ENCINITAS ---- A teenager with a passion for the environment, Rebecca Chan recently returned from Japan, where she studied the effects of climate change.

An Encinitas resident and a 2008 graduate of La Costa Canyon High School, Chan was selected to go to a "climate camp" in Okinawa, Japan, as a California Climate Champion, which is the United States' component of the British Council's International Climate Champions program. She was one of two Americans invited.

The purpose of the program is to identify young people around the world who are leaders in communicating the effects of climate change.

Chan, who now attends Columbia University, said the trip was a chance to meet with researchers and to see how climate change is affecting Japan.

"I learned a lot, mainly about coral reefs," she said. "Coral is a natural wave breaker. If we were to destroy that, it can have a lot of negative effects on the shore."

During her trip, from Aug. 19 to 24, Chan said she attended a lecture on coral reefs and snorkeled to see them up close. She also helped shoot footage and interview experts for a video, which is posted on the YouTube site.

Chan said the goal of the video is to help people understand the issue and to urge them to take action.

"We try to present climate change as a serious problem," she said, adding "we are showing that there is something that is worth saving."

Mika Karashima, a science and environment projects manager for the British Council in Japan, said the video was a way for the Climate Champions to bring their issue to light.

"The Climate Champions in Japan wanted to make a video during climate camp because they felt it was the best way to communicate their experience and message to a wide audience," she said.

Karashima also said it is important to get young people involved in the environment.

"Climate change does affect us all, but it's the young people who will inherit the impact of climate change in their adulthood," she said. "Decisions made by current adults will have significant impact on their future, and it's important that their opinions are heard in the discussion."

To that end, Chan was part of the May 2008 International Climate Champions delegation that met with G8 environmental ministers in Kobe, Japan.

Chan said the delegation presented a plan that called for a government-sponsored public awareness campaign, the usage of a carbon-emission monitoring system and the need for countries to work together to provide humanitarian aid.

Chan said it is important she and other young people continue creating awareness about the effects of climate change, especially because "our age group is the one that is going to have to deal with the issues associated with it."