GoodGeist
A podcast on sustainability, hosted by Damla Özlüer and Steve Connor, brought to you by the DNS Network. Looking at sustainability issues, communications, and featuring global guests from a wide variety of sectors such as business, NGOs and government.
GoodGeist
The Climate Generation, with Alessia Trabucco
In this episode we're with Alessia Trabucco, Clean Mobility Coordinator at Generation Climate Europe, as she reveals how young voices are reshaping climate policy across the continent.
Alessia explains how Generation Climate Europe brings together over 300 organisations across 46 countries to campaign for young peoples' perspectives to be recognised. Their successful campaign for a Commissioner on Intergenerational Fairness at the European Commission shows how strong and persistent advocacy can create lasting institutional change.
Beyond policy work, Alessia highlights the emotional reality facing young Europeans—with 80% expressing worry about climate change and many experiencing eco-anxiety. She emphasises that clean mobility represents both environmental and social sustainability, affecting access to education, jobs, and overall life satisfaction.
We also talk about her work on ASSIFERO's Climate Philanthropy Programme, and Alessia reveals how foundations worldwide are being encouraged to integrate climate considerations regardless of their primary focus.
Ready to join the climate conversation? Follow us for more discussions with sustainability leaders who are turning concern into action.
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Good Geist, a podcast series on sustainability hosted by Damla Özler and Steve Connor, brought to you by the DNS Network.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello everyone. You are listening to Good Ge Guys, the message on sustainability which is brought to you by the DNS Network, the global network of agencies dedicated to making the world a better place. This is Damla from Mira Agency, Istanbul, and.
Speaker 3:This is Steve from Creative Concern in Manchester. This podcast series explores global sustainability issues, how they're communicated and what creativity can do to make positive changes happen.
Speaker 2:So in this episode we're going to talk to Alicia Trabuco, clean Mobility Coordinator Generation Climate Europe. Alicia holds a degree in International Tourism Management and a Master's in EU Trade and Climate Diplomacy. With a diverse background in sustainability, european policies and strategic communication, she has developed strong expertise in these fields.
Speaker 3:Horribly well qualified, I think. From the sound of things, and as a Clean Mobility Coordinator at Generation Climate Europe, alessia leads a team and drives policy and advocacy efforts on sustainable mobility, amplifying the voices of young Europeans in the policy sphere. In addition to her role in Generation Climate, alessia is also the junior project officer at CIFBEROS you'll have to collect me if I got that wrong Alessia Climate Philanthropy Programme and supports that programme while also contributing to the organisation's broader initiatives. So, alessia, thank you so much for joining Damra and myself.
Speaker 4:Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be on your podcast.
Speaker 2:So, Alessia, it is great to have you with us today, and we love to hear your own story. Tell us how did your journey from marketing to sustainability happen.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's actually a great question. I was studying a management degree in the UK and I really thought that marketing was what I would love for my career, as I love the creativity behind it and I still do love it. But I realized soon enough that marketing is deeply connected to sales, and that's where I stopped liking it. Nothing against sales, but it wasn't personally what got me up in the morning, and at the same time I found myself choosing to include the sustainability dimension in every piece of coursework that I was doing at university, no matter the subject, and so that got me thinking. Was I interested in sustainability more than the actual tourism subjects that I was studying? And at that time I decided that that might have been the case, and so I finally decided to study sustainability university after my bachelor's, and so for my master's I chose to study climate diplomacy, and that's where I also found out about Generation Climate Europe.
Speaker 3:Amazing. That means Alessia. That means you're one of us.
Speaker 4:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3:Excellent, welcome, I know. So we've all been on the. We've all been on the journey and admittedly, mine was a couple of decades before yours, but uh, but no, that whole journey of realizing that creativity doesn't have to be about selling, as I like to call it, selling shit to sleepwalkers oh yeah absolutely. It's about something much more. So let's turn to generation climate europe. It's the large coalition of youth-led networks on climate and environmental issues at the european level. So tell us how the coalition works.
Speaker 4:Absolutely so.
Speaker 4:Like you said, generation Climate Europe which I think I will be referring to as GCE, probably because it's shorter it unites the largest youth-led networks in Europe and it brings together over 300 national organizations in around like 46 countries in Europe, and how it works is we have member organizations that work with us and are deeply ingrained also in the governance of GCE, because they nominate and vote for board members, which then of shape the work that we do at Generation Climate Europe and, for example, we are associated with the Erasmus Student Network, the European Students Union or the Young European Federalists, so it's a wide variety of organizations that deal, for example, with education, which we don't do at GCE, and in this way we get to work on the topic of climate from multidisciplinary view and approach.
