NI climate change survey finds 55% of young people here ‘feel ignored by powerful people’
Flavia Gouveia
Results of a survey led by the Belfast Commission Youth Working Group show that according to young people, global warming is the most important issue facing society. Thirty per cent reported being impacted by climate change, with around 41 per cent reporting experiencing anxiousness about the climate crisis.
The results were announced at Belfast City Hall on 5 November by Queen’s University Belfast’s climate action group representative, Chloe Ferguson. Ms Ferguson concluded her presentation by highlighting that “young people are in crisis; they’re suffering from eco-anxiety and they’re not sure where to look for answers”.
It also found that 39 per cent had little to no trust in politicians here
In addition to reporting feelings of anxiety, young people also reported low levels of trust in accessing information from politicians and feeling a lack of engagement from those in power. The surveys also showed overall low levels of trust in politicians, with 39 per cent reporting little to no trust in politicians.
The survey results showed that young people obtain most of their information on climate change from social media, over traditional media, and local government. “Only a small number” reported being aware of the two climate bills going through the assembly.
Reacting to the results, minister Nichola Mallon said: “We know that people, particularly young people, are very cynical of politicians and these are very stark statistics.”
Ms Mallon added that there is a disconnect between Stormont and normal people which needs to be addressed.
Lord Mayor Kate Nicholl said that “in the absence of government leadership, young people have taken it on themselves”.
And the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children Koulla Yiasouma added that “young people are making us wake up” saying that “we wouldn’t be having these conversations around the globe if it wasn’t for young people.
The survey of 1,200 young people here also found that 88 per cent of young people reported “believing something can be done to reduce the impact of climate change” and 50 per cent reported having acted.
Celeste Halliday, a representative from the Youth Working Group highlighted that this was only half of young people and called for a need to ensure that we include everyone and work together.
The recommendations from the survey included more political engagement with young people and increased youth representation on climate through an independent Youth Climate Commissioner “responsible for facilitating engagement across stakeholders”.
When discussing increased youth representation NI Commissioner for Children said that young people “need to have a say in how we run the world now”. Ms Yiasouma urged young people to “keep marching on the streets to make this an election issue” as politicians start to look forward to the new election cycle.
You can find out more about the results here.
The Belfast Climate Commission Youth Working Group was established through the Community Climate Action Working Group and was ratified by the Climate Commission in 2020. The Youth Working Group includes representatives from local organisations including Queen’s University’s climate action group and the Belfast youth forum.
Flavia Gouveia is host of The Eco Scoop and a Liberal Arts student at Queen’s University Belfast