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Climate change is no longer a distant threat for young Malaysians. UNICEF Malaysia's Athirah Azlan and Youths United for Earth (YUFE) co-founder Nurfatin Hamzah discuss how climate change is impacting young people's lives, why youth voices matter in climate decision-making, and how the next generation can help drive Malaysia's green transition.
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00:06Hello and welcome to It's About Youth. I'm your host, Fah Nashay.
00:10A new National Youth Climate Change Survey by UNICEF found that more than 8 in 10 young people experienced at
00:17least one climate-related disaster in the past year.
00:21While nearly all respondents said they are worried about climate change.
00:25Now this is quite jarring. So what do these findings tell us about the realities of young people, the realities
00:31that young people are facing today?
00:32And are we doing enough to support them? And what role can they play to shape Malaysia's climate future?
00:38Now these are the questions we are looking to answer for today's episode.
00:42Joining me to unpack the survey, we have two beautiful ladies here.
00:46Nurfati Najia Hamza from Youths United for Earth, Youth in short, as well as Muna Nourin Atira from UNICEF as
00:53well.
00:54Thank you so much for joining us ladies.
00:56Right. Let's get into it.
00:58When we talk about climate change, it's usually, you know, we will think about melting glaciers and, you know, rising
01:04levels of sea and stuff like that.
01:06But this survey suggests that it's very near and dear to our hearts, right? Especially for young people.
01:13Climate change is already having a significant impact to a lot of young people today.
01:18Looking at this finding, what stood out to you the most?
01:23The National Youth Climate Change Survey was conducted from June to October 2025.
01:28And we managed together a total of over 1,400 respondents all across Malaysia.
01:35And we consolidated these findings into the Nurture the Youth, Create the Change report.
01:39And what stood out the most to us is how personal climate change is to young people in Malaysia.
01:46And it is something that many are already experiencing themselves.
01:50And in the first edition of the National Youth Climate Change Survey conducted in 2020 by UNDP, UNICEF, as well
01:59as supported by Econites, what the objectives and many other objectives that they were targeting to find was whether or
02:07not young people were experiencing disasters.
02:09Five years later, UNICEF, as well as supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, they sought to
02:17dive deeper into young people's experiences with these disasters.
02:22And in Nurture the Youth, Create the Change, UNICEF finds that more than 8 in 10 young people are already
02:28experiencing disasters.
02:30And this was particularly between 2024 to 2025.
02:34And almost all youth surveyed, including youth from indigenous communities as well as youth with disabilities, they believe that the
02:42climate crisis is a problem of Malaysia.
02:45And as importantly, nearly all respondents also expressed how concern about how climate change affects their future or how they
02:54believe climate change will affect their future.
02:56And so what UNICEF finds particularly striking is the connection between lived experiences as well as concern.
03:02And young people are worried because they are already seeing as well as they are already experiencing and feeling these
03:08impacts around them.
03:09Right. Fatin, what about you? What are your thoughts on the survey itself? Are there any particular statistics or findings
03:15that you find a bit jarring?
03:17Right. I think for me, I would say it's like a hopeful irony kind of thing.
03:22Okay. Because whatever that has been mentioned by Atira just now, of course, we are in this like doom and
03:27gloom.
03:27But at the same time, there's also like another aspect to it, which is like hope, because it's mentioned like
03:3383.1% of the young people actually mentioned that they want to be part of the green industry.
03:42So they want to have green jobs. Right. So I feel like that's a very ironic thing because it seems
03:47like they're not like passive victims.
03:49But they're also thinking about, okay, how can I make this as part of my life, as part of my
03:54career, for example, in the future. Right.
03:56And I think as someone who has been working a lot with young people, because with Youth United for Earth,
04:01we have this mentorship program called the Youth Sustainability Mentorship Program,
04:05where we connect young people with people who have been already working in the sector.
04:10So we have been listening. And this is really like reflecting of what's happening on the ground, the reality like
04:17this.
04:18Undergraduates, these talented young people, they're really, really interested.
04:21And at the same time, they really find this is a meaningful thing to be, to do and to be
04:27part of the solution as well.
