PhD student at Stanford University in Management Science & Engineering and Computer Science, the Project Lead for the Grid Resilience & Intelligence Platform, the Science Communicator of OpenAI, and participated in the 2017 Global Himalayan Expedition where she electrified one of the most remote villages in the Himalayas by installing three solar microgrids.

Joshua Miguel Lopez – Philippines
Assistant Program Coordinator, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Philippines

Attending SES 2017 introduced Joshua to climate and renewable energy work, where he was exposed to changemakers who, despite their youth, had pursued leadership roles in shaping the energy future. Joshua works in the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Philippine Office on climate action and renewable energy and created Renewable Energy Bootcamp, or REBOOT, a program that trains youth from various professions to pilot renewable energy projects that also solve development needs in marginalized communities. Joshua also created the Renewable Energy Congress, a national, multi-stakeholder conference that brings together leaders from politics, local government, industry, academia, and civil society. Its goal is to build a broad consensus and develop catalytic projects that will accelerate the renewable energy transition in the Philippines.

Churchill Agutu – South Africa
Founder of the Africa Green Collar Project

Churchill attended SES2017 in Merida, Mexico, where he first began to explore energy solutions from a socio-techno-economic perspective. Churchill has a background in chemical engineering, and presented some of his research findings on improving the performance of solar cells during SES 2017. Residing in South Africa where the energy transition is still in its nascent stages and an estimated 60% of the population are youth, he’s pursed work focusing on the intersection between youth empowerment, climate change, and energy policy. Churchill founded the Africa Green Collar Project, which works to build a knowledge economy for young people in Africa, to enable them to create a sustainable future for the continent. He also works as an analyst at a global not-for-profit company working in the low carbon space. Previously, he worked as a Climate Change Advisor at a firm working in South Africa’s climate change environment.

Churchill is also a former project leader for the Engineers Without Borders UP Litre of Light (LOL) Project in South Africa, and he has been involved in other projects that originated at SES 2017, including a project where he worked with an international cohort of students to build cooking stoves for a local community in Zavalla, Mexico.

Cory Beaver – Stoney Nakoda First Nation, Alberta, Canada
Co-Chair, SevenGen the Indigenous Student Energy Summit 2019
Former President of Student Energy at Mount Royal University

At SES 2017 in Merida, Mexico, Cory Beaver first shared his vision for a Canada-wide Indigenous Student Energy Summit. The International Student Energy Summit was an empowering experience for Cory, showing him that young people could lead and implement large-scale, impactful projects in different contexts around the world. Just over a year later, Cory, along with Co-Chair Disa Crowchief (also a SES 2017 delegate), realized their vision and ran Canada’s first-ever Indigenous youth-led energy summit in Calgary. SevenGen united 200 Indigenous youth from every province and territory across Canada to learn how they can lead in Canada’s energy transition. The success of SevenGen led Cory to bring a delegation of Indigenous youth to the 2019 International Student Energy Summit, to provide pathways for more Indigenous youth to take action on energy issues in their communities.

References

Dougherty, I., and Amelia Clarke (2018). Wired for Innovation: Valuing the Unique Innovation Abilities of Emerging Adults. Emerging Adulthood 6(5): 358-365.

Jones, B., E.J. Reedy, E. J., and Bruce A. Weinberg (2014). Age and Scientific Genius. In Simonton, D. K. (ed.), Handbook of Genius. Chichester: England.

International Energy Agency. (2018). CO2 Status Report 2017. Paris: International Energy Agency.

Ito, M., et al. (2009). Living and learning with new media: Summary of findings from the Digital Youth Project. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Tapscott, D. (2008). Grown up digital. Boston: McGraw-Hill Education.

Zeldin, S. (2004). Youth as agents of adult and community development: Mapping the processes and outcomes of youth engaged in organizational governance. Applied Developmental Science 8(2): 75-90.

• What are the biggest obstacles to moving away from a fossil fuel-dependent energy system and achieving net zero emissions by 2050?
• Where do we stand now on the global energy transition?
• What skills should young people develop for their careers?
• What issues need more attention?

