Make Your Actions on Climate Reflect Your Words

Positives

• Severn Cullis-Suzuki makes the case that our current political systems incentivize the short-term interests of individuals instead of the long-term interests of future generations.
• Cullis-Suzuki's speech from when she was twelve is inspiring, relevant, and can be used as a model for students writing speeches or persuasive arguments.
• A full transcript of the video is available in twenty-one languages.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should understand ways that governments mobilized quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the public.
• Students should understand how business interests can conflict with the public good, especially regarding the climate crisis.
  

Differentiation

• Students could write speeches addressing global leaders to encourage them to take immediate climate action.
• Students could write reflections on their beliefs on climate change and their actions. Students could include specific examples of how they succeeded in living up to their values and ways they could improve.
• Other resources on this topic include this video of Greta Thunberg's speech at the UN Climate Action Summit and this video of climate activist Xiye Bastida reading a letter to older generations about climate action.