Climate change experts tell us that, while changing your personal behavior will help, it's going to take major policy change to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

So, what can you do to help shift policy?

Dozens of Minnesota teens found out at the Youth Climate Justice Summit at the state Capitol this week. Organized by Youth Environmental Activists Minnesota and Climate Generation, the event gave students pointers on how to advocate for change and a chance to put them to work in meetings with lawmakers.

If that sounds intimidating, 15-year-old Adri Arquin of St. Paul said it shouldn’t.

“Lawmakers are people. They're all former teachers. They all held other jobs within their lifetime and they've just decided to run for office,” he said. “They're not scary.”

Arquin sits on the Minnesota Youth Council, which advises legislators and the governor on issues that young people care about. In 2017, he went to Germany for a UN Climate Summit. And last year he helped organize the climate strike that brought thousands of students to the state Capitol.

“This is an existential threat to us as a society. And it's our job to fight for the people that can't fight for themselves,” Arquin said. “We have shown that we are able, as youth, to bring out so many people to support our cause of climate justice and climate activism. We have really been the ones that are sparking change inside this legislature and inside this government right now.”

So what's Arquin's formula for making his case to lawmakers?