Seen and heard: The youth as game-changing role-players in climate change and environmental consciousness – A South African perspective

Youth, Faith and Environmental Consciousness in Africa: A Research Imperative for Youth Ministry within Practical Theology

“…According to Kosciulek (2020:2-3), Africa's young people are demonstrating that they are informed, enthusiastic, and engaged. Similarly, Beukes, a proponent for youth involvement in the environmental discourse also discussed why youth could be seen as key role players and participants in the battle against the environmental crisis debate owing to their diverse abilities and talents (Beukes 2021). Some of the reasons Beukes (2021:5-6) put forward are that the youth see themselves as change agents capable of altering the status quo in a variety of ways; they have a history of contributing to change; they are comfortable being disruptive; the youth are technologically inclined; etc.…”

“…In terms of ministries, I want to emphasise youth ministries explicitly because of their enormous potential, skills, resources, and traits to make a significant contribution to the battle against environmental injustice" (see Beukes 2021).…”

Youth activist paradoxes in the urban periphery of Lephalale: The struggle for employment and climate justice in a coal-rich region of South Africa

“…Southern Africa is understood to be a climate change hotspot, with youth and children most likely to be affected (Awojobi & Tetteh 2017;Betts et al 2018;Beukes 2021;Engelbrecht et al 2015;IPCC 2018;Vogel et al 2022). The region has already suffered climate variability, with increased occurrence of floods and droughts, which are expected to escalate in the future.…”

“…In this context, notwithstanding a lack of financial clarity, COP26 made an unprecedented announcement regarding a Just Energy Transition Partnership ( JETP) with South Africa to accelerate its transition from coal (Burton 2022). Despite the fact that young people are central to ecological and social justice debates, they are often depicted as uninterested and excluded from the policy and decision-making spaces -especially those in global and urban peripheries (Beukes 2021;Han & Ahn 2020). Nkrumah (2021) argues that young people are often given a tokenistic role in policy debates regarding climate change matters that most affect them.…”