Anushka Nagle 

Anushka’s Youth Energy Narratives story focused on the role of Indian Waste-pickers in the circular economy. In urban India, the alarming statistics of waste production paint a grim picture of environmental degradation and public health risks. With approximately 62 million tonnes generated daily, the majority remains uncollected and untreated, contributing to air, soil, and water pollution. Delhi, a prime example, grapples with over 8,700 tons of municipal solid waste daily.  Less than 10% of this waste is segregated and treated, highlighting large systemic challenges. Nagle conducted two case studies exploring the impacts of cooperative waste management services in two different cities in India to inform her final recommendations. Her presentation highlights that addressing India’s waste crisis necessitates a holistic approach, involving consumers, government bodies, NGOs, and entrepreneurs. Her recommendations shine light on the importance of community based solutions that are responsive to the needs of the community they are being implemented in as well as the need to include community members in climate action incentives. 

According to Anushka, when it comes to climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, it is crucial to put the spotlight on marginalized communities, especially waste-pickers, who play a vital role in keeping our cities cleaner. As stated in her project summary, “By prioritizing [waste-pickers’] upliftment, we not only improve their lives but also tackle environmental degradation head-on. It’s imperative to recognize the intersectionality between social equity and environmental sustainability in tackling India’s waste woes.”

Cathleen Jeanty

Cathleen’s story titled The Revolution Will Be Underwater, is a foray into the world of youth climate activism. Last year marked the midpoint to The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ 2030 agenda, where Goal 13, climate action, has really taken center stage. Climate change is on everybody’s lips, but the action – in the view of most young people – is missing.  The piece features perspectives of young people across the globe, who are often sidelined in climate policy making processes. It is an amalgamation of interviews with youth climate activists and policy leaders; surveys with youth activists; data; and research. The story delves into an issue that data and research have shown largely impacts young people: climate-induced migration. It is part narrative, part editorial, and part prescriptive, and offers feedback from young people who have lived experience of what it’s like to be on the frontlines witnessing how climate change can reorient your community. The recommendations from her story are centered around building more pathways for young people to turn their advocacy into actionable policy by earmarking funds to invest in youth-led climate ventures. 

Amanda Nogueira Moreira de Souza

Amanda’s narrative details her connection to her land as a young person from Latin America and how this relates to broader conversations and action plans calling for a sustainable energy transition. Amanda’s story highlights the destructive and unsustainable nature of lithium mining in Brazil and its impacts on Indigenous communities’ access to food, clean water, and safety. Her recommendations call for an equitable and just energy transition that considers the impact to those living in Latin America. As stated by Amanda, “It is essential to not finance projects to further lithium extraction in those regions, provide financial support and resources to those currently being affected by it, and raise awareness of the issue at the international level.”

Abul Bashar Rahman 

Bashar’s narrative for the Council was explored through a five-part podcast series where he interviewed young people with a variety of educational and working backgrounds to discuss how they take action on climate and energy within their sectors. From sustainable transportation to equity and energy justice, Bashar’s podcast highlights the power of young people taking action in the sustainable energy transition and the need for more senior-level organizations and people in positions of power and decision-making roles to meaningfully include young people as stakeholders in the energy transition. Bashar’s final recommendations are centered around the importance of empowering local climate resilience initiatives by investing in local leadership development and capacity building and encouraging the development of knowledge exchange platforms and educational resources for youth and community members. These were developed based on his experience as a young person whose immediate family in Bangladesh has been displaced as a result of climate change, the lessons he learned from his journey cycling across Bangladesh to amplify the voices of the people affected by climate change, and, of course, the stories he heard in recording his podcast for the Youth Energy Narratives Council. 

Adebambo Micheal

Micheal’s story showcases how community solar projects are providing clean, renewable energy access and economic opportunities to everyday people, especially youth, in rural areas of Nigeria. His recommendations are centered around increasing investments in decentralized renewable energy solutions to support rural electrification and ensuring that electricity access programs are gender-inclusive and meet the specific needs of local women and girls. 

If you are interested in reading the Council’s recommendations, please contact us at research@studentenergy.org 

Key Highlights from the GYEO:

• 80% of youth surveyed believe their governments should take drastic actions to reach net-zero emissions by 2030, with two-thirds of youth who expressed support for decarbonization targets indicating they wanted their governments to work toward a 2030 goal rather than 2050.
• As a global average, youth ranked ‘Government willpower, policies, and regulations’ as the biggest barrier in achieving a sustainable energy transition in their respective countries – especially in Latin America (56%) and South East Asia (48%). Youth also indicated they are prepared to vote on this issue, with 83% of respondents saying that they would vote for a political candidate based on their position on the energy transition.
• Government policy was chosen as the factor having the ‘most importance’ in accelerating the sustainable energy transition, with 44% of respondents choosing it as their top option. Youth in all regions also identified that governments had the most responsibility to reduce emissions.