04:28So I think for me, it would be like, like a hopeful irony.
04:32Yeah. And I mean, we are, I have to say, we are also proud to have, you know, not just
04:36you two, but a lot of climate youth advocates here on the show as well,
04:40doing great underground work. And it's always amazing and impressive whenever they come here and discuss the work that they
04:47do. Right.
04:48Right. But I want to talk a little bit more about the correlation between sort of the climate change impacts
04:52to youth.
04:53You know, how do repeated floods, heat waves or even haze shape a young person's future? Right.
05:01Beyond the immediate consequences. Of course, we know what longer term consequences are we seeing?
05:06Maybe Fatin? I think based on my experience and also working with young people,
05:14it kind of like reshape how we make life decisions in a way. As simple as, oh, where do we
05:20want to go for university?
05:22Yeah. Kita nak pilih state yang flight prone ke? Ataupun somewhere yang tak ada flight, for example, right?
05:28And sometimes people would think like, oh, do I stay in my hometown or do I go somewhere else? And
05:33what kind of career will I have?
05:35So I think, of course, I can list a lot of like negative impacts. But at the same time, I
05:40feel like a lot of young people have become more creative as well
05:43in responding to this, at which we have seen people doing different kind of projects in different states.
05:50And they're trying to find this intersection between their interests and also climate awareness. So, macam mana kita nak gabungkan
05:57dua itu.
05:58And I feel like a lot of people are also creating their own jobs in a way. Like, for example,
06:03they want to stay in their hometown and they want to be close to their roots and culture.
06:07But at the same time, they include this like climate or environmental element into their work and they try their
06:15best to be creative about it.
06:16Yeah. Right. So they've sort of unlocked this new, the industry is already there, but new ways of looking at,
06:22you know, how we can approach climate action, right?
06:25Atira, do you agree? What are some of the longer term consequences you feel?
06:29And as Fatin said, it has it is already impacting young people and their decisions that they will have to
06:36make that includes their education as well as their jobs.
06:39And at UNICEF in 2021, we found that globally, one billion children are already affected by climate impacts.
06:46And this includes heat events. This includes haze, floods, of course, nothing new to Malaysia.
06:51And for example, something that we also found was that a child born in 2021 would face seven times more
06:57heat wave events as compared to their grandparents all the way back in the 1960s.
07:03And so we already understand that climate impacts, they go beyond the immediate event itself.
07:09And from the survey itself, we found that more than four in ten young people are experiencing more than two
07:15climate events within a span of one year.
07:17And more particularly is that Sabah, for example, is stood out as a multi-hazard state and they experienced high
07:25flood exposure.
07:27They also had the highest experiences with landslides as well as water pollution.
07:32And adding to that is that the report also found links towards the experiences with disasters together with impacts to
07:39their psychological, physical as well as physiological health.
07:43And we really wanted to expand on that with the report.
07:47And what we found was nearly all young people who did experience disasters experienced fear, grief, hopelessness as well as
07:54tiredness.
07:56And even over 30 percent had experienced worsening of present conditions.
08:00And this could also mean asthma as well as with eczema.
08:03And as a multi-hazard state, Sabah in particular reported the highest emotional distress and a wide range of physical
08:12health consequences.
08:13So the concern isn't only the disaster itself.
08:17It's the cumulative effect of experiencing these disasters and disruptions to the children as well as young people's lives.
08:24And again, it doesn't just affect them at one time.
08:28It affects their health.
08:29It affects their education, their safety, as well as more importantly, their opportunities for the future.
08:37Right.
08:37I think just based off that, just based off what you said, one thing that struck me most is that
08:43climate change or the impacts are not just environmental, right?
08:47It's also a personal one.
08:48So we talk about young people speaking about anxiety, for example, disrupted education and feeling unsafe.
08:54And also, you know, changing their decisions about where they live, for example, where they study.
08:59So does this tell us that climate change is no longer just an environmental issue, but it's far beyond that?
09:06It's also a mental health issue and education issue and social issue.
09:09What's your thoughts on this?
09:11The climate crisis is intersectional.
09:13And what that means is it affects beyond just one's environment, it also affects their social life.
