It's decision time and

students, young people all

across America are leaning

in hard to bend politics

and attitudes to make the

big moves needed to

address climate change.

But, can these emerging

leaders also, just maybe,

be the ones who bridge

America's deep political

divide on climate change?

That would be earth

shattering.

I'm Frank Sesno, welcome

to Planet Forward from the

George Washington

University, produced in

association with the

Global Futures Laboratory

from Arizona State

University.

So here's an incredible

story: a teenager

passionate about the

planet, worried, angry,

frustrated that fires burn

and the earth warms, and

politicians are letting us

down.

Alexandria Villasenor is

15 years old.

She's the founder of Earth

Uprising who told the

world in her big speech,

climate change is

impacting us now and it's

robbing my generation of a

future.

Hi, Alexandria.

Hi.

Well, let me start by

asking you this.

How did your climate

strike and all your

advocacy prepare you for

that big speech at the

DNC?

So I've had the

opportunity to meet so

many people in this work

and also speak to

different audiences about

climate change.

So it's actually the

people that I've

interacted with in

activism are the ones that

have taught me not only

about climate change, but

about economics and even

politics.

So the DNC was a

comfortable platform and

young people really needed

to be heard on that level

too.

What has been the impact

of that speech, because

you were seen by millions

and millions of people?

I think that the biggest

impact is that people are

talking about climate

change more than they ever

have been before.

So in 2016, the DNC only

gave five minutes to

climate change, whereas in

2020, climate change has a

major part of the

conversation at the

convention.

So we're also seeing a lot

more media talk about

climate change, especially

in the context of the

extreme weather we're

having, such as the winds

in Iowa.

So, the intensified

hurricanes like we

recently saw in Louisiana

and of course, the

catastrophic

record-breaking wildfires

covering the entire West

Coast right now.

So I think having the DNC

platform, climate change

as the urgent issue it is,

is leading to more and

better media coverage of

the climate crisis.

How can the youth voice

maybe, just maybe be the

bridge that brings

together the two sides,

the very polarized, you

know, two sides of the

climate discussion in this

country?

Can that happen?

I think yes.

That definitely can

happen.

Recently, there's a study

that showed children

change their parents'

minds about climate

change.

So the study also found

out that teaching children

about climate change

raised their parents'

concern about it.

And it didn't matter what

their parents' political

views were.

So youth, I believe, are

the intergenerational

bridge for climate change

awareness.

And I think that we have

to be because of how

urgent this is, climate

change will affect our

generation the most.

So we have the most at

stake right now.

So have you ever talked to

a conservative peer or

their parents and actually

been put in that position

yourself?

What do you say?

Well, to be honest, we

usually don't speak to

skeptics because we've

found most of them to be

trolls and not worth our

time.

The youth movement got

wise about that really

fast.

So if they're not a troll,

but are maybe a politician

who continues to deny the

science or not act on

climate change at the

scale of the problem, I

mean, then we just end up

protesting about it and we

keep protesting them until

we get a seat at the table

and then they have to

listen to us.

So when I look at what

happened politically over

the past year, all the way

up to Joe Biden adopting

the most extensive climate

plan of any presidential

candidate ever, I can see

it's a combination of

protests and negotiation

that got us here.

And I also think that

getting Joe Biden onboard

was a successful

encounter, I think.

But Earth Uprising, my

organization, actually has

young people in

conservative areas where

climate deniers are very

prominent and they're

focusing on education.

And I really see them

starting to change the

conversation in their

community.

I have had encounters with

one climate denier

relative at, of course, a

Thanksgiving.

And one thing I found when

it comes to people who

don't really believe in

the science, what I start

off with is having a

common ground.

I think that coming off on

this more just talking on

a personal level can be

much more effective than

getting aggressive with

them because then people

go on the defense.

And so what I usually

start off with is starting

off saying how I've been

affected by the climate

crisis or how other young

people have, because

personal stories really

matter to people.

And that's how you start

to see a connection and

see people slowly start to

change this very narrow

mindset of not really

seeing the science and the

large issue that climate

change is.

You know, you went for

those Climate Strike

Fridays, all those Fridays

at the United Nations over

and over and over again.

Tell us, was there

something, a takeaway from

that experience?

Yeah, definitely.

It's been such a while

since I striked.

I ended up striking every

Friday all the way up

until the pandemic.

So it's been months.

And so I think, though,

one of the biggest

takeaways from that part

of my activism was how

much consistency, how much

consistency, consistency

over time really matters.

So it wasn't one strike

that made the difference.

It was all the strikes put

together over the period

of a year and a half that

made change.

And I think in climate

activism, we have to keep

steady pressure like that

and not let up with our

protests.

Alexandra, in your big DNC

speech, you had a line

that really struck me and

I wrote it down.

You said, "Climate change

is impacting us now and

it's robbing my generation

of a future." How do you

talk about that?

Yes, so that is absolutely

true.

And centering

environmental justice and

equity is the most

important part of creating

new climate solutions.

So the way we do this is

by centering the

narratives of these

communities and giving

them platforms to tell

their stories.

And so that's actually

what the Earth Focus

episode did for the youth

from the Marshall Islands,

South Africa, and Alaska.

