Chartinga youth vision
for a just andsustainable
futureAbout us
SEI is an international non-profit research and policy
organization that tackles environment and development
challenges. SEI was founded in 1989 and is named
after the Stockholm Declaration of 1972. We look to
the Declaration as the origin of our mandate, and we
fulfil that mandate through research and engagement.
CEEW is one of Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy
research institutions. The Council uses data, integrated
analysis, and strategic outreach to explain – andchange – the use, reuse and misuse of resources. The
Council addresses pressing global challenges throughan integrated and internationally focused approach.
It prides itself on the independence of its high-quality
research, develops partnerships with public and private
institutions, and engages with the wider public.

Aggarwal, D., Esquivel, N., Hocquet, R., Martin, K.,
Mungo, C., Nazareth, A., Nikam, J., Odenyo, J.,
Ravindran, B., Kurinji, L. S., Shawoo, Z., & Yamada, K.
(2022). Charting a youth vision for a just andsustainable future. Stockholm Environment Institute.
DOI: 10.51414/sei2022.010

Content
Authors 	

4

Acknowledgements 	4

Foreword 	

6

Preface	7Summary: A future for youth, a future for all 	8

Key messages 	

10

A Youth Vision	

121

At the cusp of a transition	

14

2

A healthy planet for the prosperity of all	

18

2.1

Pushing the planet beyond its limits 	

19

2.2 A world plagued by injustice 	

20

3

22

A youth vision for the planet’s future	

3.1 Health, well-being and communal solidarity	

25

3.2 Living in harmony with nature		26

3.3 International solidarity: living as one global family 	

28

3.4 A world where all humans are equal	

30

4

32

Sustainable and inclusive recovery	

4.1 Lessons from COVID-19	

33

4.2 Policy pathways for an inclusive planetary recovery 	

36

4.3 Selected survey responses	

43

5

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond	

44

5.1

Inclusivity of youth through representation in governance	46

5.2 Empowering youth through climate education	50

5.3 Interconnectedness of institutions and policies	

54

5.4 Accountability through litigation	

55

5.5 Accelerating implementation: calls to action for policymakers 	

57

Conclusion 	

60

References	61

Appendix	

66Authors
Dhruvak Aggarwal, Research Analyst, CEEW; Nhilce Esquivel, Research
Associate, SEI Headquarters; Robin Hocquet, Research Associate, SEI Oxford;
Kristiina Martin, Expert, SEI Tallinn; Carol Mungo, Research Fellow, SEI Africa;
Anisha Nazareth, Associate Scientist, SEI US; Jaee Nikam, Research Associate,
SEI Asia (Coordinating Lead Author); Javan Odenyo, Consultant, SEI Africa;
Bhuvan Ravindran, Research Analyst, CEEW; L. S. Kurinji, Programme Associate,
CEEW; Zoha Shawoo, Associate Scientist, SEI US; Kohei Yamada, Programme
Coordinator, SEI Asia
Press contacts: Jenny Wickman (jenny.wickman@sei.org); Riddhima Sethi(riddhima.sethi@ceew.in)

Acknowledgements

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

We thank the reviewers of earlier drafts.

4

We also thank the following organizations for their help in disseminating
the survey:
African Youth Initiative on Climate Change Loss and Damage Youth Coalition,
Asia‑Europe Foundation Young Leaders Summit, Catholic Youth Network
for Environmental Sustainability in Africa (CYNESA), Champions of theEnvironment Foundation, Cleantech Estonia, Climate Centre’s Y-Adapt
community (International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement), Earth
Advocacy Youth, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Future Earth, Green Forum, Humanity in Action Polska, Indian Youth
Climate Network (IYCN), International Science Council, International YouthFederation, Jeunes Ambassadeurs pour le Climat, Jeunes Volontaires Pour
L’Environnenent (JVE), Least Developed Countries Universities Consortium
on Climate Change (LUCCC), Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE),SOS Environnement Djibouti, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm+50
Youth Task Force, Strathmore University Student Council, Student Energy,
Swedish International Agriculture Network Initiative (SIANI), UN Development
Programme, UN International Children’s Emergency Fund, UN Youth Task
Force, United Nations, University of Namibia, Water Youth Network, Young
Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), YOUNGO, Youth
Empowerment in Climate Action Platform (YECAP), and our friends, peers,and families.
We thank the advisory panel members for the report Stockholm+50:
Unlocking a Better Future, for their thoughts and reflections, with special
thanks to Charles Mwangi for review and guidance:
Ajay Mathur (Director General, International Solar Alliance), Andrew Norton(Director, International Institute for Environment and Development),
Antonia Gawel (Head, Climate; World Economic Forum), Céline Charveriat(Executive Director, Institute for European Environmental Policy),

Charles Mwangi (Research, Education and Outreach Lead, Kenya Space
Agency), Dominic Waughray (Special Advisor to CEO, World Business Council
for Sustainable Development), Elliot Harris (UN Assistant Secretary‑Generalfor Economic Development, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs),
Fatima Denton (Director, UN University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa),
George C. Varughese (SEI Associate), Janez Potočnik (Co-Chair, International
Resource Panel), Joanes Atela (Director, Climate Resilient Economies
Programme; African Centre for Technology Studies), Johan Kuylenstierna(Research Leader, SEI York; Chair, Swedish Climate Policy Council),Johan Rockström (Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research),
Julio A. Berdegué (Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative
Latin America and the Caribbean, UN Food and Agriculture Organization),
Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu (Professor, University of Pretoria), Melissa Leach(Director, Institute of Development Studies), Michael Lazarus (Senior Scientist
and Center Director, SEI US), Nicole Leotaud (Executive Director, Caribbean
Natural Resources Institute, CANARI), Niki Frantzeskaki (Professor, Swinburne
University of Technology), Nitin Desai (Chair, TERI), Oksana Mont (Professor,
Lund University), Pushpam Kumar (Chief, Ecosystem Services Economics
Unit, UN Environment Programme), Sébastien Treyer (Executive Director,l’Institut du développement durable et des relations internationals, IDDRI),
Shardul Agrawala (Head of the Environment and Economic Integration
Division, OECD), Ulrika Modéer (Assistant Secretary‑General, UN Development
Programme), Wang Yi (Vice President, Chinese Academy of Sciences Institutesof Science and Development) and Yasuo Takahashi (Executive Director,
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, IGES).
Report steering committee
Prayank Jain (Special Assistant to the CEO, CEEW), Somya Joshi (Headof Division, SEI), Åsa Persson (Research Director and Deputy Director,
SEI), Robert Watt (Communications Director and Head of Strategic Policy
Engagement, SEI), Nina Weitz (Research Fellow and Team Leader, SEI)
Communications and media team
Jenny Wickman (Press Officer, SEI), Brenda Ochola (Communications Officer,
SEI), Molly Burd (Digital Coordinator, SEI), Mayank Munjal (Communications
Associate, CEEW), Mihir Shah (Strategic Communications Lead, CEEW),
Riddhima Sethi (Communications Specialist, CEEW); Naomi Lubick (Editor, SEI)

Funders
This report has been independently produced with funding provided by the
Swedish Ministry of the Environment. It also received funding from the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) core support to SEI.
The content of this report is the responsibility of the authors and does notnecessarily reflect the positions or opinions of the funding organizations.
This report was written in association with the scientific report Stockholm+50:
Unlocking a Better Future [SEI & CEEW (2022). Stockholm+50: Unlocking a
Better Future. Stockholm Environment Institute. DOI: 10.51414/sei2022.011].

Acknowledgements

Layout and graphical content
designbysoapbox.com

5Foreword
Sustainable development has been defined as ‘development that meets the needs of thepresent without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.
The key principle underlying this definition is that of intergenerational equity – that what
we do now to meet the current challenges of poverty eradication and social and economic
progress must not erode the prospects of good living for the generations to come.
This principle is seldom a determining factor in the policy, investment or technologicalchoices made by decision makers. Their vision rarely extends beyond their term ofoffice – next election for politicians, next year’s profits for corporate managers, immediate
commercial value of innovations for technology managers. Yes, there may be some modest
recognition of longer-term consequences; but not enough to sway decisions.
This needs to change. Such long-term views have been the focus of major global
initiatives, including the 1972 Stockholm Conference, subsequent UN summits, and deeper
negotiating processes such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as wellas others dealing with challenges such as biodiversity protection and desertification andland degradation. Yet the reality is that the impact of these long-term initiatives on current
decisions is modest.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

There are many reasons for this. One reason is that the voice of the future generations
who may be adversely affected by today’s decisions is not heard in conferences andeven less so in decision-making processes. This is why this report, which presents
the views of over 1000 young people from 91 countries, is a crucial contribution for
the Stockholm+50 meeting. It analyses the past and articulates a vision that captures
the aspiration and determination of young people, to realize a healthy planet for all.
What matters even more is that young people have shown a greater proclivity to
express solidarity with other currently vulnerable groups.

