As rights groups around the world marked Human Rights Day on Tuesday, Amnesty International released the results of a survey of 10,000 young adults regarding their top global concerns heading into a new decade, reporting that the climate crisis is what a majority of young people see as a major threat to their human rights.
The group’s “Future of Humanity” survey polled members of Generation Z between the ages of 18 and 25, asking young adults from 22 countries—including Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain, Tunisia, and the U.S.—about their biggest concerns.
Three months after an estimated six million people rallied all over the world in a Global Climate Strike—led by 16-year-old climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and several youth-led groups—41% of respondents named accelerating climate change as the biggest sign that previous generations have failed them, while 36% cited pollution.
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“In this year when young people mobilized in huge numbers for the climate, it can be no surprise that many of those surveyed saw it as one of the most important issues facing the world,” said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of Amnesty International. “The right to a healthy environment, including a safe climate, is essential for the enjoyment of so many other rights. It is a right that young people today have been forced to take the lead in asserting.”
Out of 10 environmental issues the respondents were asked about, the warming of the planet was named the most important by 57%.
The poll made clear that young adults consider themselves to be living in a “failed system” in which governments all over the world have subsidized climate-warming fossil fuel extraction for decades and big polluters have bought favorable treatment in the halls of power, amounting to a betrayal of younger and future generations.
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