Yudhishtir Chandra Biswas By Marco SilvaBBC VerifyAs global leaders gather at the COP28 summit in Dubai, environmental activists around the world are still challenging climate sceptics. Young people from five countries told BBC News how they are trying to change the minds of those who wrongly claim climate change is not real.Growing up in Egypt, artist Hossna Hanafy didn’t think climate change was a real issue. “I never thought it was a global thing, or that it might be related to human behaviour,” she says. As the planet gets warmer and the polar ice caps melt, scientists say that Ms Hanafy’s home city of Alexandria, located on the Mediterranean coast, is at risk from rising sea levels. Yet at school, she says her teachers mocked suggestions this might be the case, wrongly claiming this would “never happen”. Hossna HanafiMs Hanafy attributed changes in Egypt’s already arid climate, which scientists have linked to climate change, to “the work of God and nature”. “I never questioned it,” she recalls. And it wasn’t until her own sister, an engineer, began challenging her views, that Ms Hanafy felt compelled to research the topic online. At first, she was sceptical: “I thought scientists sometimes exaggerated stuff.” But in the end, the information she came across, along with further conversations with her sister, changed Ms Hanafy’s views. “[Climate change] is a crisis,” she now tells the BBC. “It’s more, way more than I thought.” Today, she runs workshops where children and teenagers can learn about climate change and other environmental issues through crafts or games. Green Society”We deliver the message in a fun, interactive way that stays with them,” she says. “We encourage them to open a conversation with their parents and their friends.”Confronting falsehoods with factsThe reasons that lead people to question the existence of climate change are varied: from a poor understanding of science to a distrust of institutions, or even for ideological reasons.”One of my cousins believed that climate change was a hoax being spread for political purposes,” says Yudhishtir Chandra Biswas, a 16-year-old student in Dhaka, Bangladesh.”Her belief was largely influenced by misinformation she encountered on social media and through certain news sources.”Mr Biswas wanted to change his cousin’s mind – and turned to science for help.A really simple guide to climate changeWHow is extreme weather linked to climate change?”I brought in scientific evidence and reports that pointed to climate change as a driving force behind extreme weather events.”But it wasn’t until he showed her climate change was already having an impact in their home country that his cousin began reconsidering her stance. “I shared stories with her of how severe weather events, like floods and storms, had affected people in Bangladesh.”Scientists say extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of climate change – with extreme floods or droughts acting as a vivid and deadly reminder of its effects worldwide. Denembaye Julienne”Drought hits this community every year”, says Denembaye Julienne, an environmental activist from Chad. “At first, the view in my community was that climate change was a natural phenomenon, or that it was a punishment from God.””So I took an old p …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn Yudhishtir Chandra Biswas By Marco SilvaBBC VerifyAs global leaders gather at the COP28 summit in Dubai, environmental activists around the world are still challenging climate sceptics. Young people from five countries told BBC News how they are trying to change the minds of those who wrongly claim climate change is not real.Growing up in Egypt, artist Hossna Hanafy didn’t think climate change was a real issue. “I never thought it was a global thing, or that it might be related to human behaviour,” she says. As the planet gets warmer and the polar ice caps melt, scientists say that Ms Hanafy’s home city of Alexandria, located on the Mediterranean coast, is at risk from rising sea levels. Yet at school, she says her teachers mocked suggestions this might be the case, wrongly claiming this would “never happen”. Hossna HanafiMs Hanafy attributed changes in Egypt’s already arid climate, which scientists have linked to climate change, to “the work of God and nature”. “I never questioned it,” she recalls. And it wasn’t until her own sister, an engineer, began challenging her views, that Ms Hanafy felt compelled to research the topic online. At first, she was sceptical: “I thought scientists sometimes exaggerated stuff.” But in the end, the information she came across, along with further conversations with her sister, changed Ms Hanafy’s views. “[Climate change] is a crisis,” she now tells the BBC. “It’s more, way more than I thought.” Today, she runs workshops where children and teenagers can learn about climate change and other environmental issues through crafts or games. Green Society”We deliver the message in a fun, interactive way that stays with them,” she says. “We encourage them to open a conversation with their parents and their friends.”Confronting falsehoods with factsThe reasons that lead people to question the existence of climate change are varied: from a poor understanding of science to a distrust of institutions, or even for ideological reasons.”One of my cousins believed that climate change was a hoax being spread for political purposes,” says Yudhishtir Chandra Biswas, a 16-year-old student in Dhaka, Bangladesh.”Her belief was largely influenced by misinformation she encountered on social media and through certain news sources.”Mr Biswas wanted to change his cousin’s mind – and turned to science for help.A really simple guide to climate changeWHow is extreme weather linked to climate change?”I brought in scientific evidence and reports that pointed to climate change as a driving force behind extreme weather events.”But it wasn’t until he showed her climate change was already having an impact in their home country that his cousin began reconsidering her stance. “I shared stories with her of how severe weather events, like floods and storms, had affected people in Bangladesh.”Scientists say extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of climate change – with extreme floods or droughts acting as a vivid and deadly reminder of its effects worldwide. Denembaye Julienne”Drought hits this community every year”, says Denembaye Julienne, an environmental activist from Chad. “At first, the view in my community was that climate change was a natural phenomenon, or that it was a punishment from God.””So I took an old p …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
