The evolution of youth movements in global environmental politics (1992-2021)

Young people have recently received worldwide attention in regards to environmental protection. The most prominent individual is Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish woman who gave speeches at UN conferences. The “Fridays for Future” movement initiated by her has attracted massive attention on the urgency of climate change issues. The “Greta Generation” includes many diverse actors such as Anuna De Wever and Kyra Gantois, who organised the Climate March movement in Europe, and Nakabuye Hilda Flavia, the leading figure for environmental protection in Uganda. However, individual activists are only the iceberg’s visible tip because many organisations represent youth in earth politics. For instance, YOUNGO is the official youth umbrella group at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since 2011. The Global Youth Biodiversity Network, created in 2008, regularly presents its views during Conferences of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Also, major environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Friends of the Earth are opening youth branches as a result of youth saliency. While youth representation in international politics is unfolding at an unprecedented speed and scope, a paradox exists. So far, there has been no comprehensive scientific knowledge of the formal participation of youth actors in earth politics’ negotiations. To fill this gap, this paper presents the early result of a four-year research project, “Youth goals in Earth politics.” It proposes the first systematic and comprehensive inventory of youth actors in climate change (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) negotiations between 1992 and 2021