6

These young people are our link between today and tomorrow. They are the ones
who will experience the consequences of climate change, biodiversity loss, continuing
or worsening inequality long after the older decision makers are no longer around. That
is why it is so important to not just listen to them but to involve them more fully in the
deliberative and decision-making processes that will shape the future of our planet
and of our human community.
At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 I sat on the podium and was spellbound when then12-year-old Severn Suzuki spoke. She said: ‘In my anger, I am not blind, and in my fear,
I am not afraid of telling the world how I feel.’ This well-articulated report does the same,as a thousand young people present to us their understanding of our present failures
and their vision of where we need to go. Our challenge now is to move their engagement
beyond dialogue to decision making.

Nitin Desai, Chair, The Energy and Resources Institute
Former Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, UN
Delhi, April 2022

PrefaceWe, the young people who have authored this report, express
our determination to foster this shift in the following words:

Photo: South_agency / Getty

Preface

At the cusp of this transition,
We emerge,
Envisioning a world of dignity for all
At the helm of this transition,
We stand,
Determined to realize this united callAt the core of this transition,
We work
to transform our world,
Once and for all.

7

Summary: A future for youth,
a future for all
We, the authors of this report, were not yet born when nations first met in
Stockholm, 50 years ago, to take responsibility for protecting and improving
the environment while ensuring equity of human development.
The better world envisioned then has not come to pass. It is now our world,
and the next 50 years is our future. This report articulates a vision for ourshared future that captures the aspiration, determination and solidarityof young people, to realize a healthy planet for all.
We have taken into account the latest science, identified policy gaps,
and studied systemic challenges to formulate a concrete vision for ahealthy planet for all by 2030. We also make policy
suggestions for accelerating implementation andovercoming roadblocks in pursuit of this vision.
The report integrates findings from a global online
survey conducted of more than 900 young people(18 – 30 years old) from 89 countries, with a focus
on following a consultative process for chartinga youth vision and subsequent policy suggestions.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Our vision
requires hearing
the voices ofyouth in thedecisions taken
now that will lay
the groundworkfor our future.

8

The youth of today have inherited a world shapedby the governance systems and national policies
established over the past 50 years, in which weface intertwined crises of the state of our planet
and extreme inequality among people and societies.
Since 1972 the human population and its total carbon
emissions have more than doubled. We have enteredan era where humans have become a driving force that changes the planet,
as we exceed our ecological footprint as a species.
We realize that this generation and the next ones will bear the brunt ofclimate change impacts. More than half of the respondents to the survey
for this report said that they feel anxiety due to climate change.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the vulnerability of our economies,
shed light on the costs of delayed action, and clearly has had disproportionate
impacts on different groups of people, both economically and socially.
It taught us the importance of cooperation through global solidarity; theimportance of acknowledging crises at its early states to avoid costly delaysof inaction; as well as the importance of eliminating social and economic
inequalities that deepen, and are deepened by, crises.
These lessons can be applied to the intertwined challenges we face,with implications for all as well as specifically for youth today.

Our future
Our hopes are for a better future, one perhaps similar in many ways to thatenvisioned half a century ago.
Our vision is four parts, based on solidarity among all people, living withnature, equality for all, and health and well-being for all. Achieving theseends requires systemic change at a massive scale; the systems in which welive need to address and remove inequality from many perspectives – includingintergenerationally, geographically, related to gender, ethnicity, racism
and colonialism.
Rather than economic growth, we find that community focused living, educationand health are appropriate metrics of the prosperity of a country. It should
further be measured by its ‘natural capital’ like the quality of its air, soil andwater; biodiversity and integrity of ecosystems and land use, as countries
with functional environmental ecosystems are more resilient to the impacts ofclimate change and can provide higher standards of living to their inhabitants.
Our vision also requires hearing the voices of youth in the decisions taken
now that will lay the groundwork for our future. Half of the global populationis under age 30. Youth currently lack adequate voice in economic and politicalmatters, and yet they – we – have led change for equality and a better world.
We can capitalize most obviously on the global youth movement against
climate change – which needs to be amplified. The solutions and actions young
people bring to the table can be shared and scaled up. We need actions now,in this decade, to set our course for the next 50 years.

Youth need more opportunities to engage in different forums and voice theirconcerns. Youth need to be involved in policy development processes, andyouth voices legitimized in mainstream policymaking. Youth need greater
decision-making, financial and political power to become the leaders of
tomorrow that transform the status quo.
For this to happen, governance needs to be reformed to ensure better youth
inclusivity, interconnectedness and accountability, with education and capacity
building of youth playing a key role. Policymakers need to accelerate youth
representation in major political forums, but also go beyond that to actively act
on and implement youth recommendations, as well as giving youth the power
to do so themselves.
We envision a world in which the development of societies centres onhappiness, well-being and solidarity. Recognizing and encouraging youth
as agents of change is one way to reach that world. Our youth vision requires
we all work together for a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Summary: A future for youth, a future for all

We believe that regulatory bodies have not taken enough action during the
COVID-19 pandemic, to secure economic and social security and well-being;a similar statement can be made for other crises humanity has faced. Actions
taken by governments at all levels and by other sectors could bring our worldcloser to the youth vision of a healthy planet with dignity and equality for all.

9

Key messages
This report is a companion to the independent scientific report
Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future (SEI & CEEW, 2022)
prepared ahead of the UN international meeting ‘Stockholm+50:
a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, ouropportunity’, prepared by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). This
report is meant to capture the perspectives of youth, authoredby a group of early-career researchers at SEI and CEEW.
An online survey was conducted to further assess attitudes
and views of youth, with responses from more than 900 young
people around the world.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

A key message that has risen to the top in the course of
conducting our survey and writing this report is that youth needmore opportunities to engage in different forums and voice theirconcerns. This report incorporates the survey’s recommendations
for how to ensure adequate youth participation and involvement,
including specific political representation.

10

We need a healthy planet for the prosperity of all, but we areharming ourselves and the planet’s systems for the prosperityof a few. Pursuit of economic growth as the only metric ofprogress has opened the door for environmental degradation
and rising inequality, to an extent that threatens the health andsafety of young generations.
More than half of the respondents to the survey for thisreport said that they feel anxiety due to climate change.
This generation and the next ones will bear the brunt ofclimate change impacts, as extreme weather events become
more frequent and severe: a child born in 2020 will experienceon average twice as many wildfires, 2.6 times as many
drought events, 2.8 times as many river floods, and 6.8 times
more heatwaves across their lifetimes, compared to a person
born in 1960.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the failures ofour current economic systems and governance regimes
in shielding vulnerable populations and youth from bearing
the brunt of global crises. The pandemic has shed lighton the need for greater global solidarity, the importanceof listening to the science, the costs of delayed action
and the interdependence between humans and nature.
Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic can be applied
to address the climate crisis and achieve sustainability more
effectively by providing more social safety nets to vulnerable
populations globally, listening to the science and taking urgent
action to scale up a low-carbon transition in all sectors, investingin a green economic COVID-19 recovery, and focusing onprotecting and restoring nature.
Youth need to be involved in roundtable discussions andduring policy development processes. Furthermore, policy
and scientific reports need to be shared in accessible language
so that children and youth can understand them correctly andmake informed decisions – and create a sense of ownershipfor children and youth.
Youth have been at the forefront of advancing sustainability
through calling for and acting on systemic change, througha combination of activism, litigation and on-the-ground
efforts. However, youth voices also need to be legitimized
in mainstream policymaking, with greater decision-making,financial and political power to enable youth to become
the leaders of tomorrow and transform the status quo.