09:21And more importantly, it unequally impacts people, such as more specifically the most vulnerable, such as children, youth with disabilities,
09:32indigenous communities, as well as other underrepresented individuals within Malaysia.
09:37And at UNICEF, we understand that climate change is a child wellbeing issue, not just an environmental one.
09:43It affects children and young people's education, as I said previously, their health as well as their safety within their
09:50communities.
09:52And nearly all young people who did experience this, again, coming back to it, they experience anxiety,
09:58they experience fear and other additional health issues when it came to these disasters.
10:04And adding on to that with education, for example, it can interrupt their schooling, their learning development, and as well
10:10as healthcare services.
10:11So one thing that we would really, and UNICEF would like to really emphasize is to ensure that healthcare systems
10:17are prepared to serve and protect children during, before, during, as well as after these disasters,
10:24and ensuring that their education are not disrupted or affected for their long-term development.
10:29Yeah, I think I feel that a lot of climate change related impacts, or sorry, responses need to include all
10:36this as well.
10:37So once a person goes through a climate related disaster, for example, how do we then approach, you know, their
10:43mental health?
10:43How do we then approach disrupted education, or, you know, feeling of anxiety, for example?
10:49Drawing on that, Fatin, if you don't mind explaining to me a little bit, because one of the report mentioned
10:55is that many young people
10:57lacked access to information or support before, during, and after climate related disasters.
11:03So where do you think Malaysia is falling short, and what needs to change to address this?
11:08Yeah.
11:09I think definitely that, which is the information gap itself.
11:13And I think the main thing is not just the information, but also the localization of the information.
11:18Right.
11:18Because different young people in different states, they have, like, different kind of disasters that they have to go through,
11:26right?
11:26Maybe someone from Terengganu lebih, dah tahu macam mana nak menghadapi banjir daripada orang di KL, contohnya.
11:32Right.
11:32So even when I was in, I was living in Terengganu for a bit, and kat situ, there we can
11:38really see that, for example, students who are not from Terengganu,
11:41but they are studying there, they don't know what to do during the flooding event every year.
11:47I mean, usually during the first year, they'll be like, oh my gosh, what do I do?
11:50So you can really see that it's like an information gap for those who are new to the state, for
11:54example, right?
11:55But for those who are local, they're like, okay, I know what to do, I know where should I not
12:00go, and what should I not do?
12:01So I think, like you mentioned, before is really important as well, and during, because we really need to know,
12:08of course, what is happening,
12:11because usually people go through social media, and I'm like, oh, kat sini ada banjir and stuff like that.
12:16But at the same time, I feel like there's lack of information on what to do during that particular moment
12:22happening.
12:23And also like, after, I feel like a lot of young people don't know how to recover from the disaster
12:30itself.
12:31It could be like, emotionally, what do I do? Or if rumah saya rosak, for example, how do I get
12:37help?
12:38Or maybe like, there's a local authority that I should call, and stuff like that.
12:42Or maybe like some sort of reporting that I need to do, right? So I feel like the localization of
12:48climate communication is very lacking.
12:51And I think that's where we should be focusing on. And it needs like a lot of effort also to
12:58like reaching out,
12:59because it cannot be centralized in a way. It cannot be just like, oh, UNICEF doing this big thing, campaign
13:04and stuff like that.
13:05It also should be like, people from Sarawak, getting them involved in the planning of, you know, the communication as
13:13well.
13:14So for me, it's a localization.
13:16So having the information as well as making it accessible, right?
13:20Okay, we want to talk a little bit more on this later.
13:24We've discussed a little bit about how climate change has impacted youth.
13:28But after the break, we'll discuss more on the solutions after the break.
13:46Hello, and welcome back to This About You. Today, I'm joined by Fatin and Atira.
13:50We are talking about the National Youth Climate Survey hosted by UNICEF as well as ANRES.
14:01And just now, we talked about how climate change impacts young people.
14:05And we discussed about the challenges as well as the stumbling blocks that are hindering access and as well as
14:12support, right?
14:12Now we want to go a little bit into the nitty-gritty of things and talk a little bit about
14:17solutions.
