Advice to Students Wanting To Get involved In Climate Change Work
I had the pleasure of speaking at NYU Law on September 28, 2022 about my career path, and I wanted to share the advice I gave at that panel—particularly to students but it’s applicable to anyone interested in building a better world and getting involved in climate change work.
Dive In Immediately
Dive in immediately to the work. Reach out today to people in the space, me included, and learn about where things stand at this time. Read the IPCC reports, read reports from think tanks dedicated to the climate emergency, listen to the voices of vulnerable and historically excluded communities, and keep track of climate litigation in the US and elsewhere. Follow climate scientists, activists, lawyers, diplomats, and policymakers on social media who are speaking out about the need to move our societies into a different place. Most importantly, generate and develop your own perspective. Have your own opinions and don’t be afraid to speak them. And don’t be afraid to update your own opinions and conclusions as you continue your own journey in the climate action space.
Think Big
Don’t be afraid to think big in terms of what you can accomplish as someone interested in stabilizing the climate. Don’t let anyone tell you to tone down your dreams. This is not the time in history in which we should be diminishing our ambitions. We need to be doing the exact opposite. We need people dreaming as big as possible. Whatever dream you have for yourself in terms of your social impact, and in terms of how we stabilize the climate as a species, challenge yourself to dream twice as big, three times as big. We need ambitious people in this field more than ever.
Expect Setbacks and Overcome them
Don’t be disappointed or discouraged by setbacks. There aren’t a lot of organizations doing this work and it’s possible that you may get rejected a few times from places that you really want to work. You may meet people who are unkind or who don’t listen to you. That happens in all fields and professions. But keep at it. Think outside the box. Keep networking and meeting people. Don’t be afraid to think like an entrepreneur as well. Consider setting up your own NGO, social impact enterprise, or purpose driven enterprise that could tackle the climate emergency in a new and innovative way.
Be Dedicated as the Road Ahead Is Difficult
We are living in a time of grave crisis and the situation is much worse than many people think. The goal of staying under 1.5°C of warming is on “life support” as the UN Secretary General said on September 21, 2022. Chatham House, a policy think tank in the UK, says there is a less than one percent chance of staying under 1.5°C this century. Government pledges and policies today put us somewhere between 2 to 3 degrees of global warming this century. This would be a true catastrophe unparalleled since the dawn of our civilization. The planet is going to be a different planet this century—the question is how different and how warm.
We need the efforts of a new generation of heroes, activists, thinkers, and doers. It’s possible that your creativity, passion, and drive see things that I don’t see, or that others don’t see. Aim for the target that only you can see. We need you to be inspired and we need you to be champions and heroes of a more dignified Earth. I hope you can be inspired to pursue your own unique purpose in an era of crisis, and to get involved immediately.