Sustainability · 2020 · 321 citations · 52 references
Social SciencesEnvironmental Social SciencePolitical ScienceEnvironmental JusticeEnvironmental PoliticsSocial MovementsActivismClimate ChangeClimate GovernanceClimate JusticeClimate PoliticsEnvironmental ActivismClimate Activism NarrativesClimate Change PoliticsClimate Strike MovementsEnvironmental MobilizationStrategic MobilizationYouth Climate MovementsYouth Environmental ActivismYouth Political Activism
Climate strikes, sparked by Greta Thunberg’s Friday school strikes, emerged in 2018–2019 as a youth‑led movement demanding decisive action on climate change, yet scholarly attention to youth mobilization has remained limited. The study investigates what motivates youth to mobilize and how their narratives shape global climate politics and governance. Youth collective action has reframed climate inaction as a justice issue and positioned young people as emerging agents of change, but their moral legitimacy has yet to translate into the power needed for sweeping reforms, underscoring the urgency of involving them in governance and policymaking.
Galvanized by Greta Thunberg’s idea for Friday school strikes, “climate strikes” emerged in 2018 and 2019 as a form of youth social movement demanding far-reaching action on climate change. Youths have taken various actions to combat climate change, but academics have not paid sufficient attention to youth climate mobilization. This study thus examines the questions of what has motivated youth to mobilize and how they have shaped global climate politics and governance. This study focuses particularly on the narrative of youth activists to address their understanding of climate change and their ideas regarding how to respond to it. Youth collective action has succeeded in problematizing global climate inaction and inertia and in framing climate change from a justice perspective, but activists have faced limitations in converting their moral legitimacy into the power required for sweeping changes. Overall, this study demonstrates the emergence of young people as agents of change in the global climate change arena and the urgency of engaging them in climate change governance and policymaking.
52