The upcoming decade is crucial for avoiding the worst impacts of the climate crisis. This federal election is a critical opportunity to demand that our political leaders listen and act at the scale and speed we know is necessary to address the climate emergency. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores, yet again, the urgency to act. 

Despite their reputation for being less likely to vote, young people are not apathetic – millennials are the country’s largest voting bloc. They represent more than 40% of voters in this election – and they have a lot riding on the election outcomes. 

The youth of today know that they will face the burden of tomorrow, and they are seeking to meaningfully participate in decision-making processes that will affect our future. The choices made by policy-makers, governments and leaders today will shape our societies for years to come. It’s vital that young people are given the opportunity and power to co-create the solutions for the future. 

This is the impetus behind the Davos Lab, an initiative of the Global Shapers Community that mobilized more than two million people in 180 nations to develop a youth-driven recovery plan to address the world’s socio-economic and environmental crises. A group of 14,000 young people around the world compiled the ideas behind the plan, released in August. They mobilized interested stakeholders to outline a vision of collective action that will help policy-makers integrate the voices of the next generation into recovery efforts. Such dialogues, led by young people, were also held across Canada, focusing on various topics, including conscious consumerism and accelerating a net-zero transition. 

One of the main issues of concern for youth in Canada and around the globe is the need for a green recovery and meaningful jobs. Job insecurity is on the rise, and young people are unclear about career prospects in this time of uncertainty. The RBC Future Launch study of more than 1,800 Canadians aged 14 to 29, released in March, found that in every province, youth are significantly less confident when it comes to their job prospects and how prepared they are for the future of work. Gen-Z women make up 2.5% of the Canadian labour force but account for 17% of the total decline in employment during the pandemic.

Young people risk being left behind as they are struggling with the youth unemployment crisis. That’s why we’re now calling on all federal political parties to commit to substantial investments in youth-led climate solutions, and skills development. This can also include the creation of a youth climate corps that provides good-paying green public jobs and puts Canadian youth to work. Young people can work toward restoring ecosystems, building community resilience, protecting biodiversity and contributing to care work. Ensuring equitable access to these opportunities will be critical to elevating youth voices in addressing climate change. 

In their 2021 election platform, the Liberals have broadly pledged to invest $8 billion to “accelerate green jobs,” in addition to investments in “youth employment and skills srategy.” The NDP promises to establish a civilian climate corps of young people to create jobs supporting conservation and “build an equitable clean-energy economy.” 

The Green Party platform also references the “creation of a youth climate corps” as part of its green jobs training program, while the Conservative platform does not include a direct mention of green jobs. (Shake Up the Establishment, a youth-led non-profit organization, provides a detailed summary of each party’s climate and environmental promises.) 

We need all federal political parties to embrace a comprehensive strategy that creates pathways for good green jobs for young people, especially those from equity-seeking groups. We also call on all parties to commit to shaping policy in collaboration with youth and invest in youth-led climate solutions, as well as holding companies accountable for environmental harms that jeopardize our future.

The actions being taken to date are not enough: Canada’s climate record is the worst among the G7, as emissions have continued to increase. A society-wide mobilization to address the climate crisis requires transforming our economy – it means reducing emissions rapidly, scaling regenerative business models that do not rely on the exploitation of people and the planet, mobilizing capital toward equitable climate solutions, and ending fossil fuel subsidies. As noted in Canada’s first state of the youth report, released in August 2021, “the climate crisis can only be solved with an overhaul of the system, not individual actions.”

If we are to avoid these pitfalls, we must ensure that we lay a foundation that addresses the systemic issues in our society by investing in young people, as they are the best placed to lead the transition to a more sustainable world. We are quickly becoming the last generation with the ability to slow down the rate of climate change. If today’s politicians want our vote, they must commit to saving our future. 

Puninda Thind is a sustainability professional, climate justice organizer and a Global Shaper passionate about building resilient, sustainable and just communities. Laura Corrales is an ESG consultant, social intrapreneur, Global Shaper and Action Canada Fellow passionate about youth leadership and  systemic change. Robyn Seetal is a CPA, CA, sustainability consultant, and impact investor passionate about adopting  eco-centric leadership as a tool for systemic change. Anoosha Lalani is a CPA and passionate environmentalist interested in the financial impact of ESG issues. 

