Youth and democracy in the climate crisis
ISBN 978-92-871-9239-4 (PDF) © Council of Europe and European Commission, September 2024, Printed at the Council of Europe
The adverse effects of climate change on our daily life, health and well-being are increasingly evident. In recent years, we have witnessed a rapid rise in young people’s political action, demanding that we urgently address the root causes of the climate crisis. Young people have been raising their voices through climate protests and social movements, adaptation of their personal choices and behaviour, direct engagement with policy and targeted legal action through lawsuits against states, claiming their right to a healthy environment and intergenerational justice.
This publication explores young people’s experiences of the climate crisis and their actions. It comprises eight chapters containing contributions from different authors divided into two parts. The first section explores how young people are engaging in environmental politics, while the second considers how the youth sector could respond to the climate crisis and support young people in their environmental activism across Europe and beyond.
The publication also highlights some of the emerging issues related to the climate crisis, such as recognising the unequal impact of climate change on different groups of young people, questions of intergenerational solidarity, links between climate denialism and populism, the rise of eco-anxiety (and other emotions) and, finally, the blurring of the dichotomy between humans and nature.
This Youth Knowledge Book invites the readers – young people, activists, youth workers, educators, researchers and policy makers – to find a way forward to a more sustainable and just society.