These are some of the questions we dove into on our webinar with Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University and formerly the CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. We’ve summarized some of our key learnings:

We’re not on track to meeting the goals of SDG7 by 2030. Here’s why:

840 million people still lack access to energy. This itself is likely an underestimate of the actual number, as it is self-reported by governments that have an incentive to show that more progress has been made than has actually taken place. In addition to those without energy, there are a billion more without access to reliable, affordable energy. Most of these communities are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia, so there is a real geopolitical risk of large parts of the world being left behind, as access to energy is critical for alleviating poverty, improving education and healthcare outcomes, and providing a foundation for economic development.

Energy demand is predicted to rise enormously, both due to rising income, and increased demands for heating and cooling in many parts of the world. As the climate crisis gives rise to record summer temperatures, thermal comfort will become a significant public health issue, and demand for air conditioning will rise. With over 80% of the world’s energy still supplied by fossil fuels, rising energy demand will also lead to rising emissions.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the clean energy transition.

Despite the sobering statistics on energy access and rising emissions, there is still meaningful progress being made, and more and more opportunities for young people to guide the transition to a just and sustainable energy future.

 The price of renewable energy continues to drop steeply, contributing to positive developments for electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and other emissions-intensive sectors.

While many governments continue to show weak political leadership, there are some promising signs: there is an increasing amount of ‘South-South’ finance mobilized towards decentralized energy infrastructure (for example, Indian investment in mini-grids across the Sahel), demonstrating an alternative to the risk-averse approach of development assistance from the Global North.

For young people who are driven to transform the energy system, there is an entirely new generation of energy jobs on the horizon. We’ll need public policy that embraces the need to build green infrastructure at the speed and scale needed to tackle climate change, and we’ll need a completely different systems analysis, encompassing centralized and decentralized energy, modern renewables, buildings and vehicles that store and give back power, and energy produced and consumed across political boundaries.

 We need an urgent shift to integrated energy planning.

It used to be that bringing energy to communities meant extending the central grid, but it is clear now that this is not the most effective solution in many cases. Many of those without energy access are living on the peripheries of fast-urbanizing cities with grids ill-equipped to handle an increasing electric load, and others are in rural and remote areas where extending the grid would be an expensive, resource-intensive undertaking. Still others might have access to a grid, but may not be able to afford to connect to it. For these reasons, integrated energy planning – figuring out where the grid should be the provider of power, and where it should be supplemented with off-grid and decentralized energy sources – should be prioritized by decision-makers, and young people seeking careers in the energy sector.

Integrated energy planning extends beyond cities and peri-urban areas, and might include trans-national and trans-continental energy planning. Problems with renewable energy and green infrastructure availability can in some cases be solved by working collaboratively across multiple jurisdictions, yet the energy security debate often limits this type of collaboration.

Decentralized energy empowers communities (particularly women within those communities), but it is a potential challenge to the political status quo.

Decentralized energy comes with many other benefits aside from providing energy access. It empowers communities to develop, own and govern energy infrastructure that is appropriate for their needs. Women tend to disproportionately bear the effects of energy poverty, from missing out on income-generating opportunities due to time spent collecting cooking fuels to experiencing severe health impacts from indoor air pollution. Access to decentralized energy could free up time, improve health outcomes, and allow greater involvement in energy governance for women.

However, the road to a more decentralized energy system won’t be easy. Incumbency, and locked-in utilities and infrastructure creates a natural bias against decentralized energy. Going up against entrenched energy ministries and institutional structures that are reluctant to lose central control of the energy system presents another major political and bureaucratic hurdle. In addition to the institutional barriers, development finance remains slow-moving and risk-averse, with only 1% of development assistance going into off-grid, decentralized energy.

Progress on energy efficiency is slowing down, even though conserving energy is the cheapest way to reduce emissions.

To meet the SDG7 goals on energy efficiency, the rate of improvement in energy efficiency needs to be over 3% annually – currently, it is only 1%, and slowing down. Considering that improving energy efficiency is the cheapest way to curb emissions, and an area that presents numerous new job opportunities, this is a major issue that needs more attention. Energy efficiency is often a hard sell for governments, industry, the financial sector and even the public, as there are deep social preferences for building new things and developing new technologies to tackle emerging problems, rather than valuing the cost and emissions savings from not doing things.