Speaker 4:And the way that it works in practice is sometimes we partner up for joint statements or events or to write any kind of reports that then go to the policymakers, and in general, it also gives us a lot of credibility to have a network instead of just being one organization working on their own.
Speaker 2:Representing 20 million young voices around Europe. Wow. So can you tell us the general mind map of youth when it comes to climate?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I believe this question is actually not so straightforward, because I think the thing is at Generation Climate Europe, like in every other climate NGO, it can sometimes feel like you're in a bubble because you are surrounded by climate conscious individuals who often work on climate even in their full-time job, whereas the reality can be a bit different outside of these walls, you know.
Speaker 4:But we do have recent studies that actually confirm that the general feeling is that of worry, especially between young generations, and this feeling of worry is also joined by a feeling of mistrust in institutions and governments, especially from young people like Gen Zs and millennials governments, especially from young people like Gen Zs and millennials.
Speaker 4:But, having said that, generation Climate Europe is one of the examples where people can actually engage and feel like they do have a voice, also in the field of policy making, which is a field where young people are definitely underrepresented, and so it gives them the chance to have an active voice. And this is really important, because the different reports that show that people are actually concerned about what's going on say that, for example, around 80% of young people are worried about climate change in different degrees, and some of them also state that they are extremely worried, and this leads to feelings like eco-anxiety. I don't know if you are familiar with the term, but it's something that is being discussed more and more. And then there are also organizations like Save the Children that actually had a study in the UK showing that young people are also scared about what they will inherit, and so this makes it not just an environmental challenge but also a question of intergenerational fairness.
Speaker 3:And again, opportunities like GCE are giving young people the chance to be at the table where things are discussed, because too often, policies are being discussed for young people instead of with young people, and I think that's something that is really important to highlight so now, without going off on a huge rant, although I might I think your work is so important, alessa, because one of the things and I know damla agrees with me on this one, although she doesn't know what I'm about to say but one of the things that absolutely makes me want to explode with fury is when you hear people say well, this climate, we really must make sure we educate young people to make sure they don't make the same mistakes that we've made, and you go, yeah, right, mate, we can wait an entire generation to fix this problem that you've made. The important thing is the voice of young people, isn't it? And getting that heard, like now, today, it's like so important, anyway. So I did end up ranting. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 3:The question I had was your role as clean mobility coordinator and looking at europe. When we talk about europe, there are lots of different regions with different dynamics. You've got strange sets of islands just off the coast, like the uk, but these are all sort of really different cultural and political contexts, aren't they? So, in terms of clean mobility, paint us a picture of how the climate response to clean mobility changes across these different regions.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you're definitely right. Europe is very different, and so are the dynamics in terms of mobility and transport, and I think, at a first glance, you would think that Northern European countries are similar to each other and maybe they have more advanced infrastructure, more connected transport systems, while, for example, the Mediterranean region which includes Italy, where I'm also from, but also Eastern Europe they might rely a lot more on private vehicles instead of public transport. And whilst I think it is true to some extent, because, for example, it would be quite surreal to talk about clean mobility in cities like Naples I don't know if you've been there, but it's full of motorcycles and you smell the pollution coming from cars everywhere you go. So, yeah, it would be quite surreal to talk about clean mobility there. But at the same time, I would argue that's not so much about the regional differences as it is about rural versus urban. Urban, Because we also published a report in March 2024, where we studied 10 European cities in terms of young people's mobility habits, and we noticed that people living in rural areas no matter if it was in Italy, in the UK, in Sweden, even they had the same issues, and those issues were related to connectivity and reliability of public transport, whilst in big urban centres they were struggling with, for example, affordability or inclusion.
Speaker 4:And so we see that, although regional differences need to be taken into account also because there is a cultural sphere to transport as well it's probably more important to focus on rural versus urban and the concept of multimodal transport and interoperability and connectivity than it is to just focus on the regional differences and the geographic distance between the places.
Speaker 2:So how much role does urban mobility play in climate action? I mean, are there any small changes that make a greater impact in this area?
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely, urban mobility is not only key in terms of environmental sustainability, but also in terms of social sustainability, and I really want to emphasize this because climate action can sometimes be reduced to the environmental dimension.
Speaker 4:But, whilst it is true that transport is already one of the biggest contributors of emissions and road transport actually accounts for around like 70-75% of emissions in different countries and different regions Actually we need to consider that transport is the way that we have access to job opportunities, education, but also leisure, and so it has a direct impact on overall life satisfaction, and it would be really damaging as well for the local communities to completely scratch this dimension. And, in terms of the immediate changes that can be made, they are definitely linked to reducing private vehicles in favour of public transportation, because it helps, again, with pollution, with congestion, but also with overall life satisfaction. But, yeah, something that I strongly advocate for, both personally and in JCE, is this link with the social dimension that I think it's the one thing that allows for a system to be sustainable, meaning also to be sustained in the long term, because I think sometimes we forget that that's where the word comes from and there is a reason for it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and when are we going to realize that we don't measure, do we? We don't measure all of the benefits of shared mobility and clean mobility adequately, do we? We just measure number of journeys, fair revenues, how many jobs it creates, possibly in delivery, but there are so many other co-benefits, aren't there, alessia?
