People For Earth

6th Climate Change Colloquium 2022

'How Generation Z is Changing Climate Politics?’

- Sophie Handford, New Zealand's youngest councilor

On May 27, the 6th Climate Change Colloquium 2022 was held in Yujae, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The Climate Change Colloquium was prepared with the purpose of creating a forum for thinking about practical solutions in various areas such as citizens, youth, education, and energy.

New Zealand's youngest councilor, Sophie Handford, attended the climate change colloquium as a speaker and shared her views on 'How Generation Z is Changing Climate Politics'. In addition, Kim Dongyoung, Researcher of Gyeonggi Research Institute, Oh Jihyuk, Youth Climate Emergency Action(YCEA), and Hyun Yujung, BigWave for Climate Change, Plan Zero, were invited to join the conversation.

Sophie Handford had the remarkable experience of inviting more than 170,000 citizens to join the youth climate strike prior to her election to the district council. On this day, Handford said, "Generation Z is changing climate politics now." She said, "I feel a sense of crisis as if this is the last time, and a sense of responsibility as if the golden time to prevent the climate crisis was given to the current generation." In particular, she pointed out that "the existing political system does not sufficiently reflect the values ​​and opinions of New Zealand's indigenous people and young people, and does not represent the entire population." She introduced her activities, saying, “I am on the right track to continue to create ripple effects through small activities.”

Then, Oh Jihyuk said, “It is time to give direct answers to the realization of fundamental and radical social change.” He then emphasized the needs for an environment in which young people can participate. 

“Even if there is an opportunity, it is difficult to say that a big change has been made,” said Hyun Yujung, a youth activist at BigWave, who sent a letter to the former Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Chairperson of the Carbon Neutrality urging them to respond to the climate crisis. She said that if we show persistence even though it seems impossible, there would be methods. It also suggested that a cultural approach is necessary for more public participation in climate change response regardless of political differences.

Kim Dongyoung, Senior Research Fellow at Gyeonggi Research Institute, has been researching climate and energy for about 20 years. He criticized Korea's optimism about not giving up on growth and that it would solve the problem technically. He also expressed his hope that communication with these young people would be further expanded, saying, “Awareness, values, and vision for climate change must be made more concrete.”

When asked about how to convince people not to give up on economic growth, Handford said, "There's no need to think of economic growth and the environment as opposing relationships." She also said that economic and ecological transformation must be achieved simultaneously through diversification of economic growth. She emphasized the importance of solidarity with more people, noting the importance of taking personal responsibility.

The event ended with Sophie Handford and Korean panelists cheering for each other. 




〈Climate Change Colloquium 2022 - 5th〉