TakingITGlobal

I. Equity and Inclusion All cities around the world must recognise their place in creating and implementing an equitable response to climate change. This means that every city and government around the world is responsible for mitigating and adapting to climate change in proportion to their own impact on the climate and the contexts in which they live. Action points: ● Climate change conversations and action must address the barriers faced in cities and schools. ● Climate change conversations must include the opinions of all people and communities in our cities. ● Governments must meaningfully include youth in city decision-making. ● Climate change policies must benefit marginalized populations. Climate change conversations and actions must address the barriers faced in cities and schools. In cities and schools, there are barriers that restrict how some people are represented when addressing climate issues, including gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic class. We are aware as we write that many students around the world are not able to contribute to this climate conversation, despite how they may be addressing climate issues in their contexts, and that their contributions may lead to different answers. At the city level, the voices of youth are often not heard, ignored, or not taken seriously because youth are not seen as credible participants. Compounding the issue, schools in low-income areas tend to be more vulnerable to climate change because they do not have the infrastructure to adapt to natural disasters, and are increasingly impacted as the strength and frequency of natural and climatic disasters grow. This forces some students to stay home from schools that are flooded or impacted by immense heatwaves. Even when a student may want to address climate change, they may be focused on ways for their family to survive. We believe that cities and schools must take extra steps to include these populations. Climate change conversations must include the opinions of all people and communities in our cities. Conversations about climate change are often limited to a few privileged groups of people. Unfortunately, this means that the majority of populations do not have equitable access to information or a recognized voice regarding these issues. Some cities or towns may not have reliable and consistent internet access, limiting access to accurate and up to date data on climate change. At the same time, some of these communities might hold traditional and local knowledge that helps these people adapt to climate change in their own ways, yet may be ignored by researchers and policy makers. As examples, in Bangladesh, villagers are creating floating vegetable gardens to protect their lands from flooding, while in Vietnam, communities are helping to plant dense mangroves along the coast to diffuse tropical-storm waves. It is unfortunate and dangerous that local knowledges and adaptations to climate change may not be recognized as valid by individuals and institutions. Therefore, we must draw these communities into global conversations on climate change. 3

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