Net Zero and You(th): Storytelling & Climate Action is a national youth-led initiative developed by Apathy is Boring to support young people across Canada in exploring climate issues through storytelling, peer dialogue, and civic reflection. Instead of focusing solely on technical solutions or policy critique, the program uses storytelling to empower youth to make sense of their lived experiences, develop communication tools, and cultivate long-term civic engagement.

The project unfolds through regional cohorts (Québec, Alberta, and British Columbia), each engaging small groups of 5–15 participants in three core sessions:

1. Understanding Net Zero
2. Storytelling
3. Dialogue, Sharing, and Mobilization

Cohorts meet online and, where possible, in person. Each session provides space for building community, deepening climate literacy, and practicing intentional conversations—especially across generational and political divides.

What they learned

Participants from across the three cohorts shared a wide range of transformative insights and reflections. Several major outcomes stand out:

1. New ways of framing climate conversations

• Participants moved away from debates and moralizing tones, instead using personal stories to open dialogue with those holding different views.
• Storytelling offered a way to explore emotions like fear, grief, and hope without paralysis.
• Participants learned to frame climate issues through empathy, which helped when speaking with older generations, skeptics, or disengaged peers.

“I stopped trying to ‘convince’ people. I started telling my own story,and that invited them into the conversation.”

2. Concrete knowledge of net-zero policies

• Youth gained a clearer understanding of Canada’s net-zero landscape, including who sets policies, how energy systems are regulated, and where contradictions lie (e.g., continued fossil fuel expansion in BC).
• They learned to critically assess government plans, track local climate initiatives, and ask better-informed questions as citizens.
• Participants began seeing climate action as tied to institutional processes, not just grassroots activism.

“Before this, I didn’t know who was actually responsible for climate planning in Canada. Now I can follow the policy—locally and nationally.”

3. Practical tools for intergenerational and community dialogue

• Youth practiced deep listening, role play, and scenario building to engage in conversations across political or generational lines.
• They gained tools to discuss net-zero goals with older family members, civic leaders, or indifferent audiences without judgment.
• The cohorts provided safe rehearsal spaces where vulnerability and not-knowing were welcomed.

“I used to avoid climate conversations at family dinners. Now I know how to open them, how to keep them going.”

NET-ZERO AND YOU(TH) PROGRAM, Province Specific Research: Ontario

4. Building a network and a sense of collective momentum

• A sense of isolation shifted to belonging. Many youth reported feeling less alone in their climate anxiety and more connected to a shared cause.
• Participants found peers who shared their values—and who were equally committed to action, reflection, and care. After the sessions, several alumni stayed involved, created partnerships, or initiated local projects (e.g., community fridge campaigns, participatory budgeting proposals, and youth climate panels).

“I now know I’m not alone. There are people like me across the country trying to make change—and that keeps me going.”

5. Expanded emotional and strategic capacities

• Participants developed new emotional literacy, learning how to name eco-anxiety, process grief.
• They reported being able to hold conflicting truths: that climate change is terrifying and that constructive action is still possible.
• The programs shift the focus from climate engagement as a work of politicians and experts to a community’s work based on values.

“What stayed with me wasn’t just the content, but the tone as I also had space to imagine.”

NET-ZERO AND YOU(TH) TOOLKIT, Apathy is Boring Research and Development Team, 2025

Unexpected discoveries

• Climate justice is not experienced the same everywhere. Youth from marginalized communities shared how food security, housing access, and exposure to pollution shaped their understanding of sustainability.
• Net-zero is not yet culturally legible. Participants noted that many people, even those concerned about the environment, have no idea what “net zero” means or why it matters,making storytelling even more vital.
• Policy awareness changes priorities. Learning about the contradictions in Canadian energy policy (e.g., coal, oil subsidies) gave participants a more nuanced understanding of greenwashing and systemic inertia.

What makes youth perspective unique

Participants insisted that youth are not just future decision-makers,they are already navigating climate breakdown daily. Their approach to net-zero is deeply informed by lived experience, financial uncertainty, cultural realities, and a desire to link personal responsibility to systemic change.

They ask not just: “What can I do?” but “What can we change together?”

“We’ve grown up in the climate crisis. It shapes our education, our jobs, our futures. We can’t afford to be passive—we have to make space to act, even if it’s messy.”

Conclusion

Net Zero and You(th) is not a training program in the traditional sense, it’s an ecosystem for youth to find their voice, build solidarity, and make meaning out of uncertainty. It equips young people to become translators between worlds: between generations, between policy and lived reality, and between fear and action.

In 2025, participants will share their stories through national showcases, local partnerships, and possibly a published anthology. Apathy is Boring continues to develop adjacent programs (like Table Topics) to offer long-term continuity for youth leaders eager to stay connected.

Ultimately, the power of the program lies in its simplest promise: “Climate action begins with a story and every young person already has one to tell.”