Young people were given tips on how to combat climate change during a virtual conference yesterday.

Activist Sharona Shnayder urged attendees at this year’s Youth Climate Summit to pick up at least one piece of trash every day.

She explained: “If everyone in the world picked up one piece of trash, there would be seven billion less pieces of trash polluting our environment and damaging vulnerable ecosystems.

“Littering is something that is learnt; we observe that behaviour, and it becomes normalised, so that is something that we need to deconstruct as the younger generation.”

Ms Shnayder also talked about the Tuesdays for Trash initiative, which started with her and a friend collecting litter on their college campus. It is now on six continents and in more than 40 countries.

She said: “The idea of the movement and mission is not just to pick up trash and keep doing that for ever, it is to get people outside to realise there is a problem and how we can all be part of the solution.”

Jevanic Henry, the first Caribbean representative to the United Nations Secretary-General’s youth advisory group on climate change, gave conference attendees techniques for climate action.

This list includes bridging gaps surrounding climate change, offering solutions and being bold in actions.

Mr Henry, who got involved in climate change after a severe rain trough hit his native St Lucia in 2013, added: “One small idea that you think of in the morning can be a major initiative which can be a leader in the climate space. Bermuda can become a leader in youth climate action.”

Climate journalist Jessica Knoblauch, who spoke at last year’s summit, said young people can fight climate change by asking questions and holding people in power accountable for their actions.

She said: “Exxon scientists knew about fossil fuel’s link to climate change as early as the 1960s.

“Just imagine how much further along we would be in combating climate change and cutting fossil fuel use, if more people had asked hard questions about the sources of climate denial, which was the fossil fuel industry.

Ms Knoblauch encouraged students to ask concise and open-ended questions, questions that people may enjoy answering, as well as follow-up questions.

Terrai Trott, 16, and Isaiah Fraser, 17, who both participated in last year’s summit, also spoke during yesterday’s session.

Mr Trott, from CedarBridge Academy, encouraged students to do their research on climate change and environmental initiatives.

He said this will help “find out what they want to do and how to protect our world.”

Mr Fraser, from The Berkeley Institute, said investing in solar power “reduces the amount of crude oil we produce, saves our environment in the long-run and also saves the money we will be spending out”.

The summit will continue virtually today, at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute tomorrow and Friday and end at Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve on Saturday.

• Tune into the virtual sessions via theBUEI’s YouTube pageand learn more about the summit atycsbda.com.