By Jana Sabra | Staff Writer
Youth civic participation in climate action has become a strong driving force in the current global discourse on climate change. From the Stockholm Declaration to the most recent Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, non-state actors, including the youth segment, have been able to raise the voices of communities, with a focus on indigenous ones, and are creating a much-needed shift in the global discourse.
Given the common climate concerns shared by youth globally, it is clear that a coalition is needed to combine efforts and visions and better influence the cluster of global political leaders. The International Youth Climate Movement was created for this purpose — to combine the voices of youth climate activists and make a real change in the global discourse. It is run by a team of diverse volunteers who represent the youth at international climate negotiations. Its members include several coalitions and networks, including the Arab Youth Coalition Movement. Through this movement, youth researchers were able to issue a youth version of the Stockholm+50 report published in 2022 entitled “Charting a Youth Vision for a Just and Sustainable Future,” voicing their concerns as the future generation and pushing for more sustainability in the context of climate action in the global discourse.
Building on the mitigation pillar of climate action, since 2018, the Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg has been challenging world leaders to take immediate action and contribute to making a positive change to compensate for the deteriorating environmental bill. Through her movement, Fridays for Future, Greta remains active to make sure that youth voices and concerns are heard beyond the chairs of global policymakers.
Many youth activists have been using social media and optimizing their accounts to channel their voices to climate state actors and better their communities. Licypriya Kangujam, one of the youngest youth activists from India, was able to use Twitter to express her living conditions and devote her remuneration to the UN events she was invited to in order to aid children who are climate victims. Licypriya submitted a memorandum “on behalf of the children of the world” at COP25 in Spain, aiming to create a better place for all children of the world, with a focus on a better climate.
Recently, with the Willow project (the Alaska Oil Drilling project) becoming a reality, the community of environmental youth activists has been able to give a new educational and environmental meaning to TikTok. Hundreds of millions of views were recorded on TikTok videos with hashtags #stopwillow and #stopthewillowproject. According to experts, this is one of the very first climate-related hashtags to go trending on TikTok, proving once again the power of youth when given the right platform to channel their voices and highlighting the need for global awareness, emphasizing youth-to-youth relationships.
In summary, youth climate participation has become a key pillar for the betterment of the global discourse on climate change. By being part of civil society and pushing for tangible goals through international agreements and channeling their 21st-century technical and network skills, youth are proving themselves to be effective transformational leaders of the global discourse on climate change.