14:18So one of the report's recommendation is to include young people in climate decision-making.
14:25What does that actually look like?
14:26You know, we talk about participation a lot.
14:28And we've been to a lot of events and conferences and, you know, NGOs are pushing for it.
14:32But what does meaningful participation actually look like in climate action?
14:36Maybe, Atira, we can start with you.
14:37Malaysia has had great progress in including as well as ensuring that young people are involved or consulted,
14:46particularly within the climate space, for example.
14:49We've had NRES who hosted the youth cluster, which was a great space to involve young people on their inputs
14:57as well as their concerns within climate-related initiatives.
15:00But young people, as we understand, it's no longer just about being consulted.
15:05It's also to ensure that their inputs are as well involved within these policies and plans.
15:10And in the end as well, it's making sure that when these decisions are made, ensuring that young people were,
15:16of course, before the decisions were made, are involved within crafting these policies and plans.
15:23But also one thing that UNICEF also wants to tackle is ensuring that these barriers to entries for young people
15:31who would want to enter these consultation spaces or engagements are lowered.
15:36And what that means is ensuring that, one, children and young people are also educated,
15:40whether or not they are aware of what climate change is, for example.
15:44And one of the ways that here at UNICEF that we do, we're currently in the process of developing a
15:50children's guide to Malaysia's climate action plan.
15:53And what that is, is breaking down NRES's nationally determined contribution, which is Malaysia's climate action plan,
16:00and ensuring that it is understandable for children and young people to ensure that they are informed
16:05of what exactly is happening in Malaysia and what are the ways forward.
16:09And as climate-related disasters become more frequent, more complex,
16:13it is ensuring that there is inclusive communication for children and young people to understand, to be involved with.
16:19And this goes beyond ensuring that they have the information,
16:23but also creating meaningful opportunities for them to participate in preparedness, in response,
16:30as well as resilience building for Malaysia.
16:32Right, so we begin with the passion and knowledge.
16:36And then when, you know, passion and knowledge is there,
16:40making sure that they are also sort of easier entry for them to participate in sort of larger decision-making,
16:48right?
16:48Fatin, what about you?
16:50I think for me, before we talk about what meaningful participation means,
16:55we need to be honest on what it's not.
16:59Which is, for me, it would be like tokenistic.
17:02So some of the consultations that I've participated before, probably,
17:08you can see that it's a bit tokenistic in a way that it's...
17:12Just making sure that young people are there.
17:13Yeah, just making sure that young people are there.
17:14It's like ticking a box, right?
17:15But, of course, that's there.
17:17But at the same time, it's also a learning opportunity also for young people to understand what meaningful really means.
17:24So for me, it would be number one, early, like Atira mentioned, like it needs to be involved early.
17:29So we're not just like decoration, but we're actually part and involved, right?
17:33And then second, it should be repeated, not one and off, and also supported.
17:38Because when we talk about who is in the room, we should also talk about who is not in the
17:43room, right?
17:44So we need to think what are the barriers of these people not being in the room, right?
17:48So it could be simple things like the cost of going to the consultation itself.
17:54So if we really want to listen to a young person's point of view who is from a rural area,
18:01we need to cover their basic expenses to actually go and to be in the room, right?
18:04So I think the supported part is really, really important as well.
18:09And then third is, of course, diverse.
18:11Because young people is not like one kind of group, you know?
18:15We're very diverse as well.
18:17And then I'm here like representing sub-urban youth, but not indigenous youth, for example,
18:23or youth with disabilities.
18:25So I think the most important thing is to not have the same people in the same room all the
18:31time.
18:32And I think this is also like this show event, like maybe you already invited multiple people in.
18:40So diverse is really important, I feel.
18:43So yeah, just to also think about who is here and who is not here.
18:46Yeah.
18:47I mean, it's a nice way to put it.
18:49I mean, obviously, I mean, even when we do this show, we have a lot of people from indigenous communities,
18:56for example,
18:57looking at different problems of climate change and climate action, right?
19:02And I think having them heard is important, but also having them supported in terms of funding, in terms of
19:09making sure that whatever work they do is being put out there.
