Listening to young people: Mobility for future
4.5 Climate action: What do young people need to start taking action? The quantitative survey showed that a large num- ber of participants felt that climate change need- ed to be taken seriously or very seriously. It was also clear that young peo- ple felt that engagement in this area was important via, e. g., school projects, attendance at demonstra- tions, or joining groups or political parties that deal with climate change „Action is not only joining clubs, attending demonstrations. It can also be individual action and small steps, that create change. We can start by changing small things in our lives.“
indicated that their daily responsibilities such as school, university or vocational training were time-consuming, meaning that any time they had to spend on other activ- ities was precious. Besides climate change and environ- mental protection, they said, there were other causes they felt strongly about. One participant said she was an active member of the LGBTIQ movement and hence had little time to spare for climate action, although she did feel it was an important cause. In addition, other participants said, they also needed time for family and friends and not least for themselves. This is where financial aspects come into play, they stat- ed, for those people who need to work to generate an income. This consumed much of one’s disposable time, they continued, leaving little time to spend on social causes. Also, financial aspects played a role in cas- es where the planned activities mean having to travel. This was an issue especially for people who live in rural locations, since the activities of groups, clubs or organ- isations tend to take place in cities. This leads directly to questions around transport infrastructure; in many cases, participants reported, the infrastructure is insuf- ficient and does not allow young people in particular to travel easily, since they may not have a car of their own and/or a driver’s license.
issues. While around 44 % of respondents indicat- ed they had attended a demonstration at least once, a relatively small number said that they took person- al action as a member of a group (17.1 %) or political party (3.9 %). These outcomes, too, were picked up in the focus group sessions, with participants asked what types of engagement they felt were important when it comes to climate change. Across all focus groups, it became clear that engagement is seen to depend on three major factors above all: one, the resources available to young people; two, access
to groups or parties; and three, the emotions and personal attitudes they have to climate change. All of these, the participants said, could mean that young people rarely take genuine action themselves even though they feel that engagement is generally important. When it comes to young people’s resources, time, financial resources and transport infrastructure play a key role. The young participants
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