HOT TAKE: The Kids are alright - Youth take the Mic in Rio

Hot Take: the climate crisis isn’t some abstract data point or a dry policy debate, it’s a deeply human story of survival. Right now, a whole generation is growing up inside the emergency, doing the heavy lifting to fix a mess they didn't create. We’re bringing you the raw, human heartbeat of the movement and amplifying the voices that stole the show at the World Mayor’s Summit in Rio. The C40 Youth Hub members dive into what real intergenerational collaboration looks like when those with the biggest stake in the future are finally the ones leading the change.

Youth Moment featured leaders:

Juliet Oluoch, Research fellow, Ufanisi Research Network

Anjali Raman-Middleton, Co-founder and Director, Choked Up

Esther Kamara, Founder of Youth Initiative For Climate Action Sierra Leone

Foday Kamara, National Coordinator, Youth Climate Council Global Alliance

Letícia Mathias, Co-founder and Executive Director, Instituto SustentAção

Micheala Chan, Young Water Utilities Expert for the Pacific, Asian Development Bank

Featured interview guest:

Earl Aldrin Burgos. C40 Youth Engagement and Campaigns Manager

Links:

World Mayors Summit special - Cities 1.5

US cities as climate first responders - Cities 1.5

C40 Youth Moment - YouTube 

Youth Hub - C40

Youth Engagement Playbook for Cities - C40

Loss and Damage: Challenges and Opportunities for City Leadership

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/

Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield.

Narrative and communications support by Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

Transcript

David 00:00

Welcome to Cities 1.5 Hot Takes - Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis. I’m David Miller and today our episode will be less of a hot take but a young and creative one.

Peggy 00:15

I’m Peggy Whitfield and I’m the writer and executive producer on the podcast, and a big part of my time is spent thinking about how to tell climate stories in an engaging way. Sometimes it’s not so easy.

David 00:28

The climate crisis is not just a technical or scientific challenge, it is a profoundly human one.

Peggy 00:37

And when we lose sight of these facts and we do not tell that story, we risk losing sight of who we are fighting for.

David 00:47

In our recent US mayoral deep dive on Cities 1.5, Mayor Kirk Watson of Austin reminded us that climate leadership is inseparable from the responsibility to safeguard the next generation and that every policy decision is in some way a decision about their future.

Peggy 01:07

Which is why at the end of that conversation we left you with the voice of Juliet Oluoch, a youth climate activist and research fellow from Kenya. Today we are making space for her voice and others like her to share their very special youth moment from the World Mayors Summit in Rio.

David 01:26

Because sometimes the clearest articulation of what is at stake doesn’t emerge from a policy discussion…

Peggy 01:33

…but from the generation growing up inside the crisis and doing their utmost to solve it.

Moderator 01:39

As we draw this plenary to a close now, let’s collectively pause for a second and reflect. So, the climate crisis is at its core a crisis of inequality. Demanding that we prioritize the most vulnerable and truly listen to the generation that is coming. With that in mind, I invite you all to welcome C40 Youth Hub members to the stage who are here to deliver a very important message. [applause]

Juliet Oluoch 02:26

This is Juliet. She grew up in homeland Koru, a quiet village six hours away from Nairobi. She fondly remembers her childhood surrounded by lush green hills the scent of freshly tilted soil and frequent visits to her grandmother’s farm. Over the years, she started to notice unsettling changes. The rains that once came like clockwork began to fade, and the droughts would leave the soil cracked and lifeless. She vividly remembers standing beside her grandmother as she stared at her wilted maize field one particular dry season. Her words in the lure still echoes in her mind, “The land is tired, my child. It no longer knows when to rest or when to give.” She witnessed her grandparents lose all their livestock to devastating floods. The animals that represented years of efforts, security, and dignity to them. The same floods contaminated water sources, and in the aftermath, she lost a cousin to cholera. It was then when she realized just how the impacts of climate change are never just environmental. They ripple into public health, livelihoods, and the social fabric of families.

Letícia Batista 04:01

This is Letícia at age three. She grew up in a tiny family in Rio de Janeiro, and was especially close to her grandfather, who fondly calls her Lee. She recalls watching science fiction movies with her family, which often portrayed scenes of environmental collapse and extreme weather events. This helped her understand the important relationship between humanity and nature. That people have the power to change the future. In 2010, a profound sorrow touched her life. She lost her beloved grandfather to a stroke during a year marked by record high temperatures and intense heat waves, known to increase the incidences of this disease. This heartbreaking experience became a pivotal moment in her life, and she was determined to awake others to how deeply the climate crisis impacts every life, every family.

