Clara von Glasow is a 25-year-old environmental advocate from Germany and a founding member of Sail for Climate Action (S4CA). She is a law graduate who has expertise in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes and climate change education. She also participated in Sail to the COP in 2019. Here she reflects on her path to climate activism, S4CA, and what the future holds.
My journey to climate activism
I have always been very close to nature and other humans, so getting involved in the climate movement was my way of advocating to save the planet and all its inhabitants. I was also looking for a group of peers to combine our efforts and not feel so alone in the face of the climate crisis. As a law student, justice has always played a major part in my life.
As a climate activist, I focus on several overlapping goals, but one of my major goals is the involvement and empowerment of youth. As the point of contact for the official youth constituency to the UNFCCC, I was responsible for facilitating youth engagement across the UN climate conferences. I collaborate with young climate activists and advocates from around the world to raise awareness about climate justice on a global and intergenerational scale.
Sail for climate action
I participated in Sail to the COP in fall of 2019, joining 35 other youth from Europe to sail across the Atlantic to attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Chile (COP25), while working on board to develop solutions for sustainable travel. Unfortunately, the conference was relocated to Madrid, Spain last minute, so I could only attend virtually.
I was in Colombia in late 2019 when I learned that the ship, the Regina Maris, would be sailing back from Cartagena, Colombia to Europe. I decided to spontaneously initiate a new sailing trip to engage more young climate activists.
From my experience at the climate change conferences, I knew that there was very little representation of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) youth. With this new trip, I wanted to help change that and raise LAC youth voices on an international level. From there, Sail for Climate Action was born.
Our mini society on the sea
I love sailing and being on the ocean, and I really appreciate being disconnected from land yet connected with everyone on board. This group was very diverse and different from the group I had traveled with during Sail to the COP, which was almost entirely comprised of white Europeans.
While on board and during land time, the participants attended sessions to discuss their climate action priorities. If conflicts occurred, they were mostly solved through conversation. We had a team of a few “trust people” on board who could provide mediation to the participants as they needed. We also facilitated a safe-space session where everyone could talk about their emotions and struggles and where we tried to find solutions together.
One of the most difficult conversations we had while at sea was on the topic of food and diet. Due to cost and environmental reasons, the diet on the ship was vegetarian/vegan as well. In the European climate movement, veganism is very common because the mass meat production that feeds Europe has an immense effect on the climate. However, the Latin American and Caribbean participants had a different perspective on this diet, drawing attention to the sustainable methods of local animal farming in their home countries and the importance of traditional dishes in their cultures.
I mostly acted as a facilitator during the conversation, helping to explore the different perspectives on board. To better work through topics like these, we developed a new session called “This Is My Reality,” which was facilitated by the Caribbean delegation and was a huge success.
There are different perspectives that need to be shared. People fighting on the frontlines and in the most affected areas are the ones who should be the faces of the movement.
The global pandemic
Pandemic concerns started to build when we arrived in Bermuda. It was just three weeks into our overall trip, and we had spent the last two weeks sailing across the open ocean from our most recent port of call in Jamaica. While in Bermuda, the EU decided to close its borders for non-EU citizens.
The time had come for us to suspend the project. Together with the rest of the organizing team, we were responsible for getting the sponsored participants off the island and back to their home countries. Eight of our participants also needed a visa for the US in order to transit through to their own countries. I hitchhiked across the island with some of these participants and made phone calls with staff at the consulate. Two days later we had managed to get everyone a visa, but Peru and Ecuador had closed their borders already. This meant that our Peruvian and Ecuadorian participants had no choice but to continue on the ship to Amsterdam with me and a few other Europeans.
The sea was very rough, and we had to do double shifts because our team was reduced. Due to the rough conditions, I suffered a hernia and had to seek treatment once we arrived in the Netherlands at the end of April.
Overall, I was devastated that this project—essentially my baby—had to be cancelled. It was the most responsible decision, but it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. There was so much love among the group and so much determination. This connection was also what helped a lot of us through the difficult times to follow.
What’s next
My focus currently is to organize a follow-up project for Sail for Climate Action. Together with the former S4CA organizing team, other volunteers, and my organization Klimadelegation, we managed to secure funds from the German government for a new project called Building Bridges for Climate Action. If the pandemic allows, we will be welcoming the S4CA participants plus other young experts from Latin America and the Caribbean to Germany in November/December of this year. Once here, they will meet with scientists, politicians, and European activists to deliver their message and build bridges across the Atlantic. If we can’t do this in person, we will do it virtually.
