Deemed Worse than COVID-19, Youths Worried about the Impact of Climate Crisis
›
Deemed Worse than COVID-19,...
Iklan
Deemed Worse than COVID-19, Youths Worried about the Impact of Climate Crisis
Youths believe that the climate crisis is a worse threat than the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects will soon reach their peak if there is no collective awareness.
By
FAJAR RAMADHAN
·5 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Youths believe that the climate crisis is a worse threat than the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects will soon reach their peak if there is no collective awareness.
Coinciding with the Global Climate Strike action that will be held in various countries, Yayasan Indonesia Cerah and Change.org Indonesia conducted a survey on youths’ perception toward the impact of the climate crisis. The survey was held from July 23 to September 8, 2020, with a total of 8,374 respondents from 34 provinces in Indonesia.
The majority of the respondents were 20 to 30 years old and active users of social media. The survey was distributed through the Change.org Indonesia website, social media channels and instant messaging applications.
The result of the survey shows that 88 percent of the respondents are worried about the impact of the climate crisis. Fifty-nine percent of those even stated that they were very worried about this issue. Most of the respondents believe that this is even worse than the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ninety-seven percent of the respondents agreed that the effects of the climate crisis could be worse or as bad as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Yayasan Indonesia Cerah executive director Adhityani Putri through an online press conference, Friday (25/9/2020).
Next is the food crisis due to crop failure (13 percent) and the emergence of a new pandemic or deadly diseases (10 percent).
There are three effects that are the respondents\' main concerns. First is the clean water crisis with 15 percent. Next is the food crisis due to crop failure (13 percent) and the emergence of a new pandemic or deadly diseases (10 percent).
Strangely, the effect of the climate crisis, which has been felt in several regions in Indonesia, is seen to be less worrying. The increasing frequency of floods, storms and typhoons was ranked as least worrying (1 percent).
“Apparently the [awareness about the] correlation between extreme weather and climate change is still low among youths,” Adhityani added.
Besides, the respondents chose stopping illegal logging as well as forest fires and land burning as the most popular solution to stop this climate crisis with 28 percent. Stopping dependency on fossil fuels by using new and renewable energy came in second place with 26 percent. The third solution is to start switching to an eco-friendly lifestyle with 19 percent.
Around 70 percent of the respondents understood that Indonesia had plenty of clean energy resources. The most potent source of energy that could be used to replace conventional energy sources is solar (28 percent), air (20 percent), wind (16 percent), hydro (15 percent) and geothermal (14 percent).
“Energy sources chosen by the respondents are probably those closest to the respondents and those abundantly available,” Ahidtyani continued.
These active youths, referred to as Adhityani, think that the government, the House of Representatives and companies’ commitment to handling the climate crisis is still inadequate. Sixty-three percent of the respondents deemed that the government’s performance is hindering the effort to tackle the climate crisis, while 24 percent think that low public awareness is the obstructing factor.
“Three out of five respondents believe the climate crisis must be handled directly by a minister or the president. It seems that youths want this issue to occupy the political agenda at the higher level,” she said.
This survey also proves that the climate crisis is a pressing issue that needs to be dealt with together.
According to influencer and home gardening activist Rara Sekar, the survey results correctly reflect the concerns of Indonesian youths. This survey also proves that the climate crisis is a pressing issue that needs to be dealt with together.
Rara also highlighted that the clean water and food crisis had become a concern of youths. She argued that this is also related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The food crisis happened in several locations as the supply chain was disrupted due to the pandemic,” Rara said.
In regards to the impacts of this climate crisis, Rara thinks that this is also reflected by the respondents\' social background and demographic. The respondents were likely from the upper-middle class, which made them less sensitive to flooding, storms and typhoons.
Slowly but sure, the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s climate change director general, Ruandha Agung Sugadirman, said that youths’ concerns about the climate crisis corresponds with his own concerns.
“At one point, it will endanger the livelihood of all creatures on earth,” he said.
With this survey, Ruandha thinks that communication with youths on climate change needs to be intensified. The government through committed to doing this. The communication will be done using simpler language.
“Because the language used in this climate change issue tends to be very technical. It has to be translated simply,” he added.
According to Ruandha, the environment ministry, along with the Education and Culture Minister plan to incorporate climate change issues into the curriculum.
“Today we are in Gorontalo to give a workshop on climate change issues for elementary and junior high school teachers. We have also held similar workshops in Jakarta, Surabaya and Semarang,” he said.