To borrow from Greta Thunberg's powerful reminder at the World Economic Forum last week, it is our youth – those who will inherit the planet – who will be most affected by the decisions we make today.

As Malaysia’s youth minister – and Asia’s youngest cabinet minister – her stark words resonate with me deeply. I have seen first hand how young people across the region and the wider Muslim world are disillusioned with the business-as-usual approach to the planet.

Thunberg represents a new generation of young people across rich and poor countries who are demanding urgent reform. They won’t be silenced. Their anger is not just about the climate emergency, but about everything: corruption, economic inequalities, hunger.

In the Muslim world, this wave of unrest extends the same outbreak of rage we saw in 2011. The food, climate and economic drivers of that unrest are now worse than ever.

A decade ago, unemployment in Muslim nations was the highest in the world. Since then, it has grown more than anywhere else. Now nearly a third of young people across the Middle East and North Africa are unemployed – over double the international average.

Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures California In this decade, humans have become ever more aware of climate change. Calls for leaders to act echo around the globe as the signs of a changing climate become ever more difficult to ignore Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Athens, Greece Fierce wildfires have flared up in numerous countries. The damage being caused is unprecedented: 103 people were killed in wildfires last year in California, one of the places best prepared, best equipped to fight such blazes in the world AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Redding, California Entire towns have been razed. The towns of Redding and Paradise in California were all but eliminated in the 2018 season AP Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Athens, Greece While wildfires in Greece (pictured), Australia, Indonesia and many other countries have wrought chaos to infrastructure, economies and cost lives AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Carlisle, England In Britain, flooding has become commonplace. Extreme downpours in Carlisle in the winter of 2015 saw the previous record flood level being eclipsed by two feet AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Hebden Bridge, England Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire has flooded repeatedly in the past decade, with the worst coming on Christmas Day 2015. Toby Smith of Climate Visuals, an organisation focused on improving how climate change is depicted in the media, says: "Extreme weather and flooding, has and will become more frequent due to climate change. An increase in the severity and distribution of press images, reports and media coverage across the nation has localised the issue. It has raised our emotions, perception and personalised the effects and hazards of climate change." Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Somerset, England Out west in Somerset, floods in 2013 led to entire villages being cut off and isolated for weeks Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Dumfries, Scotland "In summer 2012, intense rain flooded over 8000 properties. In 2013, storms and coastal surges combined catastrophically with elevated sea levels whilst December 2015, was the wettest month ever recorded. Major flooding events continued through the decade with the UK government declaring flooding as one of the nation's major threats in 2017," says Mr Smith of Climate Visuals Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures London, England Weather has been more extreme in Britain in recent years. The 'Beast from the East' which arrived in February 2018 brought extraordinarily cold temperatures and high snowfall. Central London (pictured), where the city bustle tends to mean that snow doesn't even settle, was covered in inches of snow for day PA Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures London, England Months after the cold snap, a heatwave struck Britain, rendering the normally plush green of England's parks in Summer a parched brown for weeks AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures New South Wales, Australia Worsening droughts in many countries have been disastrous for crop yields and have threatened livestock. In Australia, where a brutal drought persisted for months last year, farmers have suffered from mental health problems because of the threat to their livelihood Reuters Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Tonle Sap, Cambodia Even dedicated climate skeptic Jeremy Clarkson has come to recognise the threat of climate change after visiting the Tonle Sap lake system in Cambodia. Over a million people rely on the water of Tonle Sap for work and sustinence but, as Mr Clarkson witnessed, a drought has severley depleted the water level Carlo Frem/Amazon Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Addis Ababa, Ethiopia In reaction to these harbingers of climate obliteration, some humans have taken measures to counter the impending disaster. Ethiopia recently planted a reported 350 million trees in a single day AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Morocco Morocco has undertaken the most ambitious solar power scheme in the world, recently completing a solar plant the size of San Francisco AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures London, England Electric cars are taking off as a viable alternative to fossil fuel burning vehicles and major cities across the world are adding charging points to accomodate AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Purmerend, The Netherlands Cities around the world are embracing cycling too, as a clean (and healthy) mode of transport. The Netherlands continues to lead the way with bikes far outnumbering people Jeroen Much/Andras Schuh Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Xiamen, China Cycling infrastructure is taking over cities the world over, in the hope of reducing society's dependency on polluting vehicles Ma Weiwei Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Chennai, India Despite positive steps being taken, humans continue to have a wildly adverse effect on the climate. There have been numerous major oil spills this decade, the most notable being the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures Amazon rainforest, Brazil More recently, large swathes of the Amazon rainforest were set alight by people to clear land for agriculture AFP/Getty Climate change: Decade's defining issue in pictures California This decade may have seen horrors but it has led to an understanding that the next decade must see change if human life is to continue Getty