The Global Youth Energy Outlook intends to bridge the gap between youth and decision-makers in governments and industry – for youth to use the Outlook as a data-backed advocacy tool, and for decision-makers to use the Outlook to understand how to meaningfully engage young people. 

Inside the Report: The GYEO opens with an Executive Summary and a Global Insights section, which contain the headline statistics, findings, and recommendations from the project overall. The report also contains 10 Region-specific Chapters. Each Regional Chapter is introduced with a Foreword by a Regional Coordinator to provide context, a ‘Regional Highlights’ section to amplify particularly interesting findings from each region, and a series of Discussions and thematic analyses that are specific to that region. The GYEO’s survey data is also accompanied by qualitative findings from 25 Regional Dialogues held with youth, as well as Youth Spotlights of young people who are taking action on energy around the world.

Partnerships: The project received financial support from Founding Partners DNV, the Government of Denmark, the Government of Canada (Natural Resources Canada), and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition. The project also received knowledge and peer review support from Knowledge Partner, Enel Foundation.

Student Energy first launched the initial findings from the report at the Science Show Theatre as an official event of the COP26 Green Zone Programme in Glasgow, Scotland, featuring an intergenerational panel discussion with Regional Coordinators and government officials. Since then, the GYEO’s insights have been presented to various youth and global audiences, to support the development of this final report.

“We are excited to launch the Global Youth Energy Outlook to celebrate a 3-year youth-led research process. Through a labor of passion and dedication, the report was developed by young energy leaders who are keen to envision and facilitate a rapid transformation of the energy system. We are also thrilled to have Dr. Carlo Papa, Managing Director of Enel Foundation,  join us for the launch event of the GYEO, as Enel Foundation has been deeply supportive in the review process for the project as our Knowledge Partner. Over the course of this project, Student Energy has seen that young people globally are unified in their desire to see urgent climate action, and yet have a diversity of perspectives informed by the unique geographic and social contexts of their communities. We hope that this research is a launching point for decision makers to meaningfully include young people and youth perspectives in decision-making on the energy transition.” – Helen Watts, Executive Director, Student Energy

About Student Energy:

Student Energy is the world’s largest youth-led organization empowering 50,000 young people in 120+ to accelerate the sustainable energy transition. Since its founding in 2009,  Student Energy has worked to build the knowledge, skills, and networks that youth need to take action on energy. Student Energy operates on a unique youth empowerment model, which means that initiatives are co-created with youth, for youth.

Student Energy also works with governments, the UN, and other decision-makers to facilitate meaningful youth engagement and mobilize resources, coaching, and mentorship to support youth-led work. Student Energy has built coalitions with over 100 diverse partners, such as Indigenous Clean Energy, Sustainable Energy for All, HSBC Global, the Stockholm Environment Institute, DNV, WSP, and national governments like Canada, Denmark, and Sweden. Student Energy has stewarded CAD$10 million+ in funding to date, supported the development of over 280 youth energy projects, held 6 international Student Energy Summits, and attracted over 17 million people to its digital energy education platforms.

About Enel Foundation:

Enel Foundation is an Italian think-tank established in early 2012, with the key objective to drive changes through knowledge creation and sharing to help solve the greatest challenges of our time in the energy and climate domains.

Based in Rome and Santiago, Enel Foundation conducts in-depth independent research leading to scenarios analysis, policy and regulation recommendations and tailored solutions and it co-creates multi flags training programs.

Knowledge platform for a clean energy future

 We focus on the crucial role of clean energy to ensure a sustainable future for all.

By envisioning a sustainable future – resilient and equal – boosted by quality education and enlightened self-interest by the business community. The future we want is powered by affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern electricity smartly distributed to all.

We focus on research and education.

By developing partnerships with pre-eminent experts and institutions across the globe, leveraging on the vast knowledge of our Founders, we conduct research to explore the implications of global challenges in the energy domain. We develop scenario analysis, define policy and regulation opportunities, and design education programs to the benefit of scientific and institutional realms.

We operate at the intersection of business and society.

By engaging institutions and governmental bodies, thought leaders and civil society representatives, industry experts and academia. We are a non-profit organization seeking to converge with like-minded actors determined to solve global challenges ensuring a sustainable future for all.

Media Contacts:

Shakti Ramkumar, Senior Director of Policy and Communications

shakti@studentenergy.org

Phone/Whatsapp: +1 (604) 445 4306

Helen Watts, Executive Director

helen@studentenergy.org

Phone/Whatsapp: +1 (604) 354 2930

Click here to watch the full recording of the webinar event on YouTube