Key messages

Governance needs to be reformed to ensure better youth
inclusivity, interconnectedness and accountability, witheducation and capacity building of youth playing a key role.
Policymakers need to accelerate youth representation in major
political forums, but also go beyond that to actively act on
and implement youth recommendations, as well as giving
youth the power to do so themselves.

11

A Youth Vision
The following vision formulated by the authors of this report is for a justand sustainable future, from a youth perspective, for all. This vision calls
for transformation of the trajectory we are currently following for humandevelopment, and requires prioritizing the following:
Happiness, dignity and well-being for all: A world where growth and progress
is not framed in economic terms but by values that truly matter to young
people, such as health, education, happiness, solidarity, time spent with families
and friends, volunteer work, etc., as opposed to economic metrics such as
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that fuel excess consumption and production
patterns. Fulfilling the SDGs by 2030 will be a key milestone for this vision.
Change the trajectory of growth: Reach two concrete short-term goals
to restore humanity’s fractured relationship with nature by 2030:(a) Zero Loss of Nature
A world without offsets: Current developmental projects that involve
biodiversity loss are granted official clearances based on offsets. Studies
have however shown that this would lead to a significant loss of natureby ­mid‑century. Nature must be left alone.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Growth within the planetary boundaries: This requires nations to bring backgrowth within the planetary boundaries, based on considerations of equity
and justice. In order for the planet to regain its resilience, societies must
function sustainably and current economic models must be discarded.

12

Accounting for environmental integrity: A world that measures a country’s
prosperity and ‘development’ according to the state of its natural capital, i.e.,the quality of its air, soils and water, the diversity of terrestrial and aquatic life,
the integrity of its ecosystems, etc. The classification of nations as ‘developed’and ‘developing’ based on nature-agnostic metrics is not encouraged; instead,
amplify examples of nations prospering harmoniously with nature.
(b) Limit global temperature rise to under 1.5°C
Crossing the threshold of a 1.5°C world will eliminate species, deteriorate wellbeing and rupture ecosystems beyond repair. Reject the ‘overshoot pathway’,a growth trajectory where the world crosses 1.5°C by mid-century only toattempt a return by 2100 (Climate Analytics, 2021). Reversing the temperature
is possible, but reversing its impacts is not. Halve climate-changing emissions
by 2030, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 as
humanity’s last chance at a planet of dignity for all.
International Solidarity: Live as one global family. Promoting global
citizenship in sustainable development will allow individuals to embrace
their social responsibility to act for the benefit of all societies, not just theirown. Environmental challenges faced today cross all borders. The principles
of solidarity and collective action serve as a basis for tackling these issues

at the personal, local, national, regional and global level. Global diplomacy
must cast away the narrow idea of ‘mutual advantage’ synonymous with quid
pro quos. Rather, people and governments must recognise that true ‘mutualadvantage’ lies in collectively addressing and overcoming global challenges
that will eventually impact every country in an interdependent world.

•
•
•
•

Photo: Alex Treadway / Getty

A Youth Vision••

A world of equality for all:End income inequality (more of ‘traditional’ inequality)
Provide social security (covers health, disability, education, accessto resources)
End disparities thrown into harsh relief by the pandemic
Decrease inequality in people’s mobility (e.g. migration, refugees)
Erase inequality among and within countries (the rich groups / countries
and vulnerable groups / countries)
Make social and economic opportunities equal for all (gender, youth)13

1

At the cuspof a transition

Five decades ago, nations met in Stockholm and acknowledged their collective
duty to protect and improve the environment (United Nations, 1973). In thesubsequent 50 years, the human population and its carbon emissions morethan doubled. As humanity has expanded, humans have altered 75% of
the Earth’s ice-free land and decimated wildlife populations by nearly 70%.
Until the 1970s, humanity’s ecological footprint fit within Earth’s regenerative
capacity (World Wide Fund for Nature, 2020). We have now exceeded it, andas a result, we have entered an era where humans have become a driving force
that changes the planet.
Our activities have increased the ‘biocapacity deficit’ which is the overuse
beyond the biological capacity of ecosystems. Recent research has shownthat nearly three quarters of people live in countries with biocapacity deficits
and lower than average income, in an ‘ecological poverty trap’ (Wackernagel
et al., 2021). Such a trap means that people cannot
afford resources outside of their own ecologicalboundaries, and cannot escape poverty, increasing
their biocapacity deficit. This situation underscoresthat the world today, 50 years after the 1972 UN
Conference on the Human Environment (the Stockholm
Conference), remains inequitable and far fromprosperous, for both human and non‑human life.

A transition isunder way, froma past of human
domination overnature to a futureof co-existence.

The 1972 UN conference on the Human Environment,
noted two possible paths for our future: ‘massive
and irreversible harm’ to the planet on account ofthe ‘ignorance and indifference’ of humans or ‘a better life’ for humans ina thriving environment ‘through fuller knowledge and wiser action’ (United
Nations, 1973). Unfortunately, the former vision has come true.
This report comes at a point in history that could potentially determine the fateof life on the planet. A transition is under way, from a past of human domination
over nature to a future of co-existence.

This report integrates findings from a global online survey of more than
900 young people from 89 countries, with a focus on following a consultative
process for charting a youth vision and subsequent policy suggestions.
For this survey, youth were defined as people between 18 and 30 years old.

At the cusp of a transition

In order to accelerate the changes necessary at this historic moment, we, theyoung authors from around the world who have written this report, articulate
a vision that captures the aspiration, determination and solidarity of young
people, to realize a healthy planet for all. The following report integrates thelatest science, identifies policy gaps, and studies systemic challenges toformulate a concrete vision for a healthy planet for all by 2030. We also makepolicy suggestions for accelerating implementation and overcoming roadblocks
in pursuit of this vision.

15

We have drafted this report with the following shared convictions:• The Stockholm Conference was a momentous opportunity to shift global
trajectories towards a healthy planet for all by 2030. Half a century later,
the international environmental meeting ‘Stockholm+50: a healthy planet
for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity’, to be held in
Stockholm 2 and 3 June 2022, gives us a significant opportunity to accelerate
the existing efforts toward more inclusive development.
• Our vision for a healthy planet, framed with feedback from youth around theworld, is a shared aspiration of the authors and survey respondents, who bothdemand and seek to make real this vision through actions.
• This report is envisioned to serve as a basis for current and future open youth
dialogues and for creating global solidarity among youth, for a healthy planetwith dignity for all.
In 2019, about half the global population consisted of people below the ageof 30, according to the UN Population Division. Children and youth, therefore,
are the single largest demographic group in the world. Because of individuals’
expected life spans, children and youth today can be considered the mostvulnerable to climate change and its prolonged impacts. At the same time,
given the large share of children and youth in the total population, they havethe potential to have the largest collective power to shape consumption
patterns, as well as local, national and global decisions through solidarity.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Given that social media is prevalent in many young people’s lives, youth may
have better access to information than their elders in some cases. This makes
them well-placed to promote environmental awarenessand knowledge exchange. Also, youth could introduce
new ideas and outlooks that go beyond ‘anti-ecological’ways of thinking (UN, 2003).

16

Mainstreaming
the voices oftoday’s youth
is key to realizinga healthy futureon the planet
for all.

Building the capacity and mainstreaming the voicesof today’s youth are key to realizing a healthy futureon the planet for all. Today’s youth have the potential
to make the transition from intent and promises todecisive and genuine action.

We, the young authors of this report, propose that at
the crux of our current planetary-scale problems lies
a fundamental lack of certain foundational values that
individuals in particular and societies at large have failed to internalize. To drive
progress after the Stockholm+50 international meeting, and realize the youth
vision for a healthy planet, we suggest that the following values should be
mindfully integrated at all levels of decision-making:(a) Interconnectedness
An appreciation is required of the interdependence of people across nationaland continental boundaries, as well as the interrelationship between humans
and our natural environment. Implicit in this insight is that actions cannot
be taken without due consideration of their potential impacts on people andnature, both within and beyond one’s line of sight. This understanding also

underlines an unprecedented opportunity that this crisis presents: to create
global solidarity in our pursuit for a better future.
(b) Inclusivity
At the heart of this value are the principles of ‘leaving no one behind’ and‘reaching the furthest first’, as enshrined in the 2030 Agenda. It embodies
the empathy that should drive decision-making in a post-Stockholm+50
world, so that decision makers consider the impacts of actions on all sectionsof the planet, especially the most vulnerable. The most vulnerable include
children, women, elders, physically handicapped of all ages, transgenderedpeople and Indigenous peoples, as well as people living in areas of highclimate vulnerability such as small island developing countries. From anintergenerational perspective, inclusivity implies having the sensitivity to factor
in the impacts of decisions made in the present on generations in the future.
Another aspect of inclusivity is its application. It should extend to all people,
both in the sense of being factored into the decisions being made, as wellas participating in the decision-making process on an equal footing.
Inclusivity across sectors requires considering biodiversity in all its forms,
from the gene level to populations to entire species, and the ecosystems where
they live. Land use, the health of oceans and more are included in the 2030
Agenda; the environment also requires our consideration and representation(see the forthcoming report, Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future, SEI and
CEEW, 2022).

