Generation Z–those born between 1997 and 2012–voters interviewed this month in Washington, D.C. said climate change is the single biggest issue that will decide their votes in the 2020 election.
The older members of Generation Z cast 4.5 million ballots in the 2018 midterm election, representing 4% of all votes, according to the Pew Research Center. By 2020, their impact could be even more powerful, when they are projected to comprise 10% of eligible voters.
“It’s time to wake up,” Ryan Cullen Barto, 20, said of younger generations facing the 2020 election.
These young voices see the upcoming election as an opportunity for change, and climate change is something they see as urgent.
Nadia Nazar, the 17-year-old co-founder of thisiszerohour.org, is very passionate about encouraging Gen Z to use their power to vote next year. She wants a great president, but also someone who will be a leader on climate change, and she believes young people need to understand what’s at stake.
“You’re voting for your life and for the sake of this country,” said Nazar, who lives in Baltimore. It “is important for our generation.”
Citizens Climate Lobby, a grassroots environmental organization, tweeted Thursday morning, the day after the first Democratic Presidential primary debate, that: “Last night’s disappointing treatment of #climatechange at the #DemocraticDebates underscores the need for a separate debate on the issue.”
Meanwhile, younger citizens who still will be too young to cast a ballot next year say when they can vote, climate change is their main and overarching concern.
Not being able to vote next year, Annelise Bittenbender, 16, from Leesburg, Virginia, worries that her voice won’t be heard.
“I think it could potentially make or break the rest of what’s going to go on in the world,” Bittenbender said of climate change.
“This election could potentially make or break our earth so me not being able to vote stresses me out ’cause I just wanna try to help as much as I can but not actually having a say is difficult,” Bittenbender continued.
The scientific community agrees overwhelmingly “climate change is real,” according to one statement on the NASA website.
Among those statements, the American Geophysical Union wrote: “Human‐induced climate change requires urgent action. Humanity is the major influence on the global climate change observed over the past 50 years. Rapid societal responses can significantly lessen negative outcomes.”
Generation Z’s youngest members may not be able to vote next year, but they already are organizing and fighting to be heard about climate change.
Ethan Vandivier, 13, already is an advisory board member for Young Voice for the Planet. He spoke on a panel at American University on June 20, noting that the next election is going to determine not just leadership, but will frame debates and policy solutions for climate change.
“For new people who are trying to get involved, voting is very important,” Vandivier said. “That’s how you start. That’s where you start.”