Speaker 4:Yeah, 100 percent, like going beyond the numbers and also doing a more like qualitative research. I think sometimes it's what actually creates a system that works for everybody and everywhere.
Speaker 3:So let's go back to, in fact let's go back to your master's on that. So because in your work, you, you, you're looking at systemic change and amplifying the voices of young europeans in the policy world, and I think it would be lovely to get your take on how you feel that policy world operates. And how do you almost how do you hack that system to get young people's voices in there, alessia, how does that work? And are there any campaigns that you can think of where you really you've seen that successfully play out, where young people's voices come through and they shift the political outcome?
Speaker 4:I really like this question, first of all, so thank you.
Speaker 4:I think it can be very tricky, but the thing that you need to do that is patience, and I do actually have an example, a real life example, for this and it comes actually from GCE, but not from the team that I'm leading, because we have different teams within GCE and this time we really felt like what we needed was a person inside the European institutions that would advocate for intergenerational fairness. And since we are representing young people in Europe, for us this was something that had to be done, like you said, in a systemic way. So not just having one person that was there to say that you know they were taking care of young people and inviting them when things were actually already decided, but having someone that would guarantee the continuity of the inclusion of young people in whatever was happening in the decision-making processes. And so GCE has been advocating for a commissioner on intergenerational fairness for a long time, and in the newest commission mandate we actually got it, and for us that was an amazing victory. Actually got it, and for us that was an amazing victory.
Speaker 4:And, yeah, it's probably one of the most significant examples of how the advocacy done at GCE and through its partners as well, by writing position statements and addressing the policymakers directly, actually helped, actually had the impact of having a high-level figure at the European Commission that has in his mandate to actually, you know, understand the topic of intergenerational fairness and include it in whatever is being done at the European level. And so this is just an example of how we also really went deep into European politics and policies and we got access to the European Commission, and also, two months ago, some representatives of GCE actually met with the commissioner and it was really interesting, I think, because some people were actually representing future generations and other people were representing nature and non-human species, which is a really new concept that we haven't seen before, and so for us, yeah, this was amazing to see and we're really proud of this moment.
Speaker 3:I love that. Sorry Damla, I this moment, I love that. Sorry Damla, I love that. I love that so much. And I know people talk about having nature having a position on the board in corporations. Certainly does nature have a position on the board, but I love the idea of taking justice and fairness to the extent of actually having somebody representing other species on this planet. It's super cool, but I'm a vegan animal rights advocate, so I'm bound to say that. So, uh, sorry damla, I cut in.
Speaker 2:It's your turn no, I was just saying that's a job very well done and hooray for it. And it also I mean, this is a sound, only a program, because it's a podcast, but I would would really love for our listeners to see the excitement of Alicia and the smile on her face, and it's really very out of the box to bring everyone to the table. So I really want to just deep dive in that, but we don't have that much time. So I have to jump to another question, and I'm so sorry for that, but, alessia, you're also working for the ASIFERO National Association of Italian Foundations and Philanthropic Organizations, so can you tell us a bit about your experience in the philanthropic sphere? We know that you're working in the climate philanthropy program. We know that you are working in the climate philanthropy program.
Speaker 4:Does climate have a significant weight among philanthropists or is the sphere is changing? Unfortunately, not yet, and this is exactly why the climate philanthropy movement was born. Call to all foundations so, regardless of their geographic location, size or even thematic focus, as a way to integrate climate in their operations, from governance to grant making. And it started actually in the UK in 2019, and it was promoted by ACF UK. And then it scaled globally thanks to WINGS and Philea, which are the two main philanthropy associations in Europe, but also in the world, and then in the European context, also thanks to PEX, which is the European Philanthropy Network.
Speaker 4:So these associations noticed, through a study, the need to increase and scale climate funding, as less than two percent of global funding was actually directed to climate action, and so instead there was a need to address the immense scale of the climate crisis through a whole sector approach and ecosystemic and collaborative approach that goes beyond geographical borders but also the size of the organization, and so, through locally led but globally coordinated commitments, the Philanthropy for Climate movement started making these connections horizontally and vertically across the field, and now we have an Italian commitment, a Spanish commitment, but also South African, brazilian, so it has really scaled up and we are still at the beginning, definitely because also, for example, in some countries there are no climate funders, but only associations and foundations that are working on something completely different but, through the commitment, are trying to integrate the climate lens in their work.