The following report integrates the abovementioned foundational values and convictions,while being cognisant of the key themes of
the Stockholm+50 meeting, to suggest actionable
recommendations based on science to create
a concrete vision for a healthy planet for all.
Photo: Grandriver / Getty

At the cusp of a transition(c) Accountability
This foundational principle seeks to eliminate harmful environmental impacts
across the planet, leading to declining health and well-being for the planet’s
systems and people. Far too many people and conglomerates have evaded
punishment for environmental wrongdoings, due
to reasons such as lack of political will and lobbying(International Institute for Sustainable Development,2019). Such inaction further exacerbates the
problem of non-compliance with regulations andthe ignorance of principles central to coexistenceof people and nature on the planet. It also touches
the need to address inequity in historical carbon
emissions, to translate them into ambitious climate
action in the present via greater technologicaland financial exchange between the Global Northand Global South.

17

2

A healthy
planet forthe prosperityof allHumanity has long prioritized economic growth as the key metric of progress;
this well-entrenched objective has opened the door for environmental
degradation and rising inequalities, to an extent that threatens the healthand safety of younger and future generations. We examine the extent of humanimpact on the planet, to justify the ambition and urgency behind the vision
we present here.
Humans are currently damaging the planet at an unprecedented rate.
Throughout the Anthropocene (an age where human activity has a dominant
impact on the planet and its systems), human impact on the Earth’s
biogeochemical systems has dramatically increased. Our soaring demands
for energy, food and other resources have been met at high cost to the planet’s
natural processes including rising temperatures; air, soil and water pollution;
depletion of natural resources; and destruction of biodiversity.
Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.08°C per decade since 1880, and therate of warming over the past 40 years is more than twice that, at 0.18°C per
decade since 1981 (IPCC, 2021). To date, human activities have significantly
altered three-quarters of the land-based environment and approximately
two-thirds of the marine environment (IPBES, 2019). These two factors, among
others, are responsible for the 60% decline in animal populations witnessed
between 1970 and 2014 (WWF & ZSL, 2018).

2.1 Pushing the planet beyond
its limits

Young people
will live with theconsequencesof activitiesof the past.

In our survey, 88% of the young people responding
feel that climate change has impacted them in someway, including increased experience of natural
disasters and extreme weather; physical and mental
health; economic and business activities; behaviouralchange; and food supply and consumption (see Figure 1). The current
youth generation (people below the age of 30) and future ones will bear
the brunt of climate change, as extreme weather events are predicted withhigh confidence to become more frequent and severe, among other predictedchanges. Researchers estimate that a child born in 2020 will experiencean average of twice as many wildfires, 2.6 times as many drought events,
2.8 times as many river floods, and 6.8 times more heatwaves throughout

A healthy planet for the prosperity of all

Climate and environmental disruptions pose a major threat to human healthand safety, and young people will live with the consequences of activitiesof the past that will push the planet outside of a ‘safe operating space forhumanity’ or the planetary boundaries. Scientists
recently proposed that humans have already crossed
the fifth of nine planetary boundaries: the boundaryfor ‘novel entities’ and chemical pollution (Persson
et al., 2022).

19their lifetimes, as compared to a person born in 1960 (Luten et al., 2021; Perera,
2017; see Figure 2).
Not only does current and past human activity increase the likelihood ofdisasters in the future, but it may also lead societies to cross critical thresholds
or ‘tipping points’ that would trigger major irreversible and catastrophic
changes to the Earth system (IPCC, 2021). For example, thawing of permafrost
due to rising temperatures could lead to harmful impacts, such as releaseof large amounts of greenhouse gases or potentially harmful microbes lying
dormant in the ice, and would in turn accelerate global warming and further
thaw of the permafrost (IPCC, 2021).

2.2 A world plagued by injusticeCharting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Climate change and injustice are closely intertwined. On the one hand, climatechange is driven by the overconsumption of the richest: the world’s richest 10%
are responsible for half of all greenhouse gas emissions (Bruckner et al., 2022;
Kartha et al., 2020). On the other hand, the poorest are the most vulnerable
to the impacts of climate change and related extreme weather events (floods,
storms, droughts, sea-level rise, and so forth). People in low-income countries
are at least four times more likely to be displaced by extreme weather events(Oxfam, 2019).

20

Injustice goes beyond climate change. The current economic system fuels
income inequality. As of 2022, the richest 10% of the global population earns
more than half of global income, whereas the poorest half earns 8.5% of thetotal. An average individual from the top 10% of the global income distribution
earns USD 122 100 per year; one from the poorest
half, USD 3920 per year (Chancel et al., 2022). The
COVID-19 pandemic saw the 10 richest men in theworld double their fortunes, while 160 million people
were forced into poverty, in addition to the 3.2 billion
already living in poverty (Ahmed et al., 2022).

The richest 10%of the global
population earns
more than halfof global income,whereas thepoorest half earns
8.5% of the total.

Instead of ‘an unhealthy planet for the prosperityof a few’, our vision – like the SDGs and others –is of a healthy planet for the prosperity of all.

Figure 1
Impact of climate change on youth

88.5% affected

11.5% not affected

Derived fromthe youth survey.

Figure 2
Lifetime exposure to extreme events under Paris Agreement pledges for children
born in 2020 compared that of a person born in 1960

x 6.8

x6

x5

x4

x3

x 2.8

x2

x 2.8

x 2.6

x2
x1

0
Born
Born
in 1960 in 2020

Born
Born
in 1960 in 2020

2 timesthe riskof wildfires

Born
Born
in 1960 in 2020

2.8 times
more
crop failures

Source: (Luten et al., 2021; Thiery et al., 2021)

Born
Born
in 1960 in 2020

2.6 times
moredroughts

Born
Born
in 1960 in 2020

2.8 times
moreriver floods

6.8 times
as many
heatwaves

A healthy planet for the prosperity of all

Increase in exposure to extreme events over lifetime

x7

21

3

A youth vision
for the planet’s
futureEnvironmental and climate disruptions combined with the inaction of
governments is threatening the present and the future of young people
worldwide. This has significant repercussions on young people’s mental
health (S. Basu & Banarjee, 2020). According to the survey carried out for thisreport, more than half of the young people participating reported that they
feel anxious about climate change, and almost 20% feel powerless (Figure 3).
This sobering response requires urgent and radical reconfiguration of thesystems in place that will dictate the future of half the people alive now. Below,
we outline aspirations and our ‘youth vision’ for the future, based on scientificresearch and our survey of young people, aged 18 to 30, from 89 countries, inboth the Global North and South. The survey was carried out online via Google
Forms and consisted of both multiple choice and open-ended questions.
The survey was distributed by youth organizations working in collaboration
with SEI and CEEW as well as other youth organizations participating in the
Stockholm+50 international meeting.

Figure 3
What do youth feel regarding climate change?

57% of respondents
feel anxious
21%
feel hopeful
19.5%
feel powerless

Note: Some respondents gave more than one answer. The 4 pre-selected answers were Anxious,
Hopeful, Powerless, Indifferent. Respondents could add other emotions, Angry is the one that came up
most often (2% of the respondents).
Derived from the youth survey.

