Despite being a recently more discussed topic, climate protection is still overwhelmingly unclear for most people. Citizens need to actively change their behaviour towards a greener future, so they need to become more aware of the environmental challenges, measures to be taken and lifestyle changes. This is especially the case for climate education. The My Ecotrack Project aims to provide basic knowledge on climate and environment supporting youth workers who work with young people without any proper climate education. This presentation is part of a climate Factbook for youth workers which will be published online at https://myecotrack.eu/. It addresses lifestyle changes we can make to support the drive to net zero.

1. USE YOUR VOICE
– GROW THE IMPACT,
PROTECT THE CLIMATE
My Eco Track
Project Nr. 2021-1-IS01- KA220-YOU-000028985

2. "USE YOUR VOICE, USE
YOUR VOTE, USE YOUR
CHOICE“
Al Gore

3. 1. TALK TO OTHERS ABOUT THE
CHANGES YOU MAKE TO PROTECT THE
CLIMATE
What are you doing yourself to protect the climate?
 Share this with as many people as possible.
 It is hard to convert someone that believes climate change is
no danger.
 The best way to influence is to set a personal example.
 Leadership theories emphasize leading by example.
 People like to belong and that is why people also like to do
what other people do.
 So talk about what you do to help protect the climate.

4. 2. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD BY
DECISION MAKERS
 As climate activist Finnegan Harries says in his video “We all
have the right to free speech and the right to peaceful protest and
we should use them.” (https://youtu.be/bdBG5VO01e0?t=2)
 However much we change our lifestyle to be more climate
friendly, if action is not taken on system level the change will not
be fast enough or big enough.
 We as citizens and consumers need to put pressure on decision
makers in companies and governments to limit the polluting
industries, like carbon, coal etc.
 Besides specific regulations on CO2 emissions by governments
we can also press banks and investors to not invest in high
emission industries.

5. 3. JOIN GREEN
ORGANIZATIONS/INITIATIVES
 Choose the area of climate change action that is closest to
your heart and look for initiatives you can join. They can be
global or local.
 For example check the United Nations climate change action
mobile app ACT NOW (https://www.un.org/en/actnow),
 or the European Commission Generation Climate initiative
(https://europa.eu/climate-pact/news/generation-climate-
young-people-forefront-change-2022-02-16_en)
 or find local initiatives to join as volunteer.

6. 4. LEAD GREEN INITIATIVES IN YOUR
COMMUNITY
 Everyone can be a community leader,
 provided that they are motivated and inspired.
 If you have an idea, that you are passionate about,
don’t hesitate
 find like-minded people and start implementing it.

7. 5. CONSIDER ECOLOGICAL
SUSTAINABILITY WHEN YOU
VOTE (1)
Besides voting with our wallet it is
also important to consider ecology,
sustainability and climate change
when voting at elections. This is very
important, because:
 governments need to encourage
companies to develop more
environmentally and climate
friendly production and transport
practices.
 governments should allocate more
funds to research and
development of green energy and
investment in sustainable projects.

8. 5. CONSIDER ECOLOGICAL
SUSTAINABILITY WHEN YOU VOTE (2)
 Carefully check the programmes, values and priorities of
the political parties and people that you vote for.
 Check the underlying/hidden interests that might be there.
For example, are they being financed by the oil business?
 Or have they talked or voted in the past in favour of
practices and laws that are benevolent to polluting
industries?

9. WHAT IS EUROPE DOING?
THE EU AIMS TO BE CLIMATE-NEUTRAL BY 2050 – HOW?
Europe is a world leader in the fight against climate change. It
aims to be climate neutral by 2050.
This is an ambitious goal, which the EU aims to achieve by
reaching the following targets until 2030:
 Minimum 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
 Over 32% share of renewable energy
 Minimum 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency

10. EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL (1)
What has the EU Green Deal achieved so far?
 The target of 55% less emissions has been made legally binding
for the EU member states by the European Climate Law.
 The EU Renovation Wave aims to double the annual energy
renovation rates of public and private buildings in the next 10 years.
 The EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil.
It sets the steps towards reducing premature deaths due to air
pollution by 55%, plastic litter in the sea by 50% and residual
municipal waste by 50%, by 2030.
 The EU strategy on Adaptation and Climate Change deals with
planning how to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate
change.

11. EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL (2)
 The European Green Deal offers the option for everyone to get
involved in the climate action.
 This can happen through the European Climate Pact - “a
movement of people united around a common cause, each taking
steps to build a more sustainable Europe for us all."
 Launched by the European Commission, the Climate Pact is
helping the EU to meet its goal to be the first climate-neutral
continent in the world by 2050.
Source: https://europa.eu/climate-pact/index_en

12. Apa Sherpa on Everest.
© WWF Nepal
Hakan Bulgurlu
on the summit
of Everest.
(Credit: Arçelik)
Let’s join their efforts - NOW