19:13I think that's important as well.
19:14I think you both touched on, you know, two very great barriers when it comes to making sure that youth
19:21participation are meaningful, right?
19:23Okay.
19:24What I find interesting in the survey as well is that many young people actually are interested in the green
19:29industry, which is probably not what we talked about a few years back, right?
19:34Probably, you know, most people don't even know, most young people don't even know what green industry is, or is
19:39that even a career environment, right?
19:41So beyond passion, because I know a lot of young people are passionate about this, but what do young people
19:47actually bring to the table that Malaysia desperately need?
19:51And, you know, what sets us apart? I mean, I'm saying us as if I'm youth, but yeah, you know,
19:56what sets us apart?
19:58Athira?
19:59UNISA finds it very encouraging that four in five young people are interested to work within the green industry.
20:04And it's a great push with the fact that it's no longer questioning whether young people even know what climate
20:10change is, or what are the impacts, or what the solutions are.
20:13It's solid, in fact, that now young people would like to contribute to these solutions.
20:17And many are motivated purely by the desire to make a difference, not even primarily for money at the sake,
20:25but because they would like to make a difference within Malaysia to build it to be a more resilient Malaysia.
20:30However, there are important limitations that were raised as well from young people themselves,
20:36which is one being that there are limited job opportunities for them to even participate in.
20:41And second of all, as well, it's the lack of climate education.
20:45Many may find that they may not be equipped with the skills that are required within the green industry.
20:52And third of all, as well as skill gaps, which also complements back to the climate education.
20:56The focus should not be on generating interest of young people, but also on creating pathways into the green job
21:06market as well.
21:07And young people are not only asking for a greener future, they are ready to help build it.
21:12Right. Fatin, you talked about hope just now when it comes to making sure that, you know, people are interested,
21:18youth are interested in the green industry.
21:19What's your thought on this?
21:21I think I can just continue what has been mentioned also by Atira and also like maybe some examples of,
21:26you know, my friends.
21:27And so even when I was in Cengganu, we were doing this project where we tried to, because we were
21:33very interested with our culture and traditional knowledge of Malay people.
21:38And they were like, oh, at the same time, there's also like this climate awareness element. How about we just
21:42combine these two and then kita keluarkan satu booklet, right?
21:45So I feel like a lot of young people are becoming more and more creative and trying to find this
21:49intersection through these projects.
21:52And they try to also like elevate their culture as well and becoming true to themselves.
21:59And at the same time, a lot of young people also, in a way like while they're waiting for the
22:05job market to be better, because like I did have mentioned, there's so many people interested, but the lack of
22:11opportunities is like one of the biggest challenge when it comes to Malaysia.
22:14So I feel like a lot of young people are being creative as well in terms of like creating their
22:19own opportunity. So some decided to stay in their hometown and created their own business in a way like, oh,
22:26they can still elevate the culture that they have example in Sarawak, we know people who are doing like cultural
22:34merchandise kind of thing.
22:35And then they, at the same time, they protect the diversity because they are trying to plant the materials which
22:41is being used. So I feel like people are being, young people are being more and more creative in finding
22:46these opportunities.
22:47And it's not just like to make money, but also like, okay, how can I use this climate and also
22:51environmental lens to it? And of course, we all know that climate issues are intersectional issues. So it's also related
22:57to livelihood, right? So when we're talking about climate, it's also like pushing for a better livelihood for us and
23:04also our community.
23:05Right. So harnessing that creativity to come up with sort of innovative solutions to increase climate action awareness, right? Okay,
23:14if I can go through the checklist here, we've talked about, you know, making sure that we have support, making
23:20sure we earlier in the show, we talked about, you know, how climate change impact the young people. And we
23:26talked about making sure that support is there, making sure that it's accessible.
23:29We talked about youth participation, making sure it's meaningful and making sure it's diverse. Now we talked about, you know,
23:38how youth can contribute. So we've sort of, you know, have an all-rounder discussion on how we can ensure
23:45that young people can be involved in climate action effectively and making sure that this is not just a conversation
23:54that we have right here, right?
