Exploring youth activism on climate change: dutiful, disruptive, and dangerous dissent

Abstract

The policies and decisions made today will influence climate and sustainability outcomes for the remainder of this century and beyond, and youth today have a large stake in this future. Many youth are expressing dissent toward economic, social, and environmental policies and practices that contribute to climate change in diverse ways, but clearly not all forms of climate activism have the same impact or repercussions. We have presented a typology for understanding youth dissent as expressed through climate activism. Recognizing the complex empirical reality of youth concerns about climate change, this typology has distinguished three types of activism as dutiful, disruptive, and dangerous dissent. By drawing attention to multiple ways for youth to express their political agency both within and outside of traditional political processes, we have highlighted and analyzed the diverse ways that youth are challenging power relationships and political interests to promote climate-resilient futures.Ecology and Society 23(3): 42 https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art42/

Youth climate activists meet environmental governance: ageist depictions of the FFF movement and Greta Thunberg in German newspaper coverage

“…This contradicts scientific literature on (youth) climate activism (Burciaga and Martinez 2017;O'Brien, Selboe and Hayward 2018). Access to and engagement with democratic institutions is required in order to form 'alternatives that in the long run can threaten vested interests and the status quo in unconventional ways' (O'Brien et al 2018; also see Gencoglu and Yarkin 2019). The ongoing protests of the FridaysForFuture movement worldwide and Greta Thunberg hints at a strong environmentally awareness of young people today.…”

‘Generation Z’ and ‘ second generation’: an agenda for learning from cross-cultural negotiations of the climate crisis in the lives of second generation immigrants

“…This and other research on political socialisation raises important questions for second generation immigrants at a time of youth-led climate activism. Social and print media, as well as (still limited) scholarship on youth climate activism suggest that for many young people, the climate crisis is presented and perceived as a justice issue, which intersects with other struggles (O'Brien, Selboe, and Hayward 2018). Recent reporting on youth participation in Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests highlights the accounts of protesters of colour who state that their previous engagement in climate strikes galvanised their engagement in BLM and who express a view that the climate crisis is 'an ethical and political issue, not just an environmental one' (Murray and Mohdin 2020).…”

“…Possibilities for engaging in organised climate activism are marked by socio-spatial inequalities including school enrolment, internet and computer access, andprior to strike action moving online in response to the Covid-19 pandemicproximity to strike gatherings, which are largely concentrated in the urban Global North (Walker 2020). Moreover, from existing research on youth political geographies, it is known that young people's gender, class, race, ethnicity and dis/ability all impact upon their engagement in activism, with many young people expressing a lack of trust in political systems, or a reticence to identify with the role of activist despite political engagement (Kallio and Häkli 2013;O'Brien, Selboe, and Hayward 2018). For these reasons, it is necessary to look beyond high profile activism to the diversity of ways that children and young people express and act upon climate and environmental concerns in different socio-spatial contexts: what this viewpoint collection terms 'everyday climate crisis activism'.…”

Roots, Riots, and Radical Change—A Road Less Travelled for Ecological Economics

“…The capitalist state needs to be challenged and criticised much more overtly than is currently done in ecological economics, and powerful state-capital alliances discredited and dismantled if they continue to support environmental and social destruction. The role of social movements and independent research is crucial in this respect, or a combination of both [115].…”