The United Nations Climate Change conference – CoP, which stands for Conference of the Parties – is over with nothing much to show for it. But young people’s voices on what CoP means to them has been visualised in a new digital artwork – and the climate change animation looks spectacular.
Before COP28, print company Epson kicked off a cool project called ‘Projecting Voices’ to dig into what teens think about climate change. They asked the COP generation (those born around the first COP in 1995) to pick words that really capture how they feel about climate change. Turns out, the responses were a wild mix of fear, hope, and anxiety – all rolled up in equal parts.
Digital artists Katy Wang and Gabriel Greenough then created an the climate change animation to represent the data.
“What has been interesting about the research Epson conducted with Gen COP is that they are almost 50:50 split on feeling hopeful and fearful,” says Katy.
“It got us thinking about the moments we have all experienced over the last couple of years since the pandemic, and on a personal level, how we have become more connected to the environment.”
“We’ve focussed our animation on the beauty and interconnectedness of the natural world in order to remind audiences that climate action can stem not just from fear but also a genuine gratitude for nature.”
“The simple act of noticing your environment more, and being present with the sounds, colours, and changing seasons, all propel us to recognise that nature has everything we need and gives to us endlessly.
Epson global president Yasunori Ogawa says it’s important to focus on the future generation who will be most impacted by the decisions made about how we act on climate change.
“Despite the anxiety and fear that people are feeling, the fact Gen COP remains hopeful is a sign that optimism endures. Our planet is a closed and finite environment, so now we must take all the action we can to transition toward a more sustainable society”, says Yasunori.
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