TakingITGlobal

I have had the opportunity of coming here and knowing what other people feel, but the thing is that my friends don't have the same opportunity. I mean, I could show them all the projects I've been taking up, and obviously they will support me to some extent, but… I doubt that they will have the same drive and passion that I've developed. ( D E L H I , I N T E R V I E W ) The friendships these youth formed reinforced their passion for climate change and empathy for others, further amplifying team members' emotional relationship with climate change. We discuss prospects for generating similar benefits for more youth in the discussion at the end of this report. 2 . 3. 2 Changes t o Emo tions, Ef f icacy, and Mo ti va tions The depth of emotions expressed in the interviews often emerged from the deeper understanding of climate change acquired over the course of the project. In section 2.1.4, we found that emotional engagement is key to climate change engagement; this relationship also appears to reinforce itself, as actively engaging with peers in a meaningful climate change project stimulated even stronger emotions. Sorrow and fear were still prevalent, but feelings of helplessness and despair appeared to be greatly diminished through participation. This finding differs from the overwhelming despair and paralysis that has been found to result from other forms of climate change education (Norgaard 2011; Brown 2016). Increased hope, inspiration, confidence and motivation to act all appeared to emerge directly from participation in the IPCC | 55 Y O U T H A N D C L I M A T E C H A N G E 2 0 1 8 E D I T I O N We Got This: JULIANA v. U.S. In 2015, 21 U.S. citizens between the ages of 7 and 18 years old filed a lawsuit against the government of the United States, arguing that the federal government violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to life, liberty and property, by causing dangerous carbon dioxide concentrations. One of those plaintiffs is Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez,an indigenous environmental activist, hip hop artist and youth director of Earth Guardians, a conservation organization that now spans the globe. The federal government, with assistance from the fossil fuel industry,tried repeatedly through several district courts to have the case dismissed, but three years later, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruledto let the case go forward. In response to the case, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken stated, "Exercising my 'reasoned judgment,' I have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society." In the words of Kelsey Cascadia Rose Juliana, climate activist since the age of 10 and the case's namesake, "I believe that climate change is the most pressing issue my generation will ever face, indeed that the world has ever faced. This is an environmental issue and it is also a human rights issue." Sources: https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/us/federal- lawsuit/and https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/kelsey/, accessed August 22, 2018.

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