Youth Change the Climate in Copenhagen

Across the globe, many young adults and children worry about the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change. They fear that by the time they are middle-aged, the world will be a much warmer, stormier and more uncertain place than it is today. A new international youth climate movement is organizing a fight against climate change, leading global demonstrations and pressuring world leaders to take action. That movement came head to head with politicians in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. There, teams of international negotiators attempted to agree on a global climate treaty. Meanwhile, thousands of youth participated in boisterous demonstrations inside the conference center and on the city streets. In Copenhagen, reporter Sara Peach followed members of the International Youth Delegation as they pressured negotiators to reach a strong climate agreement. She also talked with dozens of young people about their anxieties and hopes for Earth's future.