Adults at the Kids Table: How Gen Z is Leading the Way on Climate
Adults have set our planet on a crash course with the climate catastrophe and kids are stepping up to save us. But our next generation of leaders — the Greta Thunbergs of the world — can’t do it alone.
It’s nearly inconceivable to imagine what it’s like for our young people to watch the world keep spinning and continue with business as usual as if the very future of our planet isn’t at stake. And in Ms. Thunberg’s own words — she shouldn’t be the one ringing the alarm bell. Our young people should be in school rather than striking to save the planet. They deserve to grow up in a healthy planet, not one that threatens to upend their futures.
It’s a sad state of affairs, but looking backward won’t help, so it’s up to all of us to look forward.
At last week’s United Nations Youth Climate Summit, FullCycle committed to invest $100 million in solutions to the climate crisis by 2020. And it couldn’t come at a more critical moment: We heard from children whose schools were destroyed by extreme weather and are now standing up to make their voices heard. And we listened as elected officials shared stories of fighting climate apathy. We all came from different backgrounds, but in that room we shared a common purpose: solving this problem. I was proud to have participated.
The UN is doing its part to fight the climate crisis and governments are starting to step up, too. It’s now time to bring the business community into the fold. The truth is, wealth means nothing on a planet that is dying — and frankly, we’re running out of time. It’s now the business community’s responsibility not just to “do less harm,” but also to start creating deliberate, targeted, and prioritized good. That’s exactly why FullCycle was created — we are a bridge to help capital flow to the companies that have scalable and market-ready technologies to help restore the climate.
For youth with an eye towards the future, clean energy provides an opportunity to do good while earning a decent paycheck. In fact, the number one fastest-growing job in America is in solar installation and the second is for windmill technicians. We need to create more of these opportunities for the next generation.
The horizon may once again be bright, but only if we invest in it. We shouldn’t have to choose between funding the good or the profitable, because today they are one and the same. And that’s where FullCycle comes into play.
FullCycle works to further the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with a special focus on No Poverty (2), Clean Water and Sanitation (6), Affordable and Clean Energy (7), Climate Action (13), Life Below Water (14), Life on Land (15), and Partnerships for the Goals (17). The fund is a signatory of the UN Business Ambition for 1.5C Pledge and established the first-ever, public-private partnership to support public engagement in anticipation of the 2019 Climate Action Summit.
