'This isn't a future problem, this is a problem right now,' says youth climate advocate

Sometimes on Checkup things just work out serendipitously... One of the first callers on our program about the Paris climate summit was Wendy Wood in Ottawa, Ont.She was telling us about her daughter who is attending the summit of the Canadian Youth Delegation (CYD). Later on in the show, the CYD tweeted at us

And we got in touch with Kiki Wood in Paris at the summit. Take a listen to what Wendy and Kiki Woodhad to say!

Cross Country Checkup6:06November 29, 2015: CALLERS: Mother & daughter advocates for climate change action

Kiki Wood is representing the youth voice at the Paris climate change conference (COP21). She is advocating for leaders to consider the younger generations. Early in our program, Kiki's mother Wendy called in and told Checkup about her daughter's initiati

Here's a portion of Wendy Wood's interview:

PiyaChattopadhyay: What are you thinking about with Paris, the climate change conference kicking off tomorrow?

Wendy Wood: Well I have firsthand and very vested interest in this, as my daughter is over there as the National Director for the Canadian Climate Youth Coalition. She is extremely involved in this. She's speaking upabout where the youth stand and the fact that they are trying very hard to secure their future here in the world.

They are disappointed that they aren't able to have marches or rallies during the conference,so they are trying to find other vehicles for showing their support and holding our government accountable. But there has to be the political will. And I think the youth in this country are fired up enough to make this happen.

PC: So, you're a mum who learned more from her daughter.

WW: I did. I learned a heck of a lot from my daughter and I'm totally on board with her.

Here's Kiki Wood's interview:

Piya Chattopadhyay:We talked to your mum earlier in the show, didn't we?

Kiki Wood: Yeah, you did!

PC: What's going on in Paris, Kiki?

KW: I'm here with the Canadian Youth Delegation which is a group of 17 people that are part of the voice of the Canadian youth climate movement. We are made up of a dedicated group of young folks from across the country that try to represent the demands of a generation, and working to create a just space into the future.

PC: What are the demands, as you say?

KW: This year we have two core demands. The first is for the government to follow through on their commitment tomeaningfully implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Persons, as a first step to creating a justice based transition to a clean energy economy.

To do this we need to commit to a legally binding treaty that's going to get us to zero-emissions by 2050 and has ambitious near-term targets, and we need to end subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, we need to freeze the expansion of the tarsands and we need to reject false solutions to what is an urgent and current crisis that people on the frontline have huge stakes in.

PC: Some of those things are what you want Justin Trudeau to commit to, as the head of the Canadian delegation. How do you get your voice heard there, Kiki?

KW: We use a variety of different tactics to get our voice heard. This year we have some of our youth on the Canadian government negotiating team. We also have our own delegation to the negotiations. We also have youth that operate outside the negotiations, creating partnership with other youth working in the climate justice movement and amplifying the voices of those who can't be at that specific venue.

We've also asked for a meeting with Justin Trudeau to present these demands to him--as he's the Minister of Youth. This is a moment we've never seen before and a time when Canada needs to distinguish itself as a nation that is willing to make real change. That's what he promised during the election, that's what people voted for, and that's what we're hoping to see from him and the rest of the Canadian delegation.

PC: What are you worried about at Paris? What would failure look like coming out of Paris?

KW: I think that the climate crisis feels very urgent. The time for waiting and the time for half measures is over. I think those things worry me. What I want to see, and what would inspire me would be bold action on climate. There are things we can be doing now. This isn't a future problem, this is a problem right now. This is an urgent crisis.I think that Canada can be doing things right now and I think that's really encompassed in our demands. Not just a legally binding treaty that comes into effect in five years but Canada should start taking meaningful action right now that will ensure that we can meet those goals.That means treating the targetsfor emissionsas an absolute floor and to meaningfully move forward to create a legally bindingtreaty that we can sign on to that uses the two degrees of warming at the absolute maximum of what we can expect.