Accessibility Tools

Module 2 - Knowledge

Estimated time: 1.5 hours
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Introduction

Four young women sitting on grass in a park, studying together with a laptop and papers.

This module is called “knowledge” because knowledge and values are closely linked. Just 50 years ago, people gave little thought to the impact their behaviour could have on the climate. Today, as our attention is constantly drawn to the causes and consequences of the climate crisis, things look very different. Many people – and young people in particular, as we have seen in Module 1 – have adopted sustainability as an important personal value that influences not only their consumer behaviour, but important life decisions such as career choices.

Knowledge about the climate crisis has some peculiarities. On the one hand, information is fast-changing, so existing knowledge must be regularly updated. On the other hand, diving into facts and figures about the climate crisis can also be very depressing. Therefore, it is important to find a good balance between curiosity and interest in (often unpleasant or threatening) phenomena and self-care. Because, only then, is it possible to build enough hope, strength and knowledge to get active in the struggle for the protection of the planet and climate justice.

As a youth worker, you need knowledge about the climate crisis if you wish to address the topic with young people and to advise them on how they can act for positive change. The aim of this module is to provide support with this.


The module will address the following themes:

  • Sustainability and resource exploitation
  • Climate crisis and climate justice
  • Historical roots of the climate crisis and perpetuating factors: Industrial revolution, capitalism, colonialism & racism
  • Current challenges and some important facts
  • Towards change

Core Learning Journey

Sustainability and Resource Use

 
Figure - Country Overshoot Days 2024


The term sustainability is not new. Its use is documented as early as 1713 in German forestry to claim that no more wood should be cut than can grow back. In recent years, the term has experienced a boom. In the face of an escalating climate crisis, appeals to bring human activity into harmony with nature are becoming louder and more frequent. There is no uniform understanding of sustainability. However, most definitions stress that the planet’s available resources should be exploited only to such an extent that all people, regardless of where they live in the world right now, as well as future generations, may live a good life.

The present, however, is far from sustainable, since the planet’s resources are currently being overexploited. In the year 2024, all of the Earth’s natural resources which are renewable within a year had been used up on the first of August. This day is known as Earth Overshoot Day.

A look at chart 1 shows that different countries exploit natural resources at different rates. While the countries of the so-called Global North had their country-specific depletion days almost entirely in the first half of the year, the majority of those in the Global South were in the second half. Generally speaking, the Global North contributes significantly more to the global overload than the Global South. This discrepancy lies at the core of issues addressed by the climate justice movement.

Global North & Global South

The expressions 'Global North' and 'Global South' are concepts “for the geopolitical categorisation of countries in the world.” They describe “relationships and inequalities”, rather than “geographical localisations … A country in the so-called Global South can therefore also be located in the north of the globe. … Countries of the so-called Global South are generally considered to be countries that are disadvantaged in a social, economic and political context compared to” countries of the Global North. Even though the concepts are meant to be less simplistic or judgemental than the earlier concepts of First and Third World, they are similarly criticised for representing the world in two “blocs”. Lacking more appropriate alternatives, we are using them in this module.

World depletion since 1970

In 1970, one ‘planet’ was enough to meet people’s consumption needs. All resources consumed reproduced themselves within a year. Today, it would take 1.7 planets.

References