Contemporary issues in youth policy

Sustainable development, or the ability of society to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, is one of the most pressing issues of our time.

The impacts of climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions, changing weather patterns, natural disasters, food security and global migrations, have direct impact on sustainable development and pose immeasurable and imminent environmental, economic, societal, humanitarian, and health risks for all people on the planet, but with special significance for young people. Since human activities have been identified as the main cause of climate change, a growing movement of young people engaged in environmental activism has been demanding immediate actions from the governments, companies and individuals, in order to reverse the impact of the crisis and ensure sustainable future.

The impact of climate change has been recognised as a priority at the European policy level.

In order to support the institutional work in this area, and Council of Europe Youth Department’s efforts at greening the youth sector, the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership has developed several resources, including:

• the T-KIT on Sustainability and Youth Work, Sustainability Checklist,
• the analytical paper Disobedient youth: Lessons from the youth climate strike movement,  
• research on sustainability and learning mobility, and
• numerous videos and podcasts.