Esther Kamara 05:12

Let me tell you about Esther. She grew up near Akure Bay, one of Freetown’s largest informal settlements. She has many fond childhood memories with friends who live there, and whom she walks with to school every day. During the raining season, her friends’ life changed. Heavy floods would destroy homes, wash away belongings, and force families to start from scratch. Her friends often missed school for weeks because their books, uniforms, and shoes were ruined. She recalled gathering with her sister some of their clothes to donate to others, but feeling sad as while they could help a few, so many others were suffering silently. Children whose families couldn’t afford to replace what they had lost, and young girls who faced the danger and trauma that comes with displacement and poverty. These memories have left an indelible mark and shaped her purpose. She realized that many of the environmental challenges people face were rooted in social injustice, inequality, and poor urban planning.

Anjali Raman-Middleton 06:18

Anjali, like any other child, loved being outside. Her most treasured memories were of playing at her local park, the wind in her hair, and the scent of blooming flowers every spring. As she grew up, she realized that the air she breathed was harming her and everyone around her, and that living next to one of London’s busiest roads made the constant hum of traffic a soundtrack to her life. It was a slow realization. A creeping unease that solidified into anger. The thought that the very air she breathed, the air she once took for granted during her outdoor adventures, was now a threat, and that ignited a fierce determination within her. She knew then that she couldn’t just stand by. It was time to act, to fight for the clean air her community deserved, and for the simple joy of breathing freely under an open sky.

Foday Kamara 07:17

These are just some of the stories all too familiar to young people all over the world. Memories of their childhood, which should be filled with joy and carefree play, but are instead overshadowed by their world unravelling in plain sight one flood, one heatwave, one breath at a time.

Micheala Chan 07:43

[rousing music] Despite this, they do not let these stories lock them into apathy. Youth are rising with urgency, refusing to wait for the world to fix itself. Full of hope and with voices demanding change, they have been doing inspiring things to fix a problem that they did not cause.

Foday Kamara 08:03

All over the world, young people are stepping up and taking decisive action to safeguard the future of our planet.

Micheala Chan 08:12

They are working with their cities, mayors, and local partners to accelerate climate action on the ground.

Juliet Oluoch 08:19

I am Juliet, and I am devoted to connecting the voices and experiences from grassroots with the policies and research that shape global action.

Letícia Batista 08:30

I am Letícia, and I am committed to advancing sustainable human planning through my work as a researcher and spark understanding through educating, training, and supporting all the young people with what textbooks left out.

Esther Kamara 08:48

I am Esther, and I work hard to mentor young women in Freetown, equipping them with the knowledge, confidence, and the funding to design and implement their own climate projects and understand the power their voices hold.

Anjali Raman-Middleton 09:03

I am Anjali, and I advocate for the right to clean air. I have worked with my mayor and my city in strengthening clean-air legislation. I am proud to drive this change with young people from across the world, from London to Joburg, working with initiatives like Breathe Cities to ensure cities and communities work hand in hand to clean the air we all breathe.

Foday Kamara 09:27

So, whether we are called at the city hall or in our communities, we are stepping up, building, collaborating, matching together and leading the change on climate change.

Micheala Chan 09:44

Our efforts alone are not enough. We need you. Lasting change does not come through the work of just one generation. Real progress is forged through the power of intergenerational collaboration.

Juliet Oluoch 10:00

Mutirão, as we say here in Brazil. We need you so that farmers like my grandmother no longer fear losing everything to floods.

Letícia Batista 10:11

We need you so we do not lose those we love to extreme heat.

Esther Kamara 10:16

We need you so children can study without worrying about missing school during the next rainy season.

Anjali Raman-Middleton 10:23

We need you so kids can play outside and fully enjoy the air that they breathe.

Foday Kamara 10:29

All of you were once in our shoes and dreamt that one day you too could make a difference and build a better world. [applause]

Micheala Chan 10:53

You were like us, full of hope and energy and doing amazing things despite the little support and recognition you received. You needed someone to listen to you, to help you achieve the things you wanted to accomplish. We need you to be that person for us.

Foday Kamara 11:11

Leaders, this is not the time to be timid. Now is the time to act. Invest in young people, work with us.

Micheala Chan 11:22

For the wisdom we need for the future will not come from a single generation but from intergenerational collaboration rooted in respect, courage and shared purpose.

C40 Youth Hub members 11:35

We do this for our today, we do this for our tomorrow, and we will do this together. [applause]

Juliet Oluoch 11:44

Thank you.

David 11:50

This most powerful of messages is clear. Young people like Juliet, Letícia and their colleagues are not asking for a place in the future, they are demanding that we step up and ensure there is a future at all. And institutions are beginning to listen.

Peggy 12:11

Within C40, the Youth Hub is one way that cities are working to bring youth voices closer to the decisions that will shape their world, and it was also responsible for organizing the powerful youth moment we just heard.

