The AYCC has become one of the best examples of young people taking a stand against issues that affect the world---and making a huge difference in the process.
Unfortunately, Australia is the most vulnerable developed country affected by climate change, causing sea level rise and acidity in the ocean. But with programs like this the highly successful Youth Decide campaign,a partnership between the AYCC and World Vision Australia to give 4.8 million young Australians the chance to vote on climate change and government action, this coalition has proven that a united voice from the generation that will be most affected by the climate change problems, will be the voice that impacts the future.
We had the chance to speak with AYCC Co-Director Amanda McKenzie, who gave us the good word on how kids have come together to speak up for more education, awareness, legislation, and effort to make a change and to help alleviate the climate crisis in a most vulnerable country.
What is the Australian Youth Climate Coalition?
The AYCC is a coalition of youth organisations concerned about climate change which come together to provide a national unified voice on climate change. Young people will be the generation most impacted by climate change, and consequently we must take action to protect our own future. While these groups have diverse mandates, they all agree that climate change will adversely effect their constituencies and that we all need to work together to solve it. Our mission is to mobilize our generation to solve the climate crisis. Why the need to unite youth organizations on the topic of climate change?
We wanted to bring youth organisations together from all different backgrounds and issues, from medical students, to young people of faith, to architecture students, to school groups and many more. The idea is that in solving the climate crisis we need people from all walks of life, from all disciplines to work out how sustainability can be relevant to them and incorporated in their work. We believe that to create the large scale social change required to address climate change adequately we need people across Australia and across the world to collaborate and come together. Change will happen through a united many, rather than a powerful few.
How bad is the climate change issue in Australia?
Australia is the most vulnerable developed country to climate change. We have an environment that is sensitive to climatic shifts and an economy that is dependant on this sensitive environment. For instance, climate change is expected to make South Eastern Australia drier and make heat waves, bushfires and drought more servere and frequent, this will have a huge impact on agriculture, water and energy infrastructure and tourism – as well as other industries. The Great Barrier Reef is particularly vulnerable and is already experiencing coral bleaching as a consequence of increased ocean temperatures.
The region surrounding Australia is also very vulnerable to climate change, particularly to sea level rise. Many islands in the Pacific will simply disappear with a couple of metres of sea level rise and many are already feeling the impacts from increased storm surges and sea water inundation of fresh water supplies. Other countries in the region, for instance Bangladesh, have huge population centres based on very low lying areas. Small increases in sea level could displace huge amounts of people, impacting on Australia.
How does one get involved?
At the AYCC there is always opportunities to get involved. You can get involved my sending an email to info@youthclimatecoalition.org or by getting involved with Youth Decide holding an event!
How big is the group?
The AYCC is made up of 85 youth organisations and over 1000 youth organizers around the country. What are some of your projects to inspire, educate, and empower?
This year we’ve had four major projects, Switched On Schools our schools engagement project; Power Shift a national youth summit on climate change; Youth Decide a national youth vote on climate change; and we are sending a delegation to the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen to present a youth voice. We also do lots of advocacy speaking at conferences, lobbying politicians and writing articles and opinion pieces – for instance we have met with Kevin Rudd, Penny Wong, Malcom Turnbull, three State Premiers, politicians for all sides, international luminaries such as the Secretary General of the UN; prominent scientists; business leaders; foreign ambassadors and Nobel peace prize winners.
How does climate change affect the marine world (ocean, marine life, etc.)?
Climate change will have a number of impacts on oceans: oceans are expected to become warmer and more acidic. Water takes up more space when its warmer, so this, coupled with increasing influxes of fresh water from melting glaciers mean that sea levels are expected to rise.
Marine life is very sensitive to changes in the ocean. Areas like the Great Barrier Reef in particular are very vulnerable and are already experiencing coral bleaching as a consequence of increased temperatures.
Many species including microbes, fish, marine turtles and seabirds, are temperature sensitive, for instance temperature determines the gender of turtle hatchlings and higher temperatures lead to an increased proportion of females. What is the AYCC doing in order to keep this from occurring?
We believe that a powerful social movement can create the impetus for large scale political change, as well as the longer term cultural change for society to accept and adapt to these changes. The thing is governments won’t act unless the public make them. Look through history and you’ll find that large scale social change is driven by a united many, rather than a powerful few. We won’t solve this problem unless we demand that it be solved.
Young people have driven social movements of the past with their passion and enthusiasm. Today young people can create united communities, across boarders in ways never imagined before using internet based tools like Facebook.
The AYCC creates vehicles for young people to be involved. In particular, Youth Decide is our big current project! We are giving the generation most impacted by climate change a chance to vote on the world they want to inherit. There have been 30,000 votes so far and 300 voting events organised by young people around the country with 3 days left of the campaign, How old is the average member?
Between 19 and 21; however people are involved from 12-29.
How does one volunteer for the AYCC and what can they volunteer for?
The AYCC has volunteers all over the country in capital cities, regional centres and many rural areas. Get in touch to find somewhere near you! Info@youthclimatecoalition.org
What’s the Australian Climate Change Education Network?
A group set up in 2006 to educate the community on climate change – it has folded now with members being absorbed into the AYCC. Any stories involving members of the AYCC and the amazing things they’ve done to promote climate change awareness?
One special story is of Emily Lawrence. At the UN Climate Conference in 2007 when she was just 17 she designed a simple action and convinced all the young people at the conference, all two hundred of them, to be a part of it. It involved a black sign spelling out the word PLEASE held by 6 youth who were then surrounded by 194 youth holding flags from every country in the world. The message was to world leaders – please protect our future. The image got significant traction fronting the BBC, papers across America, China, Europe – it quickly went global. The image was seen by over 100 million people. That is the sort of impact young people can make through their honesty and creativity. If we don’t start being aware and taking care of climate change now, what could happen to the world in the future?
If we don’t adequately address climate change now we will watch as the Earth change into a very different place over our lifetime - we will watch ice caps melt, sea levels rise, water and food become scarcer as mighty rivers dry up, extreme weather like the recent storms and floods in northern NSW and Queensland or the Victorian bushfires become more frequent and forceful. Australia’s world renown areas of natural beauty like the Great Barrier Reef will disappear into rubble. We will watch as our Pacific island neighbours are evacuated as their homes, culture, livelihood, there entire history, vanish beneath the sea. It is not a pleasant future – but this is what scientists tell us we can expect if we don’t take substantial action now.
Our future is fired up about climate change and changing the world! How do we know? The 
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