Everybody has the power to make a difference
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Published 25 Oct 2021 in Raising Awareness
Meet Amelia Crews, our Energy Innovation Co-ordinator who is also part of our Young Co-operators Network. She is a committed climate change activist who will be travelling to Glasgow for COP26 this weekend. Amelia spoke to us about what she hopes to get out of attending the conference, how she first became a campaigner and things YOU can do to help fight climate change.
What does your role at Midcounties entail?
My role is basically helping to innovate and deliver renewable energy projects, such as community energy and electric vehicles. It’s really exciting because I never thought I'd end up in renewable energy, but it makes a huge difference to the climate, so it certainly seems only natural that I'm working in this space.
I’m not sure where the future will take me, but I know that whatever I do I want to make a difference. It’s really great being here at Midcounties and being part of the Young Co-operators Network because I feel I'm being listened to as a young person, which I wasn't expecting in such a big organisation.
Why will you be attending COP26?
I am extremely environmentally centred and outside of work I often try to get involved in as many climate-centred projects as possible. Being part of the younger generation, I often experience climate anxiety and eco-anxiety so I try and do everything I possibly can to help the planet and fight climate change. I just feel it's something that I need to do, both for myself and for others.
I’ve signed up to volunteer with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland at COP26. At the conference, there will be high-level government conversations going on but there are lots of other events taking place around it that I will be trying to get into, as well as fringe events.
G7 Summit - Surfers Against Sewage paddle out protest to save the oceans. This broke a world record for the largest ever paddle out protest – the atmosphere was incredible!
What are you hoping to get out of it?
I’m looking forward to spending time with the climate change community at the fringe events as that’s where all of the buzz and empowerment happens. They can be extremely powerful events that stimulate so much conversation and I believe that's where real change is made. I love the energy that you can draw from being around like-minded people – it's that buzz that keeps you going when you feel low.
I’m also looking forward to seeing what the different countries promise to do and what they actually do because they can be two very different things. And it's about making sure COP26 doesn't just last for two weeks, but that we really act on the outcomes and lobby our governments to keep making changes.
How did you first get involved in climate change campaigning?
I grew up and still live in Cornwall, which is obviously a very beautiful place with so many amazing sceneries – the sea, the coastal paths, the countryside – so I directly see the impacts of climate change out of my window. I think that has subconsciously played a part in me wanting to help fight climate change. But it was only in the last year of university that I started really taking action.
I was watching the news and seeing things that were happening and I just thought, ‘why would I not want a career dedicated to this?’ It means I'm not only investing in myself but I'm investing in the planet as well, so it was kind of a no brainer. From there on, the more I do, the more empowered I feel and the more energy I get from it so the more I get involved – it’s like a cycle.
G7 Summit Future Leaders Network - Youth leaders and ambassadors at the G7 Youth Summit. Lots of inspirational future leaders sharing their ideas for a more progressive future. We create a communique full of young people’s main concerns about our world – which was presented to the leaders at the G7 summit!
Which other events have you been involved in?
I was an ambassador for the G7 Youth Summit, Y7 – an engagement group set up to get young people involved in conversations around policy and to help create change. As an ambassador, I facilitated a few different group discussions with other young people to find out what they would like the government to be talking about at G7. We then created a report based on the conversations and the three main things that came out as priorities for young people were climate, tech and mental health.
It was really cool because as a direct result of our work at the Y7 summit we got mental health into the G7 communique, meaning it was then thrown into the policymaking mix.
G7 Summit Trashmore - An art installation including 20,000 pieces of electronic waste moulded into the faces of our world leaders. It was created by Joe Rush in collaboration with Music Magpie to spotlight the harm of tech waste on our environment.
How can your fellow colleagues act on climate change?
There are a huge number of ways you can take action.
Firstly, write to your local MP about the things that you believe in – just really put a case forward as to why you think it's important. The more people that do this, the more likely they are to do something about it. Climate change is very much bottom-up rather than top-down change, so we need people at ground level to be pushing up to get these changes made.
I think it’s also about empowering young people to have a voice because a lot of young people don't have the confidence and they don't feel they'll be listened to. Something hugely important you can do is to mentor somebody younger, to help them grow their networks and develop their voice because their voice is so important. If you are a young person, you could look at joining the Young Co-operators Network to help you get your voice heard.
EV Launch - Launch day of Your Co-op Energy’s Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice scheme. Working with Octopus Energy, we arranged test drives in a range of cars with opportunities to talk to Electric Vehicle(EV) specialists. This is the start of an exciting future for Midcounties and EV’s!
When talking about climate change it’s essential to focus on the positives rather than the negatives, because we know what will happen if we do nothing so we need to concentrate on what we can do.
Then look at your own lifestyle and see where you can make changes. Maybe sit down one evening and think about the transport you use, your energy supplier and where you're investing your money. Look at where your investments are sitting and consider whether you could invest in renewables or sustainable businesses instead to support their growth.
Everybody has the power to make difference. People don't think they do, but everybody does.
To learn more about differences you can make visit our COP26 webpage here.
Plus our Climate Action Report is now live – click here to read it.