Who’s the Greta Thunberg of Asia?
Plot twist: She doesn’t exist
TL;DR: There isn’t enough Asian representation in the fight against the climate crisis. We want to change that. If you know any Asian youth who have been championing the issue of climate change, or have been doing so yourself, contact us at arianedesrosiers@minerva.kgi.edu or tnp_ha@minerva.kgi.edu. We are building a network to connect, support and feature Asian youth climate activists to the world, and centralize this movement to create more change to come. Join us and become part of the solution.
When you run a Google search for “youth environmentalists,” you get an impressive list of young people: Greta Thunberg, Isra Hirsi, Jamie Margolin, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, Vanessa Nakate, and so on. While these names alone represent a fair amount of diversity, what’s missing is someone from Asia. If you broaden the search to “top 50 environmentalists,” once again, you get a great list of names of older activists, but one which still remains dominated by westerners, with only three of the fifty representing Asian countries. This is despite Asia representing more than half of the world’s population, and, along with Africa, being set to endure the worst effects of climate disruption. But why is this representation so disproportional? Where are our Asian environmentalists — especially the younger ones that will have to bear the mantle of making their home countries sustainable?
Well, Asian environmental activists certainly do exist. We’ll give a quick shout-out to some of the ones doing incredible work right now: Licypriya Kangujam, John Paul Jose, Wang Yongchen, Ma Jun, Aleta Baun, and Rodne Galicha. But the problem is, Asian environmentalists are so disconnected that the environmental movement is simply not catching on within the region. Most Asian environmental groups are location-specific and target local issues. Meanwhile, the few international organisations that do work across Asian countries, like the World Wildlife Fund, are run by white expatriates and use Western values and ideals to try and promote environmentalism, which doesn’t appeal to many locals. Other factors, like a lack of education on climate disruption and environmental issues within many Asian countries, also explains why few people know about these problems. To make a concrete impact, many young activists have to work hard to understand what’s going on and get their own resources.
But why should you care about having more Asian environmentalists? Why can’t western organizations continue to take the lead? Here are three key reasons why you should care about having more Asian representation in the fight against our climate crisis:
1. Because Asia will be disproportionately affected
We mentioned this earlier, but it is worth repeating: Asia will be disproportionately affected.
Climate change has been caused mostly by countries in Europe and North America through their Industrial Revolutions in return for massive profits and economic growth. Yet as countries in Asia are finally starting to accelerate their development, they are hampered by the very climate effects caused by the countries getting rich off this crisis.
On top of that, it’s been proven that climate disruption will hurt the poor the most. Couple that with the fact that half the people living in poverty are in Asia. And the consequences of climate disruption are already getting worse — a large percentage of Asia’s population depends on agricultural yields, which decrease every year due to natural disasters, while many cities close to the coasts are at risk of sea-level rise. Furthermore, the number of climate refugees is rising; typhoons and floods are escalating in some regions while other areas are drying up. Climate disruption is an Asian issue, and we need more Asians caring about it. As the ones that will suffer the consequences of climate disruption, they need to be leading the charge against it.
2. Because there’s a lot of potentials for solutions
At the same time, Asia is a land full of opportunity. The unbelievable growth of many countries (including Singapore, Japan, Korea, and more recently, China and Vietnam) demonstrate only a glimpse of the continent’s true potential. And the same thing can be said about governmental forces of change. After China declared “war on pollution”, many cities cut one-third of their pollution levels within four years. China is now the largest producer and exporter in solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles. Meanwhile, with new agricultural solutions such as improved rice production practices for smallholders, farmers can enjoy increases in productivity without producing environmental externalities. All we need is strong voices and stakeholders making their visions of the future clear.
3. Because it takes someone who has lived this experience to understand the nuances in our values and cultures.
Lastly, Asian values are very different from the West. We typically thrive on practicality rather than idealism, and value community-building over individualism. (Yet it’s worth mentioning that even this is a generalization because each country has a unique culture.) But we’ve seen that what works in the west probably will not translate well here. Greta Thunberg advocated for climate change by skipping schools on Friday, but the same actions will be frowned upon here because education is valued to a much larger extent. Many Asian governments aren’t as receptive to social activism as in the west. And in countries like the Philippines, it can be extremely dangerous to be an environmental activist.
Moreover, the environmental movement’s messaging needs to be more targeted: while the rhetoric of ‘save the planet because nature is beautiful’ isn’t as effective with Asians as it is with westerners, most Asian aunties will happily ‘go green’ if it means they can save a few extra dollars. Another example: in most smaller communities here in Asia, a Facebook group post about a polluted beach will spur hundreds of locals to act and clean it up, while an invitation to a mass protest or major art event against plastic pollution will excite only a small division of citizens.
To create change in Asia, we need to appeal to the communities that we want to help. And to appeal to these communities, we need people who understand our values and cultures deeply to act on them appropriately. This nuance requires local movements from grassroots communities who are empowered to take actions for their betterment of their community. Westerners can and should help, but we need more Asians to take the lead.
Climate disruption is an Asian issue, and we need more Asians caring about it.
To create change in Asia, we need to appeal to the communities that we want to help. And to appeal to these communities, we need people who understand our values and cultures deeply to act on them appropriately. This nuance requires local movements from grassroots communities who are empowered to take actions for their betterment of their community. Westerners can and should help, but we need more Asians to take the lead.
Dear reader, here is our ask: if you know any Asian youth who have been championing the issue of climate change, or have been doing so yourself, contact us at arianedesrosiers@minerva.kgi.edu or tnp_ha@minerva.kgi.edu. We are building a network to connect, support and feature Asian youth climate activists to the world, and centralize this movement to create more change to come. Join us and become part of the solution.