Earl Aldrin Burgos 12:27

My name is Earl Aldrin Burgos and I’m a Youth Engagement and Campaigns Manager at C40 Cities. I work with young people and engage them in C40’s work, especially in the various campaigns that we run. I also personally manage the C40 Youth Hub, which is a global network of fantastic young people that we engage with on urban climate action.

David 12:45

The C40 Youth Hub is an ever-growing network of youth climate leaders from around the world who can bring their different experiences to the C40 table. It’s an opportunity for them to learn, but also to feed into climate policy and initiatives, as too often youth, who have the biggest stake in how the future unfolds, are not given a platform in the climate world.

Peggy 13:10

The C40 Youth Hub currently has around 430 members, representing 205 cities, with 55 cities being C40 cities. It’s open to all young people between the ages of 15 to 29 who have worked in the climate world, be that climate councils, young climate professionals, climate activists, university students, and more. It’s also worth highlighting that the majority of members of the C40 Youth Hub are from Global South countries, and for good reason, as Earl explains.

Earl Aldrin Burgos 13:43

This is both intentional as well as reflective of the current state of the youth climate movement. Majority of the world’s megacities and the populations most vulnerable to the climate crisis are in the Global South. I’m from Manila, and we’ve experienced, you know, I could say a lot more than what other cities have experienced, for example, and C40’s mission is to help cities tackle this crisis and that means centering the voices and solutions of those who are most affected. Youth climate leaders in the Global South are also often at the front lines of innovative, grassroots action driven by immediate necessity rather than policy alone. Youth from the Global South are often left out of the global discourse, and they don’t have a lot of these opportunities to take part in, for example, being in the same stages or in the same rooms with mayors or decision makers, etc. So, allowing more young people from the Global South to have access to these opportunities, or be in these rooms via the small work that we do in the C40 Youth Hub is very important.

David 14:38

These frontline experiences of so many Global South youth climate leaders is why their voices were so prominent in the powerful piece of storytelling you’ve just heard. But how did this youth movement even come about?

Earl Aldrin Burgos 14:52

Yeah. So, our team has always wanted to do something creative as well as inspirational to amplify the amazing work that our youth climate leaders are doing, so we were so excited to have been given this opportunity to deliver just that during the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio last November. We wanted to do something a bit different from a speech or a presentation which you normally hear or see in these events or events of this scale, and as we work with young people, we thought that it was the perfect way to do just that. So, what we decided on was putting up a moment that combines spoken word as well as visuals to tell a powerful, humanizing, as well as an emotive story led by our youth climate leaders on why inclusive and practical solutions to the climate crisis must be delivered for both people and planet.

David 15:37

Directly engaging with young people from around the world started under the leadership of Mayor Eric Garcetti when he was chair of C40, and has a particular focus on young people from the so-called Global South or alternatively countries where the global majority of people live.

Earl Aldrin Burgos 16:00

Yes, our youth members were such superstars already on their own right. And, you know, just being—doing this on stage just kind of gave them more of that star power and, really, they received a standing ovation for their contributions to the summit. Many people have said that it was one of the highlights of the summit, as it was very inspiring and it really reminded people why we do this work. And it’s, really, to safeguard the future of the next generation, right? During the course of the summit, I think what I found most kind of rewarding because of this moment was many people came up to our Youth Hub members to not only congratulate them on the amazing work that they have been doing and delivering in their respective cities, but they really wanted to talk to them, sit down with them to discuss how they can work together on climate projects.

Peggy 16:41

These moments of hope are really vital for all of us, especially for those, like us on this podcast, who work in the climate sphere. The world can seem very dark right now and it’s ironic that young people who, after all, are those who have the most to lose, are also the ones who are not giving up.

Earl Aldrin Burgos 17:01

I think it is an understatement to say that it’s challenging to find hope in everything that’s going on, but I do find that focusing where a lot of good things are happening truly helps. Global politics can sometimes feel quite overwhelming and gridlocked, so I encourage looking closer to home as we have powerful and inspiring champions in cities as well as local governments. So, this tangible local change cuts through the global noise and reminds us of the immediate impact that we can all have. And I think one of the best things I love about working at C40 is we are able to champion those stories and those experiences.

I also remain very hopeful as young people all over the world are refusing to accept inaction. The amazing things that they are doing to solve a problem that they themselves did not cause keeps me inspired to continue doing the work that we have set out to do, and I think their energy, passion and creativity is something that many of our leaders can definitely learn from.

David 17:55

As today’s voices remind us, storytelling can move us beyond the most dismal climate change takes towards something far more powerful, shared purpose and the possibility of change. To find out more about the C40 Youth Hub and the young climate leaders you heard from today, please check the links in our show notes. I’m David Miller. This is Hot Takes and thank you for listening. See you next time.