The climate movement is evolving. With the Trump administration commandeering the United States government for an all-out war on climate action and the energy transition, Europe diluting requirements for companies, and Canada’s Mark Carney walking back key policies, climate activists and sustainability advocates are feeling increasingly embattled.
At the same time, the climate emergency is entering a new and even more dangerous phase as global heating accelerates, sparking mass migration, devastating floods and wildfires, and large-scale die-offs in the ocean.
Meanwhile, money is streaming into renewables and clean technology at a record pace. Last year, global investment in the energy transition passed $2 trillion for the first time, and green funds are soaring. Climate lawsuits are increasing in number and racking up wins, climate risk reporting is becoming more entrenched around the world, and electric vehicle adoption is racing forward in many countries.
How is the next generation of climate leaders responding to these developments?
We sent a survey to young sustainability leaders whose work and dedication has earned them a spot on our annual 30 Under 30 ranking. This list of emerging changemakers is now in its 11th edition, so while not all those surveyed are under 30, they are all millennials or Gen Z. Broadly, we think of them as influential pathfinders in the youth movement for a cleaner economy and a healthier planet.
We make hope through our actions. Hope is a verb, not a noun, and we create it with every step we take towards a better future.
– Dana Decent, director of climate and health at the Definity Foundation
We wanted to know how they are thinking about the future of climate action in Canada. Sixteen people responded to the survey. Here’s what they said.
What levers are most effective for change?
Nine of the 16 felt that policy and politics are the most effective lever for change, followed by science and innovation (3), markets (2) and arts and culture (1). None picked litigation.
“We know that policy/politics is the only arena for real change at scale; it is the way to shift markets and enact broad-scale, multi-sectoral change,” writes Gareth Gransaull, a non-profit leader in Toronto and one of last year’s 30 Under 30 honourees. “There is no single institution besides the nation-state with the power to manage large-scale societal transitions.”
“We can’t give up on the political arena just because it has become more challenging,” Gransaull argues. “We just need to get serious about how to mobilize real grassroots movements to shift the Overton window, influence partisan politics and recapture real democratic control of the government.”
“We need multiple levers acting together, and to think one is more important than others is incorrect,” writes Dana Decent, director of climate and health at the Definity Foundation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who made the list in 2016. “Alternative levers that are important to reduce emissions and adapt, such as building power in social movements, shifting values and mindsets, or building alternative economies that focus on people and planet.”
Canada’s climate leadership
These sustainability torchbearers say that Canada is seriously dropping the ball on climate. When asked how they would rate Canada’s climate leadership out of 10, more than half picked 5 or 6. The average rating was 4.6.
“Canada has made important commitments and investments toward net-zero, but the pace of action doesn’t yet match the urgency of the crisis,” writes Smiely Khurana, founder of The Sustainable Act and Climate Wellness Network, who was one of 2024’s 30 Under 30 picks. “There’s strong innovation and leadership at local and grassroots levels, but federal and provincial policies still too often prioritize short-term economic interests over long-term planetary health.”
“The current path of abandoning reduction targets in favour of intensity targets and pursuing an energy-superpower approach in international trade can hardly be described as climate leadership,” writes David Klar, a 2018 honouree. “It ignores major developments south of the border, namely the creation of the National Energy Dominance Council . . . By the time Canada’s proposed fossil fuel infrastructure build-out is complete, the U.S. nuclear power sector will likely have significant cost, national security and climate advantages.”
What’s not working?
Sustainability advocates everywhere are reevaluating their strategies. We asked respondents what aspect of the climate movement isn’t working or needs to change.
Tyler De Sousa, a 2023 honouree and the co-founder of Circulr, writes that we need to get past “focusing on climate purity, or the idea that we cannot work with those who don’t fully embrace our beliefs about climate or sustainability.”
Julien O. Beaulieu, a doctoral researcher in the United Kingdom who made the list in 2023 and who served as a judge in this year’s ranking, writes, “We need to stop speaking to the people who are already convinced and focus on the reasons that make opponents and skeptics doubt.”
What’s giving you hope?
We asked respondents what gives them the most hope for the future of the climate movement in Canada.
De Sousa is energized by the increasing interest in electric vehicles and the circular economy. Beaulieu finds hope in the “relentless mobilization from individuals in all spheres who keep doing the hard work.” For Hawa Mariam Keita, a 2021 honouree, hope lies in international cooperation and policies implementation. One anonymous respondent pointed to the election of a growing number of climate-aligned MPs in the latest Parliament.
“Canadians care about the environment and we’ve made monumental progress,” writes Kurtis Layden, a 2022 honouree who is now the director of policy for the minister of fisheries.
“The growing focus on climate wellness, community connection and collaboration across disciplines gives me hope,” Khurana writes. “Seeing more young people, artists and BIPOC leaders bringing creativity, empathy and storytelling into the climate space shows that this movement is evolving into something more holistic, human and resilient.”
“The next generation of Canadian climate founders are incredibly technical, impact-driven and globally ambitious,” writes Leah Perry, a senior associate for the Innovation Fund at Wittington Ventures in Toronto, who made the 30 Under 30 list in 2022. “They’re building companies that prove climate solutions can scale and can compete internationally.”
“I find hope in uncertainty. Outcomes don’t look good, and I fear climate impacts will worsen before we change for the better. But we don’t know for sure what will happen and there is hope in that space,” Decent writes. “We also make hope through our actions. Hope is a verb, not a noun, and we create it with every step we take towards a better future.”
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