91 percent of youth sees climate change as a serious problem and asks to take extra actions urgently

The first ever worldwide preferendum for youth, organized by State of Youth – founded by KidsRights, connected by Facebook – was prepared by UN youth delegates attending the UN Youth Climate Summit in New York last September.

This impressive survey was initiated by State of Youth and facilitated by Erasmus School of Economics (Rotterdam, the Netherlands). Over 10,000 youth from around the world gave their opinions and solutions in various ways. 91 percent of the youth agree: climate change is a serious problem and we need to take extra actions urgently to tackle it. Youth voted on 16 sets of possible climate change policies, of which the top 3 results were ranked:

  1. Clean production: companies should use sustainable energy and reduce their pollution.
  2. Strict laws: governments should strengthen their laws (or implementations thereof) to stop pollution.
  3. Less waste: consumers should be able to recycle all that is possible.

The survey also collected hundreds of new suggestions for policies and ways for private citizens to make an impact. Amongst them were a personal app to measure ones personal CO2 footprint.

Letter to world leaders

The outcome of the preferendum is sent today to world leaders around the world. Every world leader is addressed by his/her first name – dear Donald, dear Boris, dear Angela and Ursula – with the question to act on the views of the youth worldwide.

Youth from all over the world can participate by sending a letter to the world leader of their preference. This call on world leaders is launched today during the UN COP Climate Conference on the Young & Future Generations Day.