Another emerging dilemma over the next ten years will be attempts by the energy industry to offset their growing emissions with forestry and other natural climate solutions. While nature-based solutions are an integral part of addressing the climate crisis, offsets should be used as a last resort. Instead, emissions should be curbed directly at the source or not produced at all.

 Every month of the Student Energy Leaders Fellowship features a webinar with a leading energy expert. The Leaders Fellowship cohort can submit questions in advance and during the presentation, to guide the discussion.

 About Rachel Kyte

Recently named one of Time magazine’s 15 Women Leading the Fight Against Climate Change, Rachel Kyte is a trailblazing leader and expert in sustainable energy and energy access, and a long-time champion of young people. Formerly the CEO and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), Rachel is stepping into her new role as Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Rachel has also served as the World Bank Group’s VP and Special Envoy for Climate Change, leading the Bank Group’s efforts in campaigning for the Paris Agreement and mobilizing billions of dollars to support developing countries to address climate change. She was recently honoured by Queen Elizabeth’s 2020 New Year Honours list for her critical efforts combating climate change and serving in the field of sustainable energy.

Our mission at COP 25: Setting the stage for youth-led solutions

• Amplify the youth voice, and highlight young people’s leadership in transforming the energy system.
• Put the wheels in motion for an unprecedented level of global youth leadership and intergenerational collaboration at next year’s critical COP26. 
• Communicate progress on countries’ and non-state actors’ goals to decarbonize their energy systems, and their efforts to involve youth in that process.
• Advocate for stronger leadership from government and industry decision-makers in the energy sector to implement energy solutions that are just, equitable, in partnership with young people.

Context for COP 25

The world is not on track. But there is a crucial window of opportunity.

Throughout 2019, we’ve seen (and been a part of) the rapidly growing global youth movement calling for stronger climate action. Young people are not only sounding the alarm on the climate crisis, they are ready and driven to implement cross-cutting solutions to address the challenge at the pace it requires.

So it is all the more frustrating that as a global society, we are not yet on track to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions quickly enough to keep global heating to below 1.5C. The latest Emissions Gap report paints a devastating picture of where we are and where we’re going — toward a 3.2 degree warmer world if we don’t accelerate action now. UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierres noted today that we are set to produce more fossil fuels than is consistent with a 1.5 degree pathway. 

How can we change course?

”Countries must increase their NDC ambitions threefold to achieve the well below 2°C goal and more than fivefold to achieve the 1.5°C goal.” – Emissions Gap Report 2019

Next year, COP 26, will mark five years since the signing of the Paris Agreement, and parties will be expected to strengthen their NDCs, or Nationally Determined Contributions, which are the tangible efforts put forward by countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change. In order to bend the emissions curve downward, countries will need to drastically strengthen their NDCs, particularly in regards to transforming their energy systems. And we know this can’t be done without the active and meaningful engagement of young people around the world.

About Student Energy

Student Energy is on a mission to empower young people around the world to accelerate the sustainable energy transition, by building the important skills young people to take action, while mobilizing resources to support youth-led energy solutions. Our global network of 50,000 young people come from 150 countries, from all academic and professional backgrounds, with a shared goal to build their sustainable energy future.

December 2nd marks the start of COP 25, led by the Chilean Presidency, but held in Madrid, Spain. Student Energy has 4 team members on the ground this year, and we are closely following the negotiations, while advocating for meaningful youth inclusion and youth-led energy solutions to play a central role in countries’ efforts to tackle the climate crisis. The last-minute change in venue from Chile to Madrid has also left many young people unable to attend, so Student Energy is even more committed to amplify the youth voice at this year’s conference.

Our Mission at COP 25: Set the Stage for Youth-Led Solutions

• Amplify the youth voice, and highlight young people’s leadership in transforming the energy system.
• Put the wheels in motion for an unprecedented level of global youth leadership and intergenerational collaboration at next year’s critical COP26. 
• Communicate progress on countries’ and non-state actors’ goals to decarbonize their energy systems, and their efforts to involve youth in that process.
• Advocate for stronger leadership from government and industry decision-makers in the energy sector to implement energy solutions that are just, equitable, in partnership with young people.

We’ll be sharing what we’re seeing and learning, and how we’re taking action, on our social media. Join us: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

CONTEXT FOR COP 25

The world is not on track. But there is a crucial window of opportunity.

