Young People as Transformative Citizens Fighting Climate Change

Abstract

The government of Indonesia has launched environmental policies to address the risks of climate change at the national to local levels and involves all elements of development: economy and business, education, environment and forestry, and transportation. In fact, behavioral change is seen as unsustainable, particularly in people's everyday lives. As this problem emerges, Indonesian young people through youth-led environmental organizations hold environmental activities to alternatively introduce and educate communities and schools to recognize and identity climate change impacts. The author then presents two successful youth organizations: Greenpeace Youth Indonesia (GYI) and the Indonesian Students Climate Forum (ICSF). GYI's actions are more stirred with Greenpeace's ideology, which focuses on direct campaigns, protest, and young activist mobilization, while ICSF's repertoires for mitigating climate changes are more community schools-based educational outreach. Although both of them are distinct in nature, their works have been transformative and applicable.