Responding to the Climate Crisis

Ahead of COP26 - the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (31 Oct - 12 November 2021) - Children in Scotland is listening to and supporting the views of children and young people on climate change.

What young people are telling us

This is what we are hearing from our children and young people's advisory group, Changing Our World, and from the young people we engage with across our projects and activities:

• We need action now
• We need to hold politicians to account
• We need to understand the impact of climate change. Better education at school is part of that
• We want to be part of making change happen. It’s our future and we don’t want to be excluded.

“In responding to the Coronavirus outbreak, [global leaders] have proven that they can act in a crisis. Now, they must apply that urgency and level of action to the climate and ecological emergency.”
Holly Gillibrand, climate activist, speaking to Children in Scotland magazine in April, 2020.

Find out More

You can find out more about the impact of Climate Change and what’s happening globally and in Scotland by visiting these sites:

• The UN Climate Change Conference 2021 / COP26
• As part of the global effort to fight the climate emergency, Scotland has set an ambitious target to become 'Net Zero' by 2045, five years ahead of the rest of the UK. Click here for more info about Net Zero Nation.
• Nature Scot is a good resource for information about the impact of climate change in Scotland.

Get Involved

There are many ways that children and young people can get involved and share their opinions on climate change. Here are some activities and events coming up as we head towards COP26:

• #FridaysForFuture, the youth-led and -organised movement that began in August 2018.
• COP26 Scottish Youth Programme Climate Group. A collaboration between Scottish Government, Young Scot, YouthLink and Keep Scotland Beautiful. The programme will run during the lead up to and beyond the UN climate conference in November. It will include a range of online and in-person activities, aimed at increasing young people’s awareness of climate change.
• Linked to the above, the Scottish Youth Climate Summit on Saturday 30 October (9.30am-5pm) will bring together a diverse range of young people, aged 11 - 26, to discuss their priorities for climate action in Scotland. Click here to register your place.
• Climate Changemakers is a great resource created by Children's Parliament dedicated to supporting young people to share their views with adult-decision makers across Scotland.
• Big Dreams, Little Footprints has a weekly Activity-Action post for families.
• Send a message to our leaders to say how you care about the climate crisis. Climate Scotland is bringing together 10,000 voices. Add yours here
• The #Youth4ClimateLiveEducational Toolkit is a great
  interactive document, including handy hyperlinks to accessible climate engagement materials.

Talk to Your School

If you think your school could be doing more about Climate Learning:

• YouthLink has some great resources available to help educate and campaign on climate emergency issues.
• Climate Our Future: Official Free COP26 school materials, created by Twinkl in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Partners. Click here to access the materials.
• Teach The Future, a campaign created by the Scottish Youth Climate Strikes campaign has four specific asks to achieve its vision of climate and environmental eduction in Scotland. Click here to find out more.