Today, nearly half the world’s population– more than 3 billion people– are under the age of 25. Collectively, we as young people have a critical role to play in adapting to climatechange, helping mitigate climate change, holding our governments accountable to targets setin Copenhagen, and shaping a just and sustainable world.

 

Climate change disproportionately affects women, especially young women, who are often the stewards of their area’s natural resources–as they must walk farther to collect water, work harder to produce crops from dry soil, and cope with drought, flooding, [other] natural disasters and disease. At the same time, empowered women can be particularly strong agents for sustainable change in their communities. An effective approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation must support young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), as doing so is essential for adaptation while contributing to reducing the impact of future climate change.