Across the region, economic growth is sluggish; economies are dependent on diminished revenues from oil exports; public services are languishing and science spending is less than 0.5 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, Muslim-majority nations are among the most corrupt in the entire world.

But the biggest threat of all is the climate crisis. The region has faced almost continuous regional drought since 1998; floods in Saudi Arabia; heat waves in Kuwait; and rising sea levels in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria. Within 30 years, large areas of the Middle East and north Africa could become “uninhabitable”.

As a government minister representing the issues that young people face, I am terrified of what's in store for our youth in this region.

South Asia could face extreme drought and food insecurity as early as the 2030s. Bangladesh could experience a sea-level rise on a scale that could force tens of millions from the homes. Progress on poverty alleviation by Malaysia and Indonesia could be reversed due to climate-induced economic losses being bigger than anywhere else. The impact of the climate on agriculture, tourism and fishing, for example, could shave off a tenth of the region’s GDP, and as much as 50 per cent of rice yields.

Neither the east nor west can tackle these challenges alone. Western nations are right to point out how developing nations resort to environmentally-destructive practices. But they are responsible for creating a highly unequal global system dependent on fossil fuels, the legacy of empire.

One area where we desperately need co-responsibility is global deforestation – the world’s second-largest source of carbon emissions from human activities.

Undoubtedly, oil palm plantations have been among the main drivers of deforestation in southeast Asia. But shortly after winning landslide elections overthrowing decades of corruption, my government was the first to declare a moratorium on oil palm expansion to conserve forest cover at no less than 50 per cent, while introducing mandatory standards to make oil palm production 100 per cent sustainable.

Yet within months, the European Union snubbed these efforts and declared a ban on palm oil for biodiesel. My country did not have a chance.

I’m not convinced that this was about deforestation. The EU sought a trade deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay last year, although this would see European beef imports escalate. Yet beef consumption is the single biggest driver of climate-linked deforestation.

I don’t believe we can simply ban our way to a more sustainable and inclusive world – there’s a real risk of displacing rising demand onto to other commodities.

Numerous scientific studies by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Oxford University, and York University among others show that replacing palm oil with soy, rapeseed or corn would drive great levels of deforestation. They are less efficient and use more land, fertiliser and pesticides.

Similarly, killing off livestock industries would degrade soils irreparably under continuous crop production. In contrast, sustainable approaches like "mob-grazing" cattle can help reverse climate change by increasing soil’s capacity to store carbon.

Malaysia’s efforts to transition to sustainable palm oil are not perfect and there remains much work to be done. Yet instead of working with us, the EU has simply ignored our efforts while fuelling greater causes of deforestation elsewhere.

Instead of pointing fingers at each other, industrialised and developing countries must work together to support more sustainable production practices. In the Amazon, that means rearing cattle in ways which protect and nurture the rainforest. In Malaysia, that means cultivating sustainable palm oil in a way which allows precious species like the Orangutan to not just survive, but thrive – as we are trying to do.

Across the east and west, we must find ways to support each other. If we don’t, civil unrest will not only become a perfect storm, it will be the new normal. That means co-responsibility and collaborative approaches not just on problems like deforestation, but on the urgent task of building new kinds of societies where governments and businesses provide for citizens within planetary boundaries.

This is the only future where the next generation has a chance, not just of surviving but thriving. If we political leaders do not work towards that, we can expect to be removed from power: the next generation will make sure of it.​