Program Background

Climate change is one of the most important challenges facing the world. The increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use has led to dramatic changes in the Earth's climate, including warmer average temperatures and more frequent severe weather events like droughts, heat waves, and flooding. The vast majority of scientists agree that to avoid radical changes in our climate in the future, we need to act together, now.

The first step is to help people think about climate change as a problem that affects us all and realize that collectively we can make a difference. Getting young people involved early is critical for creating the generation of climate-conscious citizens that are needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Since young people influence the behavior of their peers, parents, families, and communities, it’s important to identify and encourage young leaders on the issue of climate change.

As part of our climate change public outreach campaign, the California Air Resources Board partnered with the British Council to identify 25 California Climate Champions in 2008 and 2009. The California Climate Champions program began as part of the British Council’s larger International Climate Champions Program and is now administered by ARB. In order to engage a larger number of youth in climate action, the Climate Generation Program was launched in 2010. The goal of the Climate Champions and Climate Generation programs is to create a network of young people in California and around the world who are committed to undertaking projects in their communities that both raise awareness of climate change and actually reduce the global warming pollution that causes climate change.

The Climate Generation program is a wonderful opportunity for young people to show leadership and commitment to one of the most pressing issues of our time and inspire others in their school and local community to take action to limit their impact on our fragile environment. We hope you will encourage your students to participate!