The youth climate movement has gained a lot of attention in the media throughout the last year, and last month a sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist named Greta Thunberg captured the attention of news outlets across the world with her demands for new and innovative climate policy. 

Although her dedication to saving our planet is nothing if not inspirational, it raises a lot of questions regarding the youth climate movement as a whole. 

What about activists that are members of communities of color that have worked tirelessly over the years to strive for change? Why are their voices being suppressed in comparison to the white elite activists? 

Communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change due to an extreme amount of environmental injustice across the United States. 

According to the NAACP, the number one indicator for placement of toxic facilities in the US is race. Food insecurity will rise as a result of climate change, and communities of color and low-income communities will feel the most immediate and drastic effects. 

It is impossible to solve climate change without addressing the core issues of environmental racism and injustice, and policies will not be effective if they consciously leave out the people that are most afflicted. 

Although members of these communities are the ones that continue to lead in the fight towards environmental justice and effective climate policies, their voices are perpetually silenced. 

Collective action is necessary for a successful movement, but the biggest impediment to this is racial and ethnic division. We must make it a priority to amplify the voices that are the most damaged by the effects of climate change and work as a whole to strive for change. 

In addition to Greta Thunberg, please take a moment to amplify, follow, and learn about other youth activists of varied backgrounds. 

Here are a few to get you started: Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, also known as Little Miss Flint, is a 12-year-old youth activist committed to raising awareness and action centered around the ongoing water crisis in her home of Flint, Michigan. Xiye Bastida is a 17-year-old climate activist and member of the Otomi-Toltec idigenous people of Mexico who is currently an organizer of the Fridays for Future youth climate strike movement. Isra Hirsi, 16, is co-founder and co-executive of the U.S. Youth Climate Strike. Leah Namugerwa is a 14-year-old climate activist from Uganda, currently petitioning for a ban on plastic bags in Uganda.

There are thousands, if not millions more youth activists across the globe fighting for their respective futures, but may never get the coverage and support they need to make positive change if we do not recognize how intersections of race, nationality, socio-economic class, and ethnicity play a part in activism and climate change. 

Unless we understand the racial injustice that lies within the heart of the climate movement, effective climate policy and a better future for everyone will never be a reality.