Better Solutions to Address Climate Change

Currently, climate change is a major concern. The BWB Clubs recently discussed climate justice. The students noted that underserved countries often bear the brunt of climate-related disasters, but reparations are not the only solution.

The real opportunity is developing solutions that benefit everyone. One suggestion is to shift the world's investments from fossil fuels to clean energy. UNEP’s new State of Finance for Nature 2026 report indicates that for every dollar corporations spend on protecting nature, they invest 30 dollars in products and services that harm it.

Participants in the Buddies Without Borders Online Forum are set to brainstorm clean energy solutions at the Power for a Better Future Forum this weekend. Here are some of the students' viewpoints to share with you:

"I believe not just protecting but ensuring Earth thrives is a part of our responsibility as humans. Though the current paradigm we face, rewards the continuous harm inflicted on our planet & humans in return for monetary or societal gain. Though the good thing about being at the cusp of chain is that you can influence it. Our generation is the most interconnected one to have ever lived, with hundreds of cultures and millions of people at our fingertips the circulation of ideas and solutions about the problem we are against has never been faster." ~ Defne Su Kurt, Türkiye "My interest in clean energy emerged when I interned at an oil and gas consulting company. This got me inserted in the industry and thinking about alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. Brazil is in a very interesting position when it comes to this due to its comparatively clean energy matrix relative to other countries (Brazil gets a lot of its energy from hydroelectric and solar sources). However, Brazil is also a big exporter of oil, having recently started research in the equatorial margin basin, which will increase the country's reserves significantly. This places the country in a dilemma: will it continue extracting fossil fuels to stimulate short term growth or will clean energy become the new normal? In the forum I want to explore how to stimulate the switch to clean energy in a way that makes economic sense and how that could impact different countries." ~ Bruno Tavares, Brazil

"I was drawn to this topic of sustainable energy sources, which I believe deserves the full attention of the world.  Japan still relies heavily on fossil fuels for energy supply; although nuclear power was once viewed as a promising replacement, its use is now viewed as highly controversial due to the risk of potential earthquakes. Though renewable energy sources are still a growing branch in Japan, I hope to deepen my understanding of them and learn about the challenges other countries are facing today in achieving zero-carbon energy supplies." ~ Yuzuki Nagira, Japan It is clear that the young generation is ready to tackle this issue. We look forward to seeing what proposals they can accomplish in the next seven weeks!

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