As the leaders of climate action movements worldwide, young people have deservedly been in the spotlight. Many are anxious and outraged about the future of our planet, but the story doesn’t stop there. They are also leading us into a brighter future, crafting real solutions to address the problems that surround us.

We caught up with three young leaders during the UN’s Climate Change Conference last week: Luan from Brazil, and Ara and Rafa, both from Indonesia. With pragmatic optimism they are forging new paths forward to tackle e-waste, deforestation, food security, and holistic education.

For a much-needed dose of hope on the future of planet & climate, listen to the full conversation here. Here are the highlights:

“Humans are warming the planet.” Now what?

It’s one thing to read a report or a headline that says “it is unequivocal and indisputable that humans are warming the planet,” but this reality lands differently when you’re a young person and you see your local river drying up and filled with garbage, or your local landfill overflowing with electronic waste. To kick off the conversation, Ara, Luan and Rafa reflected on what’s gotten us to this point and where we go next.

Changemakers crafting real solutions

Every changemaker’s journey starts with a realization that a problem exists, and that one can do something about it. For Luan, it started with a prompt from his philosophy teacher in high school, who encouraged him to see the world differently. That small spark led Luan to create CASA and Projeto Arbo, an initiative that addresses the twin problems of deforestation and food insecurity in the north-east of Brazil. Here’s how he got started:

For Rafa, it started with a passion for electronics. One day, he realized he had accumulated many gadgets that had become obsolete. Not knowing how to responsibly dispose of them, he started researching and found not only that e-waste was very toxic, but that in Indonesia had no solution in place. That’s when he founded E-WasteRJ campaigning for awareness and new public policies, and building an e-waste disposal system across Indonesia. Rafa has become one of the leading voices in Indonesia on the topic. Here he reflects on technology’s environmental footprint:

Ara, a serial entrepreneur, started the Aha Project at the beginning of the pandemic to make sure kids in lockdown without internet access still had access to a holistic education — covering topics that are usually outside the regular curriculum in Indonesia, like social, cultural and environmental subjects. With a group of equally passionate friends, they started building a resource bank. They’ve since been providing school kits and support to more than 4,500 children across 64 villages in Indonesia. Here, Ara and Luan reflect on the adage “think globally, act locally” and their differing approaches.

We are in this together

Ara, Luan and Rafa all agree that there’s an urgency to act now, and they’re not waiting for others to take the first step. Their successes have filled them with optimism and it’s contagious in the best sense of the word. See for yourself:

Let’s join in

What Ara, Luan and Rafa show us is that there’s truly a role for everyone. If you don’t know where to get started, here are a few suggestions from them. Luan is sending us all an open invitation to start planting some seeds. If you’re in Brazil, you can even add your fruit tree to Arbo’s map.

As RJ reminded us at the beginning of our conversation, we can all be wise, ethical consumers. Start by finding out how you can dispose of e-waste in your community (here’s a resource if you’re in Indonesia). If there is no e-waste solution where you live, you can build it.

And Ara encourages us to share resources and educational materials with our neighbors to help them become a better version of themselves. Help them see the importance of empathy, for people and nature. She urges us to see and feel the problems around us and take action to address them.

For more, follow Rafa, Luan and Ara on Instagram