Throughout 2019, we’ve seen (and been a part of) the rapidly growing global youth movement calling for stronger climate action. Young people are not only sounding the alarm on the climate crisis, they are ready and driven to implement cross-cutting solutions to address the challenge at the pace it requires.

So it is all the more frustrating that as a global society, we are not yet on track to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions quickly enough to keep global heating to below 1.5C. The latest Emissions Gap report paints a devastating picture of where we are and where we’re going — toward a 3.2 degree warmer world if we don’t accelerate action now. UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierres noted today that we are set to produce more fossil fuels than is consistent with a 1.5 degree pathway. 

How can we change course?

“COUNTRIES MUST INCREASE THEIR NDC AMBITIONS THREEFOLD TO ACHIEVE THE WELL BELOW 2°C GOAL AND MORE THAN FIVEFOLD TO ACHIEVE THE 1.5°C GOAL.”

(Emissions Gap Report 2019)

Next year, COP 26, will mark five years since the signing of the Paris Agreement, and parties will be expected to strengthen their NDCs, or Nationally Determined Contributions, which are the tangible efforts put forward by countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change. In order to bend the emissions curve downward, countries will need to drastically strengthen their NDCs, particularly in regards to transforming their energy systems. And we know this can’t be done without the active and meaningful engagement of young people around the world.

About Student Energy

Student Energy is on a mission to empower young people around the world to accelerate the sustainable energy transition, by building the important skills young people to take action, while mobilizing resources to support youth-led energy solutions. Our global network of 50,000 young people come from 150 countries, from all academic and professional backgrounds, with a shared goal to create their sustainable energy future.

New York City, September 21^st – 23^rd 2019

This week, Student Energy is participating at the Youth and UN Climate Summit as a delivery partner of the Secretary-General’s Youth and Public Mobilization and Energy Transition Action Tracks. Student Energy is working with the UN Climate Action Summit team, Secretary-General’s Office of the Special Envoy on Youth, and other stakeholders to engage youth in the UN Climate Summit, Youth Summit and broader climate-energy activities during the week of September 21st. Follow along with us @studentenergy on Twitter and Instagram!

 Our Activities

• (September 21st) Student Energy is working with the UN Climate Action Summit Team, the Environmental Defense Fund, Mission 2020 and Mission Innovation to deliver the two-part event: Transformative Solutions: Next Generation Technology and the Youth Movement under the Energy Transition Action Track held at the United Nations Headquarters from 11:30 – 12:45, and 15:00-18:00.

• Two youth from Student Energy’s network are on the Summit’s youth working group, comprised of 30 young leaders from around the world who are providing direct input to the preparation of the Youth Summit agenda.

• (September 22nd) Student Energy is participating as one of 200 high-level energy stakeholders at the Energy Action Forum to: raise ambition, represent youth as a key stakeholder, and determine the optimal approaches to accelerating the sustainable energy transition.

• (September 23rd) OGCI Annual CEO and Stakeholders Dialogue: OGCI is convening a CEO stakeholder day to talk about how the oil and gas industry and scaling up action on climate. Student Energy is organizing and coaching a cohort of 25 youth to engage with the world’s largest energy companies as key stakeholders on the energy future, with the goal of having their voice influence the decisions made by large energy actors.

• (September 23rd) Student Energy will be participating at the UN Climate Action Summit to support initiatives under the Energy Transition, and Youth and Public Mobilization action areas. Student Energy’s priority at the UN Climate Action Summit is to highlight the pathways and initiatives underway that enable youth to influence political will across the globe.

• (September 24th) Student Energy will bring a youth delegation to participate in Sustainable Energy For All’s Seven for 7  event.

• Youth Roundtable with Sky Power Global: Student Energy is preparing a cohort of 15 young people to participate in a roundtable discussion with SkyPower Global, to discuss how youth play a role in the energy transition and what youth want from meaningful careers in energy.

• Digital engagement: Student Energy will be elevating discussions at the UN Climate Summit to our larger global audience, through social media channels, write-ups in collaboration with partners, informational webinars, and interviews with leaders working on the UN Climate Action Summit.

• Side Events at Climate Week NYC 2019: Student Energy will be on the ground attending side events led by government, the private sector and civil society – reach out to learn more or to share your event.