'We can overcome climate change': Richard Branson says young people should not be down about the future

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The billionaire Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson said younger generations should feel positive about the future — and that they can "achieve an enormous amount."

"Any of us who get ourselves into a position where we can make a difference, however small it is, just shouldn't waste that position," he said, speaking to CNBC's Tania Bryer last month.

When asked how he might reassure young people about their future over issues such as climate change, Branson said, "They can achieve an enormous amount, and so I honestly don't think that young people should be down about it. I think we can overcome climate change if we have the … we've got to make sure we have the right politicians at the top," he said.

"We can make sure that all the problems of the world get fixed, but we just … need to be focused and get everybody focused together to fix them," Branson said.

Branson made the comments to CNBC before Donald Trump's reelection — the president-elect is likely to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, a landmark climate pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Branson has previously described Trump as having a "vindictive streak."

Helping young people has long been a focus for Branson, who — as a teenager in 1967 — opened the Student Advisory Center to provide free advice on sex and relationships. In 2004, he founded Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, which invests in early-stage businesses to "create opportunities for a better world," and in 2018, Virgin Unite set up The NewNow, a group of young leaders who aim to represent the needs of their generation.

Branson spoke to CNBC as Virgin Unite launched a partnership with the We Are Family