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The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our global economic and social systems and laid bare their inequities. Some of our society’s most vulnerable populations and most undervalued professions have been hit hardest during this crisis. While youth are largely presumed to have avoided many of the worst health impacts of the coronavirus, the pandemic has affected them severely in other ways.

The youth unemployment rate in Canada rose to 29.4% in May, up from 16.8% in March. Young people who have kept their jobs since the onset of COVID-19 have experienced steep reductions in the number of working hours. And Canadian youth aren’t alone. A recent  International Labour Organization survey on youth unemployment found that young people around the world have been severely and disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis, especially young women. For those young people who are still pursuing education, the pandemic is likely to result in unprecedented new inequalities upon graduation.

All of this is compounding one of the greatest workforce challenges of the 21st century: the skills gap for young workers, in Canada and around the world. Youth are on the frontlines of major transformations across the global economy, including digitalization, automation and climate action. Skills-proofing will be essential as the speed of change and disruptions transforms the future of work. As the latest Jobs of Tomorrow report from the World Economic Forum notes, demand for jobs in the care and green economies in particular is on the rise. It’s important to ensure that young people are equipped and empowered to combat longstanding challenges to our society, particularly the threat of climate change.

There are more young people in the world than ever before, and they are critical members of the global society driving ideas, innovations and movements. Investing in, training and retraining young people now can help get them back to work immediately while building a more just, inclusive and resilient Canada – one that’s on a path to carbon neutrality. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada had been preparing for a skills revolution, as noted by Employment and Social Development Canada, RBC, the Brookfield Institute and many others. The Canadian government has already made some meaningful commitments, such as investing in creating green jobs and training opportunities for Canadian youth in the natural resources and clean technology sectors.

In light of this, as youth leaders and allies from across the country, we have written an open letter to the Government of Canada, urging leaders to invest in youth training and skills development, as well as ensuring equitable access to these opportunities, as part of its COVID-19 response and economic recovery plan. This proposal lays out the rationale for this investment and breaks it down into three streams of recommendations:

1. Invest in future-proofed and essential skills for youth entering the workforce and people whose work is in transition.
2. Invest in sector-specific skills and technical training to address the most pressing problems facing our society, particularly the climate crisis.
3. Invest immediately in job-creation programs, such as expansion of the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) and increased funding for developing innovative work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students.

Young people are crucial to economic recovery efforts. We believe that we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the foundations of Canada’s economy, prepare our youth to thrive in the future of work, generate widespread prosperity and lay the groundwork for a safer, cleaner, more equitable world. Our letter presents detailed solutions to build back better by increasing Canada’s collective human capital.

We believe that now is a time to significantly increase these efforts to achieve a resilient, inclusive economic future. During these challenging times, the best investments will be made in people.

Puninda Thind is a sustainability professional, climate justice organizer and World Economic Forum Global Shaper.

George P.R. Benson is a resilience thinker and practitioner working on economic development, urban planning and climate change.

Daniela Pico is a community builder, marketer and entrepreneur. She is director of external relations at Riipen, a technology company on a mission to end graduate underemployment; a World Economic Forum Global Shaper; a mentor with Girls in Tech; and a connector with League of Innovators.

Dominique Souris works to enable youth to create just and climate-resilient futures as the co-founder and executive director of Youth Climate Lab, a youth-for-youth global organization focused on transformative climate action.

 Ana Gonzalez Guerrero is the co-founder of and managing director at Youth Climate Lab, where she works alongside youth to build a more inclusive and sustainable future.  

Rita Steele is a sustainability professional, food systems activist and World Economic Forum Global Shaper who is passionate about transforming the global supply chain into systems that centre equity, justice and the environment and support a circular economy.

Alyssa McDonald is an organizational psychology consultant who advances sustainability through her work with the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement and the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.

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