So people have to see

what's happening and hear

the stories of those most

affected by the climate

crisis.

And that's what helps us

build inclusive and

equitable solutions.

What do you tell your

peers who want to be

activists, leaders in

climate?

So the first thing that I

tell young people to do is

find your climate story.

How are you being impacted

by the climate crisis?

Because if you look into

your community, you can

start to see how climate

change is personally

impacting you.

And that is a big

motivator for young people

to continue taking action

and being involved.

And once you find your

climate story, then you

can find what you want to

do about it.

Do you want to work in

solutions or do you want,

are you angry and just

want to do something and

you want to go strike or

protest?

And so then I recommend

finding an organization

that your message

resonates with the most,

because once you find a

group and a sense of

community of people to

uplift you and your work,

that's when you have more

of a sustainable activism.

And so I think that those

are the first steps that

people should take.

Alexandria, thank you so

much.

Thank you so much for

having me.

I met Rohan Agrawal

through Planet Forward.

He was a student

correspondent and wrote

stories on the food

system, sustainable

agriculture and technology

and innovation, as

solutions to these big

problems like hunger.

He traveled with us to

Rome for the UNFAO, world

food security conference.

At the University of

Mississippi, Rohan majors

in Computer Science and

International Relations.

He's from India, wants to

use his technical

knowledge to solve big

problems of climate

change, hunger and access

to education.

But what Rohan has

discovered is the power of

narrative, of storytelling

to engage and inspire

change.

Hey, Rohan!

Hello.

So, Rohan, I want to ask

you this question, from

your perspective as, I'm

going to call you a global

citizen and as a student

about to graduate, how do

you tell the story of

climate change that

relates and resonates with

climate change that

your peers and your parts

of the world?

I believe it's not about

just blatantly deporting

the data anymore, but

wrapping that data in a

narrative and painting a

picture that inspires

young people like myself

to take action because,

for example, all it took

was a 16 year old girl

from Sweden to get the

entire world

onto the streets.

How dare you?

It was her telling stories

about flooded cities and

tens of thousands of

people dying around the

world.

Or maybe her traveling on

a boat across the Atlantic

that the entire world

followed?

That is the power of

storytelling, according to

me.

And yeah, you're right.

Our generation and the

ones following will have

to live through the

impacts of climate change,

which means I think it

also becomes our

responsibility to tell

these stories and take

action.

So one thing, yes I'm from

a country of over 1.3

billion people, out of

which more than half of

the population is under

25.

That number is still

almost double the entire

population of the U.S.

I think that in itself is

a blessing and a curse in

my eyes, because yes,

India will be one of the

first few countries to

undergo the detrimental

effects of climate change.

And, those 600 million

people face the risk of

not being able to

potentially live their

entire life.

However, it also gives me

the hope that our young

voices have the power to

shape the world and also,

not letting leaders with

outdated ways of thinking,

deciding our future.

I think what struck me the

most about the debate here

is the debate itself and

perhaps the polarization

that follows the debate or

vice versa, if you say.

Because, I'm pretty sure

you can attest to this

when I say this, that it's

only here where the nouns

"scientists" and "experts"

are used as a political

punching bag at times.

I'm obsessed with

technology and finding an

easier way to do

something.

That is exactly how I

intend to contribute to

this global challenge by

using machine learning and

artificial intelligence

tools to find easier ways

to mitigate our greenhouse

gas emissions, maybe

optimize and redirect our

electricity supply chain

and advocate for data

driven policy making.

I think that's the key

here because that might

mean re-thinking the role

of governments in our

society and how it just,

it's absolutely possible

for each individual to

live a healthy and

fulfilling life, if rich

nations are directly tied

to poor nations.

So I think whatever I do,

I just want to continue

telling these stories that

ignites action in people.

Then what is the story you

hope will be told about

you one day?

This is a very tricky

question, Mr. Frank and I

will try to refrain from

sounding pretentious or

overly ambitious, but in

15 to 20 years from now, I

honestly would have

contributed a

revolutionary technology

or something that

completely changes the way

we function today in terms

of energy or education to

solve climate change and

how we run the world.

I think I would be happy.

I would like to be

remembered as a

changemaker who stood for

equity in our world and

left the place better than

he found it.

That might also mean

stepping up as the prime

minister of India someday,

you never know.

Well, Prime Minister, good

luck, because I hope you

make it and you know,

we'll be watching you.

You've got a great story

to tell.

I just want to thank you,

as well for being an

amazing Planet Forward

correspondent.

The stories you told, the

places you went, the words

that you expressed, I

think affected people.

They affected me.

So, thank you very much.

Thank you.

It really means a lot

coming from you.

So think about it this way: by e

students go to their 25th

reunion, there will be

about 9.5 billion people

on the planet.

Today's kindergartners

could easily see the year

2100.

What's the world going to

look like and feel like

then?

Depends on what we do and

when we do it.

But this we know, this

will be a change century,

which is why it will also

be a youth century.

For Planet Forward at

George Washington

University and the Global

Futures Laboratory at

Arizona State University,

thanks for joining us.

I'm Frank Sesno.