23:55So I guess drawing on that, if you guys, both of you are in front of a policymaker right now,
24:01and they're watching this, they're watching this conversation right now, what's the one message you would like them to hear
24:07about what Malaysian youth want from them when it comes to climate action or climate change impacts?
24:14Maybe, well, for anyone who can start first.
24:17Okay, yeah, sure. So young people, particularly aged 15 to 30, they make up over a quarter of Malaysia's population.
24:24And from the survey, nearly 10 in 10, which is nearly all respondents, indicated that they believe policymakers of Malaysia
24:32should prioritise climate action.
24:33And UNICEF, we suggest that the way forward to this are our three key words, which is protect, support, as
24:39well as include. And what protect means is to protect young people from climate risk as well as their impacts.
24:44Support in the sense of supporting them through resilient services, education as well as opportunity. And of course, as we
24:51spoke about just now, include in the sense of making sure that they are involved in the decisions that affect
24:57them.
24:57And Malaysia is in progress of mitigating their greenhouse gas emissions. But it is also important, however, that Malaysia's national
25:06adaptation plan is grounded in the lived realities of young people of Malaysia.
25:11And it is essential that in building these solutions, that effectively protect their health, their dignity, as well as the
25:18development. And young people from the Nurture the Youth Create the Change, they're already telling us that they are already
25:25experiencing these impacts.
25:26And they are ready to contribute the solutions by joining these green job markets. And they want to be a
25:32part of the decisions that impact and shape their future.
25:36Right. Fatin, what about you?
25:37I think for me, it all comes back to the green job point, because that's very striking for me, working
25:43with young people for the past six years.
25:44And I feel like the way policymakers should see this is the fact that it's not just about reducing carbon,
25:52but also creating more job opportunities.
25:54And the fact that we have this like very interesting, active talent pipeline already based on this report that really
26:01shows like we're kind of ready already.
26:05And at the same time, I think we also need to tap into this opportunity and we have to understand
26:12that we're not starting from scratch because we're not like we have to create the green job.
26:16But instead, any job can be green, you know, like greening the usual job, greening the so whatever that you're
26:23doing could be like anything like engineering, law, comms, even a teacher.
26:28There is also a way of like building it and include this climate and also environmental element to it.
26:35Like also Atira have mentioned, it's an intersectional issue as well.
26:39So everyone needs to play a role in a way.
26:41So I think some of the things that we can do is reskilling.
26:45So whatever existing jobs that we have, we can like do a little bit tweak here and there so that
26:50people can be reskilled.
26:51And there's like an element or a new lens that they can wear, which is climate and also environment.
26:56And at the same time, hopefully there'll be more upscaling programs as well for us to be ready for the
27:02job market itself.
27:03And lastly, I think it'd be great to have like incentives for different, a lot of companies to actually, okay,
27:09let's green these normal jobs, kind of sort of incentive.
27:14So I think for me, I think we're ready.
27:17And even like talking with young people, it's not like from scratch.
27:21We're all like trying to build our capacity as well.
27:24It's not just like we're trying to demand for the policymakers to do something.
27:28But at the same time, internally, we're also building capacity within ourselves and with each other.
27:32Yeah, I like that.
27:33And I have to say, some of the people that we have on this show, for example, have some of
27:38the boldest ideas when it comes to addressing climate change.
27:41And I think that just goes to show that, you know, the readiness is there and the passion and the
27:47interest and, you know, one thing to move this forward is ready, set, go, right?
27:53It's just whether or not there are opportunities and, you know, the hindering blocks are addressed, right?
27:59I think from what we've heard, you know, youths are not just simply asking to be heard, but also they
28:07are ready to be part of the solution as well.
28:09So I think, yeah, thank you so much, both of you, for discussing the National Youth Climate Change Survey and
28:17making sure that this conversation doesn't just end here.
28:21I'm pretty sure UNICEF and also youth have done a lot of work outside as well.
28:25So, you know, people at home can check it out and see where they can contribute.
28:29Thank you again, Atira and Fatin, for being here.
28:32That's all from me.
28:32Thank you so much for watching.
28:34Bye.
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