Adiel Chrissetia,
Published :  01 March 2022

Climate change is real and right appears in front of us. The unpredictable weather changes is one of the issues that we can see as a proof. We as human beings are aware about climate change and what is going on in this environment. But also we are all trying to comprehend our understanding about this. Educating ourselves about the climate crisis is important. It is also the initial step that we can take. However, do we really understand and are aware of it?

Nowadays, people are slowly becoming more open minded about the issue and sustainability. Sustainability itself has three pillars that are connected to one another like environment, social and economy. So, having a sustainable awareness does help us tackle climate change and global warming. Start with sustainable thinking is basically defined as making decisions that do not cause negative consequences for current or future generations. 

Surprisingly, the youth generation have begun to start initiatives to encourage other communities about the climate change issue. We can learn from Greta Thunberg, a young environmental activist from Sweden who consistently runs the campaign to spread awareness about global warming and also climate change. In Indonesia, Melati Wijsen and her organisations (Youthopia, Bye Bye Plastic Bag) have been leading an environmental movement and also empowerment projects through education. The way these changemakers spread awareness through their voices, it really impacts many generations and also nations. And the more people familiar with the issues, the more they have encouragement to live in a sustainable way.

Considering that sustainable awareness is also supported by the environment and also surroundings, the government support can also become a driver for the development of sustainable awareness. Indonesia has been making improvements in the regulation to handle climate change and global warming. Beginning with the banning of plastic bags and straws, the Bali Governor released regulation No. 47 in 2019 about the waste management based on the types of waste, and Bali Governor Regulation No.97 in 2018 about the limitation of Plastic Waste. Moreover, these days there are also many local initiatives and organisations in Indonesia having education programs to gain awareness within communities such as a separation of waste and handling a waste management system like recycling process. 

Sustainable awareness is an understanding that many sectors and individuals must have. How important is the fact that small actions will affect the future. We can start by bringing our own bag to the supermarket. By this act, we no longer use plastic bags. The learning process to gain sustainable awareness is simply the way we shift our perspective about the environment in order to understand the crisis and take action.