Climate change is one issue Hong Kong youth must care about

I am an urban strategist in Hong Kong, and was a delegate at this month's climate change conference held in Lima, Peru. I represented both YMCA and Bread for the World, NGOs focusing on youth empowerment and environmental research and advocacy, respectively.

While Hong Kong was going through a critical time, a much more important event that directly related to the survival of human beings was happening on the other side of the planet, in Lima. The 20th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP 20) was the battlefield for each and every nation and region in the world to confront climate change through mitigation and adaptation processes, as well as climate finance mechanisms.

Human influence on the climate system is clear and the window for action is closing. Science has spoken. It has become common sense to the general public that climate change leads to significant rises in sea level and more extreme weather, including rainfall variability, frequency and associated intensity of storms and floods etc.

It also has a negative impact on health, ecology, environment, economy and culture. Climate change has become such an important issue that it might even have become an interview topic for kindergarten admission in Hong Kong.

Yet even today we are still demanding that the international community and governments make concrete commitments to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to it - not for the sake of economic benefits, but for our survival.

From the inside of COP 20, as an observer, I heard the real-life stories of farmers and indigenous people of the Andes and Patagonia, victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and climate migrants in the Pacific region. These diverse stories from different communities and countries were linked by a common issue. It is unjust that people who have contributed the least to climate change suffer the most from its effects.