Young people have the most to lose from climate change, but are not given a voice or a vote in how the crisis is tackled. In this episode, Jon Baston-Pitt speaks to three young women, Raina Ivanova, Chloe McKenna and Paula Garcia Rodriguez, who are taking action to make sure their voices—and those of their peers—are heard. 

Chloe and Raina are members of Heirs to our Oceans (H2OO), and Paula is a member of the ECOPs programme. While Raina and Chloe are completing an undergraduate degree and a masters, respectively, they both have long careers of engagement and organising behind them.

Raina is a member of Children Versus Climate Crisis and an environmental advocate. Chloe is a National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation education consultant for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and co-founder of the Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador Programme.

Paula developed her focus on sustainability as she completed her MSc in Governance of Sustainability at Leiden University. Now a participant in Fugro’s international leadership track, she also volunteers as a Water Quality Officer with the Surfrider Foundation Netherlands. At Fugro, Paula continues to pursue her interest in ocean health and ocean science. She works closely with Government Accounts Director for the Americas, David Millar, and Louis Demargne, who is currently on secondment from Fugro as Data & Knowledge Management Officer at IOC/UNESCO. 

In this episode they describe the obstacles youth face in contributing to humanity’s response to climate change. They describe their own work on climate change, and the work they do to give voice to others.

Host

Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro

Guests

Raina Ivanova, undergraduate student, Geography, University of Hamburg.

Chloe McKenna, masters student, Marine Systems and Policies, University of Edinburgh

Paula García Rodríguez, Ocean Sciences Programme Support Manager, Fugro International Leadership Track,

Resources

H2OO has prepared a Guide to Organising a Youth Advisory Council for The UN Ocean Decade.