A youth vision for the planet’s future

2.5%
feel indifferent(includes: angry)

23

Figure 4

Youth vision for a just and sustainable future
Universal healthcare
and education

1

Health, well-being
and communal
solidarity

Abandoning GDP
as metric of growth

Prioritising solidarity
and communities
A world without
environmental offsets
Living within theworld’s planetary
boundaries

Limiting consumption
and production

Living in harmony 2
with nature

Environmental
integrity and zero
loss of nature
Carbon neutrality
to stay below 1.5°C

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

3 International

24

solidarity: living
as one global family

Equal opportunities
for access andparticipation

Culture of
global citizenship
Policy coherence
for sustainable
development

Diplomacy forcollective good
Unity in addressing
transboundary risks

Zero poverty
and inequality

No discrimination
Increased capabilities
for human welfare

A world where 4
all humans
are equal3.1 Health, well-being andcommunal solidarity
The vision that we have built here (Figure 4) includes living in a world thatembraces health, happiness and solidarity as societal goals rather thaneconomic growth. There is a pressing need to move away from the current
definition of progress and growth, as it increases materialism.
While there is no doubt that economic growth was a driver for increased
standards of living for many people around the world, it also undermines
the quality of lives in multiple ways, such as through ecosystem degradationand pollution.
Humans need to change the compass that drives collective progress sothat it truly reflects humanity’s needs and aspirations. Young people surveyed
for this report consider education and health as the two most important
metrics to assess the prosperity of a country. Of more than 900 young
respondents, 94% think that education is very important and 91% think healthis very important.
In practice, this means that actions taken by all stakeholders in society, bothon the local and global level, would be assessed against these metrics. A worldthat puts education and health at the core of its societies is crucial to creating
a future in which young people can thrive. On the one
hand, large-scale access to quality education would
enhance young people’s capacity to make decisions
and drive change. On the other hand, establishinghealth as the new collective compass would prevent
policymakers and businesses from taking actions that
harm the planet and health. Bhutan and New Zealandhave adopted Gross National Happiness and Wellbeing
Indicators, respectively, among the governmentsthat have added similar alternatives, beyond Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).

A world that is focused on health, well-being andsolidarity would also give greater recognition tonon‑economic activities that are essential to lives.
The respondents to the survey conducted for this report were asked what
they considered as the most important measure in assessing the prosperityof a country. A majority mentioned they envision a world that creates roomfor engaging in activities that benefit communities. This may mean better
work‑life balance through reduced working hours, to allow time for volunteer
work and leisure time with family. Building and cultivating social bonds is the
key to improving mental health and strengthening communities, eventuallyleading to greater happiness and solidarity.

A youth vision for the planet’s future

A world that puts
education andhealth at the coreof its societies
is crucial tocreating a futurein which young
people can thrive.

25

3.2 Living in harmony with natureThis vision calls for transformative change of humanity’s trajectory of growth.
One way to support this would be to pursue two concrete short-term goals
that should be accomplished by 2030, in order to restore humanity’s fractured
relationship with nature: limiting both loss of nature and climate change.
At the core of this vision lies the humility to acknowledge that this planet
is not the property of humans, but an embodiment of every life’s equal rightto dignity. With the rate of extinction reaching up to 100 000 species annually(WWF, 2022), the planet’s ecosystems are collapsing rapidly and the sixth
mass extinction is under way (Ceballos et al., 2020). It is in this context thatthe following vision offers hope and should be acted upon.
The youth vision is of a world in which no more ecosystems are lost, where
humans learn to live within Earth’s ‘biocapacity’. It envisions the decouplingof economic growth and ecosystem destruction, while ensuring thathuman aspirations and actions, both as societies and individuals, remain
within the confines of global planetary boundaries. It is a world without‘greenwashing’ (providing misleading information
about the sustainability of a product, policy or otherenvironment-harming activity), where the focus is onprotecting existing ecosystems, rather than deferring
preservation. This vision includes:

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable futureThis planet is not
the property ofhumans, but anembodiment of
every life’s equal
right to dignity.

26

A world without biodiversity offsets: Many ecologicallysensitive developmental projects around the globe
are granted environmental clearance based on offsets.
Biodiversity offsets are measurable conservation
outcomes that result from actions designed tocompensate for significant residual biodiversity
loss that arise through development projects(IPBES, 2022). Studies have shown, however, that even if such offsets were
perfectly equivalent to the amount of biodiversity destroyed, a significant
loss of nature would be incurred by mid-century (Buschke & Brownlie, 2020).
Additionally, some scientists are now calling for the need to earmark just over
50% of terrestrial ecosystems for preservation, for a goal of no significant
loss of nature (Robbins, 2020); others have noted such conservation proposals
would impact over a billion people, and would need to be done equitably
and justly (Schleicher et al., 2019). This call coincides with the UN declarationof 2021 – 2030 UN as the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, as well as thepledge of world leaders at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties(COP26) to halt deforestation by 2030 (UN News, 2021).

Growth within the planetary boundaries: This requires nations to limit growthwithin the planetary boundaries, based on considerations of equity and justice(Hayha et al., 2016). As mentioned above, five out of nine planetary boundaries
have already been transgressed. In order for the planet to regain its resilience,societies should function sustainably, and economic models that are fuelledby unending production and consumption should be discarded.

Accounting for environmental integrity: The vision reported here calls fora world where a country’s prosperity and ‘development’ are measured, interalia, in terms of the state and abundance of its natural capital, i.e., the qualityof its air, soil and water, biodiversity, integrity of ecosystems, etc. Countries
with functional environmental ecosystems are more resilient to the impactsof climate change (Lo, 2016) and provide higher standards of living totheir people (UNEP et al., 2015). Therefore, it is time to stop encouraging
classification of nations as ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ based merely on
nature-agnostic metrics and instead amplify examples of nations prospering
harmoniously with nature (Khokhar & Serajuddin, 2015).

Photo: PRASANNAPiX / Getty

A youth vision for the planet’s future

Eliminating weapons of mass destruction: Principle 26 of the Stockholm
Declaration recognizes the need for eliminating weapons of mass destruction,
including nuclear weapons, that could wipe out habitats if deployed. Planetarywell-being and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist.

27

Limiting warming to less than 1.5°C by 2030: Crossing the threshold of a 1.5°C
world will eliminate species, deteriorate well-being and rupture ecosystems
beyond repair, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities andbiodiversity (IPCC, 2022). The frequency and intensity of extreme weather
events, such as heat waves, cyclones, droughts, floods, etc., are predicted toincrease (IPCC, 2022).
This vision therefore requires an assertive rejection of the ‘overshoot pathway’
advocated by various groups, i.e. a growth trajectory where the world crosses
1.5°C by mid-century, only to attempt a return by 2100 (Climate Analytics,2021). While reversing the temperature may be possible, the impacts of this‘temporary’ transgression will be permanent. Such a strategy also questions
the adequacy of global carbon neutrality by 2050, in view of scientific calls
for a 7.4% annual reduction in emissions till 2030, in order to stay on a 1.5°C
trajectory (UNEP, 2019a).
The IPCC has estimated a carbon budget of 300 gigatons of carbon dioxide
equivalents (GtCO2e) to maintain this trajectory (IPCC, 2021). In today’s
world of global interdependence, striving together to realize this vision will
be absolutely necessary. Such collaboration could facilitate a transformative
systemic change based on carbon neutrality, accelerate financial andtechnological cooperation between the Global North and South, andmainstream sustainability at all levels.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

3.3 International solidarity:
living as one global family

28

The authors of this report and the survey respondents envisage a future
where countries and citizens truly live in one global community, sharing
the core value of international solidarity. The youth vision promotes the ideaof global citizenship in further advancing sustainable development by callingfor collective efforts and shared responsibility to act for the benefit of all.
The belief that all citizens are connected as part of a global community ismore relevant than ever in the interconnected world today.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development articulates global citizenshipin one of its youth-relevant goals. The Sustainable Development Goal 4(SDG4), ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all, includes Target 4.7, which highlights
the importance of global citizenship education and education for sustainable
development, through which learners acquire skills, knowledge and motivation
to be engaged citizens in promoting the values and conditions that lead tosustainable development.
One crucial premise of the SDGs is the interconnectedness between thegoals; no single goal can independently be achieved without efforts on otherareas. This is particularly true when it comes to a role that global citizenship,

or in other words international solidarity, can play in promoting sustainable
development, as this often underlies solutions for various social andenvironmental challenges.
Environmental challenges the world faces today are largely transboundary
in nature. The principle of solidarity and collective action as represented in
the global citizens concept serves as a basis to tackle these issues at every
level, including at the local, national, regional and global scale. An individual’seffort to protect the planet would be jeopardized if others don’t do the same.
Our youth vision calls urgently for all of us to collectively envisage and work
towards a more inclusive and sustainable society.
It is important to recognize that solidarity is not only relevant to theindividual level but also to policy and country levels. In light of our increasinglyinterconnected societies, the world today should achieve inclusiveness inthe policy dimension to foster mutual efforts and knowledge sharing. Global
diplomacy in a post-Stockholm+50 world should
cast away the narrow idea of ‘mutual advantage’(Ikeda, 2022) synonymous with quid pro quos. Rather,it should recognize that true ‘mutual advantage’ liesin collectively addressing and overcoming global
challenges that will eventually impact every country
in an interdependent world.

