Teenage Kicks - New Statesman, Nov 9, 2009

Beccy Allen, Researcher & Project Manager, Hansard Society Citizenship Education Programme, wrote this with reference to the HeadsUp.org.uk forum Climate Change - How should the world summit tackle the problem.

"I read Tim Jackson's piece on the flaws of consumerism in relation to climate change with interest. In particular as he gives one of the few mentions in the Copenhagen Special to the role of young people. He is right that our teenagers are under immense peer-pressure to reinforce their identity and social standing through what they buy, wear, talk on and listen to.

However it is adults who feed on this kind of peer pressure and increase its importance to teenage lives through endless and targeted ad campaigns. It suits the purpose of multi-nationals to use our youngest generations as pawns in their viral marketing games, regardless of the consequences to them as individuals or to the planet. But teenagers don't start off like this. This is behaviour they learn from the rest of us.

Some young teenagers are far more aware and capable of seeing the dangers and impact of their actions than the rest of the world appears to be. The Hansard Society recently ran a three week forum about climate change in advance of the Copenhagen summit - the young people on the forum did not have a ‘consume now, worry later' attitude. They thought that it was up to them to act, that ‘the scientists should be working out how to save our planet not how to improve the unimprovable phone!!!!!' and that Gordon Brown should set a better example by using less energy. They were far more radical, passionate and inventive in their methods to tackle climate change than many adults appear to be - but I fear that unless adults set a better example and give them a place other than the out-of-town shopping centre to create their teenage identities, then these environmental instincts will be lost.

If we can't think of another vision of the good life to sell (ironically) to our children, in 10 years time the young people who now want to encourage everyone they know to recycle or who badger their teachers into turning off unused lights, will just be using their talents to sell the latest environment-sapping gadgets to the next bunch of teenagers that just want to fit in. If there's one thing that we don't need it's more Ad Execs.....unless of course they are selling us their inspirational vision for a new way to combat climate change."

Read the full report of the forum here