Our National Youth Leadership Council is a group of passionate young Australians who are dedicated to making positive change for animals, people and the environment. During the COVID-19 crisis, we asked them to share their thoughts, advice, and reflections. Read more below to get inspired learning how our youth leaders take on crisis and give back.
Jessica Pinder (Youth Council Coordinator)
“Hi everyone, my name is Jess and I am passionate about protecting threatened ecosystems and transitioning our economy for a sustainable future. While I work fulltime as a policy officer, I especially love helping young people and communities take grassroots actions that help to build resilience for both people and planet.
The world has been going through a challenging time lately, and COVID-19 has required us all to be adaptive. We’ve had to isolate from the people we love and drastically change our daily routines. Millions of people have lost their jobs and hundreds of thousands their lives. And in the back of every Australian’s mind is the recent bushfires, which remind us of the looming impacts of climate change and the devastation it can cause to our communities and ecosystems.
In times like these, it’s easy to feel like the world is falling apart. But reading between the lines, I think the COVID crisis has also given up seen some tremendous new reasons for hope.
Like never before, we’ve seen governments around the world working together and across party lines, to protect the health and wellbeing of people. The COVID crisis has demonstrated that human societies, previously thought to be slow to change, are actually capable of transforming themselves virtually overnight.
We’ve witnessed global and local economies come to a near standstill, giving the earth a rare chance to breathe. It’s the kind of change that climate activists have lobbied for decades to no avail. And while this standstill has had many adverse impacts, it has provided a window set a new trajectory.
By focusing stimulus measures on the technologies and industries of the future, governments all around the world have the chance to revitalise their economies with investment in renewable energies, sustainable industries and regenerative agriculture. They can underwrite, incentive and subsidise the best available technologies and launch our society into a new era of jobs and sustainable economic activity.
There’s never been a better time to introduce a green, circular, fair economy. And this time around, we can use science to design an economy that is resilient to climate change, biodiversity loss and pandemics.
All we have to do is put our best foot forward and start applying our leading technologies and solutions. Together we can make a better world. “
You can contact Jess at youth@janegoodall.org.au or follow her @wildlifeofjess.
JGIA acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands and pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present.