Our youth visioncalls urgently
for all of us
to collectively
envisage andwork towards
a more inclusive
and sustainable
society.

A youth vision for the planet’s future

Globally, youth embrace international solidarity as a key
driving force for advancing sustainable development.
Solidarity means that everyone is part of a larger
community and should take active ownership overplanetary issues as challenges that need to be solved
together. Nearly 98% of the young people surveyed
for this report responded that it is necessary to change
their individual behaviours to reduce impacts of climatechange. Our survey results also showed that youth
are keen to contribute to a better planet and share responsibility by adopting
various changes, including reducing waste and using recycled products;
voicing their opinions and engaging with peers on environment-related matters;
using public transport more frequently; changing dietary habits and making
other commitments. What this tells us is that youth are ready to take actions
as socially responsible actors – if they are not already doing so.

29Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Photo: Hadynyah / Getty

30

3.4 A world where all humans
are equal
The youth authors advocate for a world that puts economic, social andpolitical equality at the core, where every individual enjoys the equal rights
and opportunities. Equality should be a fundamental principle that is woven
throughout all aspects of human activities (UN, 2017).
Youth are committed to achieve societies that better distribute wealth between
the rich and the poor, and the more powerful and the less powerful. Evidenceshows improvements in narrowing income disparity between countries overrecent decades; however, income disparity within countries has worsened, sothat 71% of the world’s population today are residents of countries with growinginequality (World Inequality Database, 2022). This has significant implications
for inequality people experience in everyday life, as disparity within countries
and communities where they live become much more visible than disparities
that exist internationally.
The COVID-19 pandemic clearly had disproportionate impacts on different
groups of people, both economically and non-economically. While people
in all income groups had economic losses during the pandemic, themost dramatic occurred among the poorest 20% (World Bank, 2021). The
economically disadvantaged are also slow to achieve recovery from theirlosses compared with richer people.
Moreover, equality is not just about income; ensuring equal access tosocial security and support systems is essential. The pandemic revealed
the existing unequal access to necessary health services, including vaccines.
Approximately 7% of people in low-income countries were vaccinated withat least one dose, compared to over 75% in high-income countries by 2021
(Gopalakrishnan et al., 2021).
Globally, women have fewer opportunities for political participation andempowerment. The World Economic Forum, in its Global Gender Gap Report
2021, reported that women’s representation in parliaments of 156 countries
accounted for only 26%, and just 22% of 3400 ministers worldwide are women(World Economic Forum, 2021). Economically, a gender gap also persists: up
to 30% of income inequality is caused by inequality within households, andwomen and girls continue to play a predominant role in delivering unpaid carework every day (UN News, 2022).

We envisiona world in which
the developmentof societies
centreson happiness,
well-being
and solidarity.

A youth vision for the planet’s future

The vision presented here of ‘a world where all humans are equal’ is aboutovercoming all forms of inequality that exist within and among countries,
as well as achieving a future in which all citizens are given a safe space
to play active roles in various life activities. It has
zero tolerance for discrimination and envisages the
economic, social and political inclusion of all. We,
the youth authors of this report, envision a worldin which the development of societies centres onhappiness, well-being and solidarity, and is contained
within the limits of the planet.

31

4

Sustainable
and inclusive
recoveryA wide gap exists between the state of the planet today and the prosperous,
sustainable future which youth envision, as illustrated above. The COVID-19
pandemic has widened this gap while clearly exposing the systemic
vulnerabilities and inequalities underlying societies: inequitable access toquality healthcare, education and water; insecurity of employment and income;fragility of economies and supply chains; and humans’ fractured relationshipwith nature and with each other (Rahman et al., 2021).
The impact has been particularly devasting on youth, with respect to education,jobs and mental health. Nearly 826 million students had no computer accessto participate in digital learning during the first wave of the pandemic; nearly
706 million had no internet connectivity at home
(O’Hagan, 2020). The international aid organization
Save the Children predicted that nearly 10 million
children may never return to school after the pandemic,
with girls being more affected than boys (Warren& Wagner, 2020).

COVID-19
recovery canbe a steppingstone towards
the sustainable,
healthy andprosperous futureenvisioned byyouth worldwide.

Youth entering the workforce are facing difficultyin finding employment. A study by the International
Labour Organization indicates that one in six young
people have stopped working since the beginningof the pandemic (Barford et al., 2021).

Vulnerable youth have lost access to social support
systems as a result of social distancing measures
put in place during the pandemic (Gabriel et al., 2021).
A recent survey carried out among youth in the UK,
aged 13 – 25 years old, showed that a majority believed that COVID-19 will
have a long-term negative effect on their mental health (YoungMinds, 2021).

4.1 Lessons from COVID-19
The following lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic could pave the way
forward for a sustainable and resilient planetary recovery.
1 Global cooperation is key for collective well-being: The pandemic has
highlighted the interdependence of nations, nature and economies, emphasizingthat what occurs in one corner of the planet can have an impact thousandsof miles away. Lack of global solidarity, however, was also exposed during the

Sustainable and inclusive recovery

Key lessons emerge from the anguish the world has faced during the
pandemic. Reflecting and building on these lessons, this section aims toshow how COVID-19 recovery can be a stepping stone towards the sustainable,
healthy and prosperous future envisioned by youth worldwide. We startby stating these key lessons that can inform decision-making going forward,
then describe policy measures that internalize these lessons and can help
fulfil the vision that we report here, in this ‘Decade of Action’ until 2030.

33

pandemic. Only half of the 194 WHO member states could fully vaccinate 40%
or more of their population, while some covered merely 8% due to inequities
in distribution (United Nations, 2021). Not only are individualistic responses
unethical, but also ineffective. A key lesson is that global problems, be they
pandemics or climate change, require global cooperation.
2 Acknowledge the emergency: When COVID-19 was officially declareda pandemic, it was recognized by all for what it was: a global emergency. No
lobbies or vested interests could refute the science, and governments switchedto ‘crisis-management’ and took radical measures to uphold the common
welfare of people above all. Policymakers put economies at a standstill,
implemented major restrictions and mobilized enormous amounts of funding.
Some citizens transformed their lifestyles overnight by consuming less,travelling less, working from home if they could, and more, to prioritize whattruly mattered to them: health and well-being. Likewise, climate change shouldbe treated as an existential threat and radical and urgent actions should be
implemented (Gemenne & Depoux, 2020).

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

3 Delay is costly: Governments could not afford to ‘sit tight and assess’ and had
to prioritize timely action to prevent further deaths from the rampant spreadof the virus. Any delay or lapse in enforcement multiplied the loss of lives andhuman suffering (Kompas et al., 2021). The risk of irreversible loss of nature
also heightens with further delays in rapid emissions reductions. In economic
terms, the peak costs of climate change are greater when mitigation is delayed.
Additional costs due to delayed mitigation rise by USD 600 billion annually
since 2020 (Sanderson & O’Neill, 2020).

