“Adapting to climate change is not about waiting for disaster. It’s about changing how we live, both in the countryside and in the city.”

I’m a 21-year-old French-Spanish student currently living in Paris, and I will soon begin studying European Environmental Economics and Policy in Denmark. In September 2025, I’ll move to Copenhagen to start this next chapter of my academic journey. Every summer, I return to Galicia, a rural region in northwestern Spain where my roots run deep. It’s a place of forests, mountains, and rivers, where my grandfather grew up working the land - just as his parents and grandparents did. It was also the place where I first saw, with my own eyes, the quiet but devastating effects of climate change.

As a child, I remember fields full of rabbits and deer, the sound of foxes at night, and walks through green forests where wild boars lived. Over the years, things changed. The animals became fewer, the land drier, and wildfires more common. My grandfather would tell stories of how rich and alive the land once was. Today, rivers are shrinking, plants bloom out of season, and many locals feel powerless watching the changes happen year after year.

Between rural Galicia and urban Paris

This contrast between Galicia and Paris—rural and urban—has shaped how I understand climate change. In Paris, the signs are different: hotter summers, more pollution, and unpredictable storms. It’s not just about nature “out there”; it’s about how we live, breathe, and move every day. I’ve come to believe that adapting to climate change is not about waiting for disaster. It’s about changing how we live, both in the countryside and in the city.

In cities, this means rethinking everyday choices: how we move, reduce waste, cut emissions, and design urban spaces that protect health and well-being. In rural areas, adaptation is about protecting forests from wildfires, saving water, and sustaining ways of living that respect natural limits.

Turning beliefs into action

That belief led me to take action. At my university, I joined ACT, an eco-responsible student association focused on sustainability. We organize waste reduction events, awareness campaigns, and small-scale actions that push for real change on campus. Through these experiences, I realized how important it is to make climate action a shared topic: one that includes all social classes, regardless of education, income, or gender. Climate awareness and solutions must be accessible to everyone, not just a privileged few.

That’s also why I decided to bring this fight into my studies, focusing on environmental economics and European climate policies. I want to understand how strong environmental laws, fair climate policies, and inclusive economic systems can protect those who are already most affected by climate change.

Bringing climate action back to our roots

But what truly changed me was something closer to home. With my Spanish cousin, who is studying to become a science teacher, we started talking about how we could bring climate action back to our roots. We want to revive traditional farming practices in Galicia: methods that respect the land, avoid harmful chemicals, and maintain balance in the soil. It’s not about going backward, but about learning again how to live with the land.

For example, rotating crops like our grandfather did (one year potatoes, the next chickpeas) to keep the soil healthy. Recycling and reusing wherever possible. Respecting the natural cycles of animals and plants, and teaching this to the next generation.

We dream of creating a small educational project that we can share online, where young people can learn how to plant, compost, and care for the earth: not just from books, but through practical advice and simple videos. We believe education works best when it is rooted in stories, lived experiences, and local realities, rather than abstract concepts or distant data. The goal is to reconnect people, especially those who’ve grown up far from nature, with respectful ways of working with the land.

Community, communication, and hope

One of the biggest challenges is that many people feel powerless or disconnected from nature. In urban areas, climate change can feel abstract. In rural areas, people see the damage but often lack support or resources. That’s why I believe communication and community are key. We need more school programs, more local workshops, and more young people involved. Social media can help connect people, but face-to-face conversations, storytelling, and shared projects are just as important.

In the end, taking climate action is not about being perfect. It’s about doing what you can, where you are, and what you have. For me, it started with conversations with my cousin and marches with friends. Now, I want to keep growing this commitment through my studies, through local action, and by helping others feel that they, too, have a role to play.

Because climate isn’t just one issue among others. It’s connected to everything: how we grow food, how we build economies, how we govern, and how we live together. It’s linked to social justice, economic systems, global stability, and even future geopolitical conflicts. We can’t separate climate from the rest; it should already be part of every decision we make.