Children and young people are valuable citizens today and the future care takers of their communities and the environment. Tomorrow's leaders are today's young people and it is just not fair to leave environmental problems to future generations to sort out. NCB recognises that children are experts on their own lives, have the right to be involved in matters that affect them, and are powerful agents of change. NCB accompanied the first UK young person to the Bali climate change summit in 2007 and since then many countries have involved young people at subsequent summits.
Children and young people are worried about the quality of their environment and communities for themselves and others, and they want opportunities to act. Environmental problems affect children's lives such as how healthy they are, the education they receive and the jobs they will have. Our most vulnerable children will be affected the most, so we need to enable them to shape their futures too.
Practical action
Climate change is a driver for living more sustainably, but it doesn't necessarily motivate people to adapt their lifestyles. Sustainable living offers a positive lens through which to address the social, economic and environmental challenges that we face. Individuals can engage with sustainable living through different "entry points", depending on what matters to them the most, such as, making their communities safer, saving money or being healthier.
We want to ensure that children and young people, particularly those on the margins, can take practical action and that children's organisations connect sustainable living into their core purpose.
We have produced the first ever children's sector guide to enable them to do this. In partnership with Sustainability and Environment Education and Think Global we are launching a national Sustainable Schools Alliance; and are promoting effective use of public transport and active travel for young people. We are joining issues, such as connecting into public health; making sure that the way NCB does business reduces our impact on the environment; and working with new people in new ways to ensure policy and practice delivers a sustainable way of life for our children.
By creating an optimistic story we can generate action to improve children's lives now and in the future.
Jo Butcher, programme director, health and wellbeing, NCB
Sustainable solutions
- NCB is committed to working in partnership to realise a sustainable future for children and young people
- For NCB, sustainable living is about deciding and taking control of what we value and how we want to live our lives, empowering young people and those that support them to improve the quality of their life within the planet's resources, while preserving these for future generations www.ncb.org.uk/osow
