"How I'd change the world..."

The future generation has an unenviable task: tomorrow they must tackle the environmental problems we are creating today. Ahead of the Kyoto treaty coming into force, we asked seven young people from around the world how they would do things differently.

Alex Lin 11, USA "It is very important to recycle e-waste - much of our e-waste is dumped in other countries" Aparna Bhasin 17, India "One of the global problems that really worries me is poverty" William Roper 17, UK "Free trade isn't helping - the bottom line is entirely monetary" JC Martel 17, Canada "My government should invest money in environmental education"

Analiz Vergara 16, Ecuador "We don't realise that many problems could have been prevented if we took care of the environment" Shoko Takahashi 14, Japan "Everyone should do a bit - if everyone does small things it can change a lot" Yvonne Maingey 17, Kenya "People don't realise that poverty and the environment are part of the same thing" Georgina Viveash 15, UK " I think it would be a lot better if children were made to walk"

Jean-Christophe Martel

HOW I'D CHANGE THE WORLD... if one billion people in China have a car it is going to be extremely dangerous

In Canada our politicians talk a lot about the environment, but they don't do a lot.

Quebec is the best province in Canada for electricity because a lot of our electricity is hydro-powered, which doesn't cause much pollution.

But now the government has said that we are going to use more coal power, because it is much cheaper. But it is extremely polluting. So we are actually getting less green in Canada - because it costs money to be green.

We should improve the efficiency of cars and the insulation of houses - we have to use less energy. We should also use more green energy, like wind power and hydro power - even though it is more expensive.

And I think the government should sponsor industries that are environmentally friendly. A lot of pollution is produced by big industry. But that could be reduced in a country like Canada, if only we put pressure on the industries to change their ways.

The technology is there for them to reduce their emissions. We need to do more than encourage them to reduce their emissions - we need to force them.

I think the Kyoto protocol is extremely important. In Canada we are not going to achieve all our commitments for the Kyoto protocol and get that gets many people very angry - including me.

We have to make sure that countries like China and India and Russia can keep on industrialising without damaging the environment.

In a few years most Chinese people will have a car. Of course they want one - we all have one - it is completely just that they should want one.

But if one billion people in China have a car it is going to be extremely dangerous. So already developed countries like Canada must give a good example by reducing our gas emissions.

We must show other countries that you can have development without harming the environment too much.

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