Young People Want Pro-Climate Leaders in 2024 Election

recent climate crisis has worried all parties, including young people. Especially ahead of the 2024 elections, young Indonesians hope that an elected leader can give hope about tackling climate change going forward. “We must remain optimistic about hoping for something better related to the environment (with the 2024 election). We are pushing for an equitable climate policy,” said the initiator of My Green Leaders, Kholida Annisa in a Media Briefing held in Yogyakarta on Tuesday (21/11).

Kholida said she has moved to make young people more concerned about climate change already happening by voicing pro-climate leaders in 2024. As a way, Kholida works with young people who are members of the Muhammadiyah Student Association (IPM).

“In June 2022, we held the Future Green Leaders Camp to encourage young people to have an environmental perspective, so that this leader is not centered in me but ensures to all participants,” said the woman, who served as Chair of Environmental Affairs PP IPM for the period 2021-2023.

The move was made in order to prioritize environmental issues so that environmental damage is not faster, than environmental movements. One is making young people understand their power politically. “We are not just the object of voting in the election but the subjects of the vote and encouraging it. We imagine that we are a great force driving pro-climate leaders and massively doing Future Green Leaders training and preparing young people to become Green Leaders as we look forward to,” he said.

Aniati Tokomadoran, the organizer of the Salawaku Movement program, said young people should not just sit idly by and watch climate change take place. Because it is young people and the next generation who will later occupy this earth. He chose a boarding house for his program goals, more precisely four boarding houses in DIY. The four lodges are, Al Imdad, Assalafiyah, Ar-Rahmah, and Asy Shifa.

“During the research it turned out that boarding school friends did not understand the dictation of climate change, they saw it as normal and not a big problem. From this we are aware that there is a difference in knowledge with boarding schools,” he said. He later developed a module called Climate Boarding School. In March 2023 she has disseminated this module in the activities of People Strike for Peace, Women, and Climate Justice. “Since the research, boarding houses began to understand and consciously practice environmental awareness, they reduced the snacks with disposable packaging and supplied them with independent waste management in the boarding school,” Ani said.

Both programs are part of the Climate Hijraj Workshop (BHI). Project Lead of the Climate Hijraj Workshop (BHI), Aldy Permana, said that it is working with young people to get involved in climate change issues, mitigation adaptation, and sustainable transition. BHI believes it is committed to increasing the capacity of young people to address environmental issues.” The first stage of BHI training in October 2022 was attended by 20 young Muslims from different regions of Indonesia. Then five of our alumni are given the opportunity to register their project or idea in the form of a proposal given to them by funding,” he said. The

five alumni also received training and mentoring. They get mentoring from strategy to implementation stage. Researcher of Youth Studies Center and Department of Sociology of UGM, Ragil Wibawanto expressed his appreciation for various programs at BHI. According to him, this is a form of sustainable action and good practice of concern for the climate crisis.

“Generation Z is numerous and they will become new leaders, which is the potential as Indonesia's successor, it's data from the population,” he said.However, Ragil highlighted that these environmental issues and movements are more carried out in the city. In fact, from the available data, he thinks that the village also has major environmental problems. So he thinks this environmental issue should be brought closer to its context or included in its locality.” There are also opportunities to take advantage of non-formal education as Kholida and Aniati did. Because when entering formal education there are sometimes boundaries that cannot be crossed,” Ragil concluded. (Z-3) (https://m.mediaindonesia.com/nusantara/631486/anak-muda-inginkan-pemimpin-pro-iklim-pada-pemilu-2024)