KINGSTON, Jamaica— Young Jamaicans are demanding climate resilient jobs and support for a ‘green transition’ as they collaborate to fight the ‘poly-crisis’ of poverty and climate change locally.

That was the overarching message shared during the National Youth Leaders Symposium on Poverty and Climate Change on Wednesday, which saw a strong display of youth-led activism demonstrated to attendees, including Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, and Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Development Programme.

“We want to be able to create win-win solutions for the economy and environment,” Jhannel Tomlinson-Evans, co-founder of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) maintained.

Tomlinson spoke alongside three other panellists: Annie V Moore, coordinator of Young Women/Men of Purpose; Chevaughn Brown, Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network co-ordinator; and Carol Archer, urban planning consultant and professor at the University of Technology, Jamaica.

“When we think about multidimensional poverty we think about education, infrastructure and monetary policy—in the face of a changing climate, all of these are going to be affected,” Tomlinson explained, describing it as a ‘poly-crisis’.

Citing Jamaica’s double digit youth unemployment rate, the young leader said it was time for the country to revolutionise how we think about employment as a pathway out of poverty, urging the government and private sector to consider skills training and entrepreneurship opportunities relating to climate resilience.

“Nature based livelihoods and solutions [have] emerged as a space for potential to not only create a sustainable future but to be able to contribute to the [employment issue]” she said.

Foremost for Tomlinson was the inclusion of vulnerable groups including youth, women, and the disabled in the climate change conversation.

“There is the need to ensure that these groups are given the space to have their voices heard and involved in the creation of solutions,” she said.

For Archer, with her background in urban planning, alleviating poverty and increasing climate resilience means protecting those most vulnerable to destruction from adverse weather, like coastal towns; and increasing the number of skilled workers who are able to collect the data necessary to advance climate goals.

Brown, in agreement with Archer, detailed an ongoing climate activism effort producing successful results in his hometown which is part of the Portland Bight Ramsar Site.

“The majority of our population live in low lying coastal areas which makes it very important to strengthen our coastal buffers, like mangroves and seagrass beds,” said Brown.

Brown and his team began a project to educate locals and repopulate mangroves, but there were issues.

“We realised that it is very difficult to tell a fisherman who has been doing the work all his life that the methods in which he is doing it is very unsustainable,” he explained.

However, with perseverance, changes in operation were implemented, including mangrove replanting. The result was a 30 per cent increase in the necessary plants.

“In the realm of poverty, three out of four people rely on natural resources and climate change disproportionately affects those people.”  Brown said, explaining how projects like these, which he says he is anxious to see continue across the country, help to buttress locals against climate change and poverty at the same time.

One key thing that the panellists called for, is more education in rural communities regarding climate change.

“The majority of people [in rural areas] do not know what is happening, so we have these discussions championing the cause, but if those people are not able to understand what is happening and know what needs to be done, they’re not able to contribute,” Moore stated.

Prince Haakon, who gave the keynote address at the event, urged  the country’s youth to further take up the mandate of leadership.

“Development is freedom, freedom to pursue a good and secure life- The question to ask yourself is not ‘am I leader’, but what kind of leader do I want to be,” he stressed, adding, “Stand together, together you can be the change you want to see, I definitely believe in you.”

The UNDP’s “Ready, Set, Great” Initiative, launched in 2023, was highlighted as a major contributor to youth activism and education regarding poverty and climate change locally.

Moore detailed what local youth had designated as their top priorities for a prosperous and climate safe future during the 2023 launch. These included mental health initiatives, healthcare access, and educational alignment with a focus on special needs and rural education.

Young Jamaicans also want more security and safety initiatives, and more training for law enforcement and educators to provide safe spaces for victims; enhancements to the business environment to allow young people an opportunity to build wealth was also high on the list of requests.

These suggestions, put forward by residents, will be used to shape actionable change, Moore said.

Canute Thompson, pro vice-chancellor of undergraduate studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), supported the message at the event, saying ‘’ It goes without saying that to achieve the objective of a climate smart world, we must empower youth activists.”

Also in attendance at the event held on the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus were Kishan Khoday, UNDP Resident Representative; Bjørg Sandkjær Norway’s deputy minister of development and Yanique Williams senior director youth and adolescents (acting) in the ministry of education, youth and information, along with various youth groups including the UWI Guild, Youth Parliament and representatives of the Union of Tertiary Students.