The Inconvenient Truths of the Eco-Generation: Mapping the Role of Children (and Youth) in the Global Climate Change Governance

Summary

ABSTRACT

Attributing children the characteristics of political actors is not necessarily immediate or conspicuous. This could be even more pronounced when environmentally concerned young people (ecological citizens) wish to act across national borders to address global environmental problems. Even though children are identified as key actors in the sustainable implementation of long-term climate change policies, and their inclusion in decision-making processes is recognised as a guarantee of intergenerational equity, children's access to different participatory methods, spaces and processes in public affairs has been the subject of debate for decades. Based on an ongoing socio-legal doctoral research, this contribution takes into account two main approaches to children's statuses and roles in climate change governance: firstly, the normative background of children's right to participate in public affairs in the area of climate change, mainly at international level; and secondly, the social developments of the mainstream methods and tools of participation, including the recent emergence of climate change lawsuits and the global youth movement. The contribution includes recommendations for strengthening the socio-, legal and policy framework which could provide guarantees for children to participate in climate change governance.

PROLOGUE: THREE EPISODES

• 1. Ahead of the United Nations (UN) Climate Action Summit in New York starting on 23 September 2019, a side event, organised for the first time by the UN exceptionally for young people involved in protecting the climate, took place on 21 September 2019. The gathering was called the ‘UN Climate Change Youth Summit’, but interestingly when the call for participation was launched, the minimum age for applicants was set to 18, and a resume of the applicant that matched the expectations of the organisers was required. Following a highly selective procedure, ‘one hundred outstanding young climate champions from around the world’ out of over 7,000 applicants received a funded ‘Green Ticket’ to travel the Summit in New York. For the unsuccessful applicants, a variety of alternative participatory methods were suggested: among others, to record a video about their own climate leadership and post it on Twitter; to follow the Youth Summit livestream on the Summit website with the possibility of sharing a message with the global audiences of the Summit; and to host a separate ‘minisummit’ with support from the ‘Museum for the United Nations – UN Live’.