Youth Got the Power: Climate Change and Your Action

Posted on 24 March 2021

Thank you for joining our FB Live webinar 'You(th) Got the Power: Climate Change and Your Action' from 4:30pm to 6:00pm on Wednesday 24 March 2021

Moderator: Mazlina Sabtu, Education for Sustainable Development, WWF-Malaysia

Speakers:

Alka Kaur, Capacity Building Member, Malaysian Youth Delegation

Lavanya Rama Iyer, Head of Policy and Climate Change, WWF-Malaysia

H.E. Ken O’Flaherty, UK CoP26 Ambassador to Asia Pacific and South Asia

The British High Commission Kuala Lumpur and WWF-Malaysia teamed up to deliver a special webinar to youth on climate change in Malaysia. The webinar gave an introductory explanation to climate change, why it’s happening, the role of nature, and what governments are doing about it. Most importantly, participants also learned what youths can do to tackle climate change.

One action is to write Letters to MPs. Please refer to the guide and letter template below:

1. Find your MP here. Click on their profile to find their e-mail address or postal address.

2. Write a letter to our MP and send it off. You may use the template below or come up with your own letter. Some tips:
Try and include the following:

Introduce yourself and why you are relevant to your MP (i.e. you are part of their constituency);
Why you are writing to them (i.e. you are concerned about climate change, and give a few examples why);
An explanation of what you would like your MP to do;
A wrap-up reiterating your concern and thanking your MP for reading your letter.
Please write your thoughts respectfully and be mindful of the language used to address the issue/s.
If you are comfortable sharing, you can share on social media the letter you have written to your MP. You may inspire others to write in too.

--- The below is just a suggestion for how you can write your letter. Feel free to use it as a template and edit, add, and delete to suit your concerns and your writing style, thank you ---

Dear Yang Berhormat (name of MP)

My name is (your name) and I live in your constituency of (name of your constituency).

I am writing to you today because I am concerned about the impacts of climate change. I recently learned that (shocking thing(s) that you learned about climate change that prompted you to act).

As my member of parliament, I would like to ask you to act in parliament to influence stronger actions and ambition on climate change. This would include stronger policies and laws on climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In particular, I think that we must [delete, add on, or edit according to what you think is the most important]:

Focus on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by:

Having a strong, implementable strategy to reduce our net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 at the latest;

Increasing our capacity of sustainable Renewable Energy generation and phase-out fossil fuels, starting with coal; and

Encouraging people in urban areas to get out of cars and onto public transport, bicycles or on their feet. This would include building attractive public transport infrastructure and cycle and walkways appropriate for the Malaysian climate;

Increase our resilience to the impacts of climate change, with disaster risk reduction and planning for changes in climate;

Retain our natural forests which help us sequester Greenhouse gas emissions and buffer us from the impacts of climate change; and

Incorporate nature into our climate change solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and regulate climate change impacts including with the use of Nature-Based Solutions.

Of course, Malaysia by herself can only do so much. I understand that Malaysia is a part of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and I believe that Malaysia can show leadership to inspire and influence other countries to reduce their carbon emissions and implement adaptation strategies to protect society from the impacts of climate change.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I am (your age) years old. The way that we react now to the challenges of climate change will dictate the future that my generation, and those that may come after us, will live in.

If you are able to respond, I would like to hear about what you will do as my representative in parliament to tackle this very serious issue of climate change. Thank you again.

Yours sincerely
(your name)
(your address)

Youth Got the Power: Climate Change and Your Action

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