34

4 Inequalities exacerbate the crisis and vice-versa: The COVID-19 pandemic
showed that individuals and communities suffering from underlying
vulnerabilities and inequalities are the most affected in crises. Parts of theworld, such as in sub-Saharan Africa, lacked water to wash hands (UNICEF,
2020b). Other parts, such as Tigray in Ethiopia, couldn’t access basic essentials
provided by the international aid organizations, such as the World Food
Programme, due to internal conflict (United Nations News, 2022). As a result,the pandemic further widened pre-existing inequalities in society, resulting inpoor people becoming even poorer and marginalized. Likewise, climate change
disproportionally affects vulnerable groups, hence the need to centre climate
action on the principles of ‘reaching the furthest first’ and ‘leave no one behind’(United Nations, 2015).
5 The health of humans is closely linked to the health of the planet: Climatechange and environmental degradation caused by human activities are directly
threatening humans. Diseases such as Ebola and COVID-19 are zoonotic,
which account for over 60% of known infectious diseases and 75% of emerging
infectious diseases (Salyer et al., 2017). A recent review showed climate change
drives zoonotic epidemics by changing interactions between pathogens andtheir hosts, including people, by warming temperatures and shifts in weather
patterns, among other impacts (Rupasinghe et al., 2021).
The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a stark reminder that humans are notautonomous entities disconnected from the natural world. This became

particularly clear during the pandemic, even in a positive way, when reduction
in human activity or the ‘Anthropause’ had positive effects on ecosystems(Rutz et al., 2020).
6 Science and technology provide key solutions: During the global pandemic,
nations around the world gathered experts with different backgrounds
to collaborate and develop vaccines in record time. At the same time,the industrial sector repurposed and prioritized production and innovationin healthcare to meet pressing demands.
Likewise, there is a need for stakeholders in the public and private sectors
to increase cooperation and resources targeted toward the development
and scaling-up of innovative technologies that can contribute to mitigatingclimate change and adapting to its impacts. While technology alone cannot
deliver the transformation we need, it can assist (Dutt et al., forthcoming).
A fundamental transformation of people, societies and nations is indispensable(Ghosh et al., forthcoming).

Photo: Freemixer / Getty

Sustainable and inclusive recovery

Each of these lessons can help the reader better address the climate crisis.
Humanity, however, has paid a huge cost for this realization, and its last chanceat redemption lies in a rapid course correction which secures the future andrestores humankind’s relationship with nature.

35

4.2 Policy pathways for an
inclusive planetary recovery
The survey conducted for this report showed that 68% of the young
respondents think their government is not doing enough to support
environmentally sustainable recovery from the pandemic. In the context of
COVID-19 recovery, young people have a crucial role in ensuring that plansand policies to build back economies and societies will pave the way fora healthy planet that provides prosperity for all.
In line with this role of youth, and drawing on the results from our global youth
survey, the following are the main policy actions that could pave the way fora more sustainable, just and prosperous world.
Below we explain two policies and related recommended actions to enact
them, as well as their relevance to youth and contributions to the youth vision
outlined above.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

1 Guaranteeing the right to social security: In low-income countries, only one
in five of the poorest people are covered by social safety nets. In addition to
exposing the fragilities of humankind’s relationship with nature, the pandemic
has pushed more people into poverty and nearly half the global workforce(1.6 billion) has suffered a hit on their capacity to earn.

36

Recommendations: Create a Global Resilience Mechanism, i.e. a social
security system for collective action aimed at supporting the most vulnerable
sections of society, and triggered by sudden shocks which may be due
to reasons of climate change, persecution, internal conflict, war, disease,economic collapse, etc. It should specifically support women, children,transgender/lesbian/gay/bisexual people, elderly and people with disabilities,
who often are the worst-affected during disasters. This scheme should
also include the world’s more than 26 million refugees, who are often
denied social security benefits in their host countries (United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees Asia Pacific, 2021). Social security should also
be leveraged to achieve universal and uninterruptable access to education,
which was adversely impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to lackof infrastructure for virtual learning.
Such a security system could consist of a Global Safety Net to provide
immediate stimulus support to people in times of crisis. Funding could comethrough a Global Social Security Fund, which would be based on a systemof ‘progressive contribution’, where the percentage of a country’s contribution
would be determined by its paying capacity.
It is estimated that natural disasters, pandemics and other catastrophes would
cost the world billions of dollars annually. This projected cost is dwarfed by
global military expenditures of USD 1981 billion in 2020, an increase fromprevious years despite the pandemic (Stockholm International Peace ResearchInstitute, 2021). Clearly, the capacity exists. Collective will is all that is needed.

Relevance to youth: The OECD conducted a survey during the pandemic
that showed that more than half of the young people who responded thinkthat their national government should be doing more to ensure economic
and social security and well-being (OECD, 2021).
How can a Global Safety Net contribute to achieving the youth vision?
In the face of compounding insecurities/anxieties created by climate change,
the pandemic and rising socio-economic uncertainties, a social protection
system for the world’s most affected is a prerequisite for well-being.
2 More inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): The spread of COVID-19 andsubsequent containment measures can be considered as disaster and DRR,
respectively (IFRC, 2022; UNISDR, 2015). The response to the pandemicshows the need to design DRR plans and strategies that addresses rather
than exacerbates inequalities by considering pre-existing vulnerabilities.
While the World Health Organization recommended handwashing with soap
as one of the best ways to prevent the spread anddefend ourselves against COVID-19, 771 million
people do not have access to safe water and 3 in
10 people lacked of soap and/or water to follow such
recommendations (UNICEF, 2021; WHO, 2021). Adding
to this, in 2020 alone, around 313 major disasters were
triggered by natural hazards at the same time that the
pandemic itself took around 2 million lives worldwide(International Federation of Red Cross & and Red
Crescent Societies, 2021). Disasters, whether they
are caused by weather related or biological hazards,
exacerbate many of the existing gender, economic,
geographic and other inequalities in society.

The focus on
nature-based
solutionsto increase
resilience canyield co-benefitsof jobs, growth,sustainability,and human
well-being.

Moreover, the focus on nature-based solutions as disaster risk reduction
measures and to increase resilience can yield co-benefits of jobs, growth,sustainability, and human well-being. A recent report estimates that every
one dollar spent on restoration could yield up to USD 30 in economic benefits(UNCCD, 2021). The Great Green Wall project in Africa, for example, aims toplant trees across 8000 kilometres to restore 100 million hectares of degraded
land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, create 10 million green jobs inrural areas, and provide food security to many millions in the area by 2030
(UNCCD, 2022).
Relevance to youth: More than half of the population in the world is younger
than 30 years old, and the most worrying impacts of disasters for this age

Sustainable and inclusive recovery

Recommendations: More effective and inclusive DRR
measures are crucial to ensuring that societies become
more resilient, more just, and healthier. A multi‑hazard
approach, together with exposure and vulnerability
assessments that consider disaggregated andevidence-based data on gender, safe water access, socioeconomic status,
age, education level, language and disabilities, should be carried out to ensureleaving no one behind in the disaster risk management process.

37

group are on physical and mental health (UNDRR, 2020). In addition, as notedby Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for
Disaster Risk Reduction, ‘The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
2015–2030, adopted by United Nations Member States in 2015, calls forgovernments and other decision makers to include children and youth indesigning and implementing policies, plans and standards’ (UNISDR, 2015).
Recognize and encourage youth as agents of change: A plethora of examples
show youth to be actively involved in political, economic, social and climate
decisions. They have led communities and events, resulting in positive on-theground impacts, or started social enterprises as young as age 15 (WEF, 2021).
One such example is Louise Mabulo from the Philippines, who at the age of 20
was one of UNEP’s Young Champions of the Earth for 2019. Mabulo is the founderof the Cacao Project, through which she trained over 200 farmers in agroforestry
techniques and helped plant more than 70 000 trees across 70 hectares of land
(UNEP, 2019b). In order to make change, youth need to be in policymaking roles –or at least have their visions integrated in policy. Nonetheless, less than 6% ofyoung dialogue participants have run for office (WEF, 2021).
How can it contribute to achieving the youth vision? Though different
summits, forums and high-level events have been involving youth asattendees, panellists, moderators and so on, usually youth act as token
icons of representation and lack involvement in actual roundtable discussions.
The youth vision can be achieved by putting into practice what is agreed onin youth forums, briefs prepared by young professionals, policy engagements,
etc. Two examples of young people’s calls to action are the Davos Lab:
Youth Recovery Plan (WEF, 2021) and Words into action: A companion for
implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 – 2030
(UNDRR, 2020; WEF, 2021).