Speaker 4:And, for example, the Italian commitment that we are leading as Asifero has six guiding principles that help foundations to actually integrate the climate lens, and then we also accompany them through their journey with webinars and dedicated support, and so it's really a journey that we embark on with them. And, yeah, it has been great for me to also know this side of climate change and climate action that I didn't know before.
Speaker 3:Fascinating. We've spotlighted philanthropy a few times on the podcast Alessia, and it's a really interesting counterpoint to intergenerational fairness. If you think about it, the two belong very much side by side. So let's talk about storytelling and its power. And for you, as a communications professional, what's your take at the moment on the global climate narrative? What needs to change Is the message getting through. How are we doing in terms of telling the story of climate?
Speaker 4:through how we're doing in terms of telling the story of climate. Yeah, I definitely think that how you say something is almost as important as what you say, and I believe that right now, we could do so much more. We could be doing so much more in terms of having a narrative that actually serves us and doesn't just bring everything down, because there is a lot of disinformation and misinformation on climate change, and actually we also had a webinar about that in Asifero, but that was just for our associates, but it was very appreciated because people some of them don't actually because people some of them don't actually still don't know how to recognize when something is a fake news or it's misinformation, and so I think and this goes back to really the basics of communication but what's really important is to adapt the message to the audience, and it's something that is so simple but actually so difficult. And I think you need to think, when you're conveying a message, that some people or some organizations might react more to the economic benefits, while others might focus on, for example, the moral obligations or ethical obligations. And this is the same thing when you're telling people to reduce their meat consumption, for example. I'm also a vegetarian, so I relate to what you said and I've seen it also in my personal life.
Speaker 4:So what I'm saying is, if we are talking about the global narrative of climate change, the way that the big news outlets are talking about it is not really helping us to act, and act now, because the kinds of messages that are being portrayed are either confusing or they're very also politically focused.
Speaker 4:Politically focused, and something that I don't like is when something is considered to be purely political when actually the climate crisis will and is affecting everyone.
Speaker 4:So it's not about you know your political orientation and the way that it's being portrayed is still, you know, global, south, north of the world, rich countries, poor countries and, yeah, I think I don't know if you're familiar with the 89% project, but it's a recent initiative made out of different journalists from different countries that found out that around 89% of people globally want their countries and their governments to do more about climate and to act on climate, so it's a really strong number, and also in countries like China, this number was significantly higher than others, and so that also sends a really strong message to you.
Speaker 4:Know the entire world, but also the narrative that we know, for example, in the West, in the Western world when we think about China. But anyway, these journalists decided to actually act on this for those 89% of people that wanted more media coverage on climate change, and they decided that they're going to talk more about climate and do it in a better way, and I think these are exactly the initiatives that we need, and right now, we see that independent media is doing way better than the big media outlets, and so, again, I really support podcasts and even like independent and small media that talks about it, but I think we also need to have live conversations about this in schools, in youth centers, and have, again, different ways of communicating this, because we do have different audiences. But what's really important is that we keep the ultimate goal, that is, that we need to act now and we need to do it together, as the same throughout the entire yeah, the entire world.
Speaker 2:Basically well, actually, when we think about it, the mainstream media hasn't been good for a very long time at the moment, but on the other hand, don't start.
Speaker 2:Don't start me, damla, don't start me okay, I'm sorry, but also we need the general coverage to. Maybe we have to talk about this more, I think, and in depth. But I have to jump to our final question. So our network is ironically called Do Not Smile, because we need to make sustainability a subject that brings happiness into the world. So, alessia, what object, place or person always makes you smile?
Speaker 4:That's really easy for me and I would say it's the sea and the beach in general. You know, I grew up in the Mediterranean. I have a tattoo with a wave, like everything about the sea makes me happy, so that's really easy for me I knew we were kindred spirits.
Speaker 3:I knew it oh, my goodness me, the level of bonding going on right now is extraordinary. Yeah, you see, you guys have got the mediterranean, we've got the atlantic, and that creates a whole different dynamic. Basically, we're just shivering on a rock somewhere very far north a different dynamic, I know anyway, listen, alicia, it's been so such a joy talking to you.
Speaker 3:It's been absolutely wonderful, and thank you so much for talking not just about the great work in bringing young people's voice into the climate conversation, but also all that stuff about philanthropy. It's really fascinating.
Speaker 2:So, damla time to wrap us up, I think so thanks to everyone who has listened to our Good Guys podcast, brought to you by the Do Not Smile network of agencies.
Speaker 3:Make sure you listen to future episodes. We'll be talking to more amazing people about how we can work together to create a more sustainable future. So, damla Alessia, see you soon.
Speaker 4:Bye, bye, thank you. Good Guys, bye, thank you.
