Cultivating green Greener
All revolutions start someplace still—a moment’s silence when something becomes true for you. The Green Renaissance is not being orchestrated by world leaders or tycoons. It is being coordinated in junior high school science tutorials, constructed in small bedrooms from junked laptops, and created by teens who still have homework. It is our generation’s best response to an emergency we did not create—but shall not inherit unabated.
We didn’t create the climate emergency. But we’re taking it personally. And we’re doing something amazing about it.
I was sitting at our family table with my dad, poring over the economic section of our newspaper, debating climate policy and carbon pricing. I did not understand much about it. He once said, “Unless we can make sustainability profitable, the world won’t make it.” That statement has stuck with me ever since. Something was ignited in me by that sentence—a spark, now a world wave of innovation by the young.
The Size of the Problem, The Size of the Response
As the IPCC reminds us, we only have a few years remaining to limit warming to 1.5°C. Already, 1 in 4 children globally is experiencing extremely high air pollution. Climate change is today’s dilemma rather than a threat that will arise in the future. But what is so promising this time is how young people are responding.
More than 70% of the world’s youth see climate change as one of the biggest issues humanity faces today, according to a 2022 UNICEF report. And more significantly: they are not just concerned—they are doing something about it.
Instead of Being Upset, A Campaign for Innovation
Those are the days when activism is about start-ups, ideating ideas, and scalable solutions, not those days when activism was all about protests. I was surprised when I was told that a 16-year-old Indian boy had come up with banana peel-based packaging to eliminate plastic. Teenagers in Nigeria are conceptualizing systems for solar-powered fridge systems to reduce food wastage. A 14-year-old American is conceptualizing AI-based systems of flood predictions for her flood-hit city. That is not the future potential—that is the present impact.
As per the Ashoka Foundation, there are more than 43% more youth-led environmental businesses than existed three years ago.
We are not “hopeful kids”—we are engineers, programmers, designers, entrepreneurs, and builders of a better world.
Entrepreneurship: The Heartbeat of the Green Renaissance
Central to the movement is one irrefutable asset: entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs all over the world now understand sustainable answers are better for the world and better for business. From starting green start-ups to making green business pitches in competitions, we’re proving profit need not harm the earth.
Such initiatives like Youth Climate Lab and Greenpreneurs are also financing teenagers globally. Such schemes are also providing seed funding for product launches by students, where economic empowerment is paired with climate innovation.
A Brazilian teen recently started an eco-friendly fashion firm composed of recycled materials and used social networks to raise over $10,000 via crowdfunding. She is now recruiting fellow students to expand the firm—and her network.
Technology as a Megaphone for Change
We are the most connected generation ever. A permaculture lesson by a Nepali student can come from the internet and be implemented on his or her village farm using nothing more than a smartphone. A Kenyan can utilize MIT’s open courses on renewable energy. We are connected to platforms and knowledge like never before—and we are making it happen.
For instance:
• The Youth Climate Leaders network unites young climate entrepreneurs from over 20 nations.
• The 2023 online climate challenges were accompanied by over 6 million students alone.
• Khan Academy, edX, and Coursera are enabling teenagers to study sustainability even in remote locations.
Technology is more than just a resource—it is our megaphone, classroom, and workshop.
From Eco-Anxiety to Eco-Action
Generation Z is wrestling with something adults hardly ever did: eco-anxiety. Having the future of the world on one’s shoulders is crushing on an emotional note. But we are not losing heart—we are making anxiety into activism.
My friend Aarav would tell me about feeling numb from climate news. Instead of feeling numb, his school started a composting initiative. We reduced by more than 40% the amount of food that went into landfills within months. That initiative is being picked up by five other schools in our district now.
That is what the Green Renaissance is all about: turning fear into fuel.
Obstacles and Faith
And yet it is not always easy. Most of us are confronted by roadblocks such as poor funding, doubt, even pressure by family members. We are told we are “too inexperienced to know” or “too idealistic.” All revolutions are started in idealism. We require belief, not doubt.
Increasingly, more institutions are rising to the challenge. Organizations such as the UNICEF Youth Advocates Program, the UNEP’s Tunza Initiative, and the MIT Solv[ED] Youth Challenge aren’t simply providing grants—they’re providing mentorship, networks, and trust.
Climate Justice is Social Justice
One of the most powerful transitions within this movement is the growing awareness that climate justice is social justice. The world’s poorest individuals—the ones who least contribute toward causing climate change—are the ones being most disproportionately affected.
That is why youth innovation is equity-oriented:
• Indian students are building flood-resistant schools.
• Kenyan teenagers are using micro solar grids in rural districts.
• Peruvian students are creating cheap air-filtering systems for slums.
We are designing affordable, accessible options for all so that no one is left behind.
What’s to Come
La Renaissance Verte is not an era – it’s a blueprint for global change. But to achieve its full potential we need:
• Governments’ climate action investments for youth
• Schools to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum, not just as a club
• Scaling funding, publications, and mentorship systems for early innovators
As we are already ahead. We are in preparation.
Final Remarks
We are the generation who plants mangroves on early mornings, creates green tech apps by afternoon, and addresses world conferences by evening. We are not taking anyone’s approval to do this. We are creating the world’s future today.
It’s time for a Green Renaissance.
It’s visionary.
It’s universal.
It’s smart.
And most importantly—it’s youth-led.
The world may have delivered a pandemic.
But we are returning it with a bounce back.
And we gotta start now.
By: Suriya Dev Saravanakumar
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