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Policy actions for a sustainable future

38

In order to limit global warming below 1.5°C, a child born in 2020 should emit
10 times less carbon dioxide than her grandparents did (Cozzi et al., 2022;
Zheng et al., 2022). This calls for urgent and radical transformations to ensure
the ability to deliver low-carbon products and services; these include thefollowing actions, with our recommendations and their relevance to youth
and significance for our youth vision outlined above. Figure 5 maps these andpolicy suggestions together with lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scale up low-carbon transition in all sectors: The trillions of US dollars
that are being injected into the economy in the form of COVID-19 recovery
packages should be directed to the decarbonisation of economies. These
investments will shape economies for decades, which requires avoiding
carbon lock-in. As of January 2022, only 37% of public money for energy spentby G20 countries went to clean energy, while 41% was invested in the fossil
fuel sector (Energy Policy Tracker, 2022). Fossil fuel subsidies remain high
(USD 468 million as of 2019).

Figure 5

Pandemic lessons, a youth vision and policy suggestions
Lessons from COVID-19
A

Global cooperation is key for collective well-being

B

Acknowledge the emergency

C

Delay is costlyD

Inequalities exacerbate the crisis and vice versa

E

The health of humans is closely linked to the health of the planet

F

Science and technology provide key solutions

Youth vision
1

Health, well-being and solidarity

2

Living in harmony with nature

3

International solidarity

4

A world where all humans are equal

Recommendations/policy suggestions

1

2

3

4

A

B

C

D

E

F

Global resilience mechanism
Global safety net
Global social security fundMore inclusive disaster risk reduction (DRR)
Effective and inclusive DRR measures
Multi-hazard approach
Scaling up low-carbon transition in all sectors
Scaling up investment in renewables
Prohibit any new fossil fuel projects
Equip young people with relevant skills through training
Ensure that this transition is just
Make certain COVID-19 measures long-lasting

Promote sustainable consumption and production
Sustainable food consumption
Phase out single use plastic
Waste reduction through circular economy based on 3R’s
Prohibit advertising of polluting products
Enforce higher taxes on to environmentally harmful products
Ensure proper disposal of medical waste
Deploy waste-to-energy plants
Organize the informal waste collection sector
Protect and restore nature
Scale up nature-based solutions
Protect environmental defenders
Conservation approaches that preserve local ecosystems
Opt for an offset-free developmental pathway
Criminalize large-scale destruction of nature
A global safety net for biodiversity

Sustainable and inclusive recovery

Scaling up adaptation to climate change
Scale up adaptation finance in the form of grants
Ensure adaptation projects are led by local communities

39

Recommendations: scale up investment in renewables; increase researchand development for renewable alternatives; phase out fossil fuel subsidies;prohibit new fossil fuel projects; equip young people with relevant skills
through training and education; ensure that this transition is just, by providing
support for affected communities; put local communities at the centre (Xu,
2021). Some measures taken in the context of mobility
restrictions and fear of COVID-19 infections should bemade durable, such as bike lanes and working fromwork, to reduce emissions from the transport sector.

Green recovery
plans that leave
no one behindwould lay
the groundwork
for a justtransition toward
low‑carbon,
resilienteconomiesin the future.

Relevance to youth: The energy transition could
generate 42 million jobs by 2050 (International
Renewable Energy Agency, 2020). As more young
people will enter the job market now and in the future,
the energy industry, especially sustainable energy,
has high employment potential.
Youth as agents of change: Of the young people
we surveyed, 55% rank using public transport more
frequently as one of their three top priority changes
to reduce their carbon footprint.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Initiatives such as the Student Energy Solutions
Movement directly fund and support the launchof 10 000 youth-led clean energy projects aroundthe world by 2030 (Student Energy, N.D.). Youth leaders have a keyrole to play in building partnerships with local and diverse communities(Tresise & Watts, 2021).

40

How can it contribute to achieving the youth vision? Green recovery plansthat leave no one behind would lay the groundwork for a just transition toward
low-carbon, resilient economies in the future. Changes, for example, to thetransportation sector would have additional benefits too: Ditching cars for
metros, busses and trams would reduce air pollution, while cycling would
improve health and well-being.

Scale up adaptation to climate change: In addition to mitigating greenhousegas emissions, it is crucial that more resources are being devoted to increasing
the resilience of the populations that are already being harshly affectedby climate change, especially in developing countries. Currently, the costs
for adaptation in the poorest countries are 5 to 10 times greater than public
adaptation funding (UNEP, 2021).
Recommendations: Scale up adaptation finance in the form of grants;
ensure that adaptation projects are led by local communities; andreach the most vulnerable and marginalized people first.
Youth as agents of change: Kimplanter Seedlings and Nurseries isa youth‑ and woman-led organization in Kenya that supports farmers

in adapting to changing weather patterns through drought-resistantseedlings (Kimplanter, n.d.).

Promote sustainable consumption and production: Consumption andproduction needs to be done within the planet’s limits. This means shifting
toward more sustainable ways of producing and consuming but also reducing
consumption of non-essential products.
As an example, globally, humans dump the equivalent of one garbage truckof plastic into the ocean every minute (UNEP, n.d.). Every 6 seconds in 2019,an area of rainforest the size of a football pitch was cleared (Global Forest
Watch, 2019).
Recommendations: Encourage more sustainable food consumption (plantbased diets, agroecology); phase out single use plastic; sharply reduce waste
through circular economy based on recycling, reuse and reduction (3Rs);
prohibit advertising of polluting products; introduce taxes on activities andproducts based on their impact on the environment;
criminalize large-scale destruction of nature throughthe creation of the legal concept of ‘ecocide’ (Nordic
Council of Ministers, n.d.); ensure proper disposal of
medical waste (personal protection equipment, masks,
swabs, syringes, etc.); deploy waste-to-energy plants;
organize the largely informal waste collection sector
to ensure greater inclusivity.
Relevance to youth: Many young people surveyedemphasized the need for more sustainable products
and consumption. Almost three-quarters of young
people surveyed rank ‘reducing waste and using
recycled products’ as one of their three behaviourchanges to address climate change.

Youth as agents of change: On a Sunday in October
2015, Afroz Shah, a young Indian lawyer living in
Mumbai, started picking up trash on Versova Beachwith the help of his 84-year-old neighbour. What
started as an individual initiative quickly grew into a massive movement thatbrought together 200 000 volunteers. By 2018, the last pieces of plastic were
removed, and Versova Beach witnessed its first turtle hatching in decades(Milam, 2019; Toner, 2019). A beautiful symbol, and a strong signal to politicalauthorities that they should implement policies to drastically cut down the
production and use of plastic.

Protect and restore nature: The period of 2011 – 2020, dubbed ‘the Decadeof Biodiversity’ by the UN General Assembly, ironically witnessed an
accelerated decline in biodiversity (Brondizio et al., 2019). This decade,Sustainable and inclusive recovery

Almost threequarters of young
people surveyed
rank ‘reducing
waste and using
recycled products’
as one of theirthree behaviourchanges toaddress climatechange.

41

Seeing naturereclaim space
during the
pandemic helpedme see that
there is so much
we can do toaccommodate
nature.

2021 – 2030, of ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ should reverse
this trend. Also, greater emphasis on oceans is needed(Laffoley et al., 2021). When nature is ‘left alone’,it recuperates (e.g. ‘healing’ of the ozone hole).

Recommendations: A global safety net, for biodiversity
has been identified, as the minimum amount ofprotected terrestrial land that should be maintained
to reverse further biodiversity loss, offset carbon
dioxide emissions from land conversions, and enhancenatural carbon dioxide removal (Dinerstein et al., 2020).
It is believed that in addition to the existing 15% of
the land area currently protected, 35% of additional
conservation sites of particular biodiversity significanceneed to be earmarked to reach a stable climate.
The role of Indigenous people as ‘guardians’ for protecting these areas should
be formalized, as they safeguard 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity(The World Bank, 2021). This will encourage conservation approaches that
preserve local ecosystems as well as the livelihoods of local communities.
Active discussion seems to be leading to a growing consensus among thescientific community for attaining a minimum of 50% of land protected by 2030
(IISD, 2019). ‘At least 30%’ should be incorporated in the Post-2020 Biodiversity
Framework as a global goal towards 2030, according to the IUCN, as aminimum. A goal to protect and restore nature needs to translate into a global
and local policy mandate, while also considering the urgency to limit global
warming to less than 1.5°C by 2030.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

It will be key to opt for an offset-free developmental pathway that focuseson protection rather than compensation. Ecosystems and biodiversity loss
have non-linear and local climatic implications that can neither be mitigatedby regrowing forests elsewhere, nor assessed accurately for timely and perfectcompensation (Rojas, 2021).

42

Relevance to youth: Identify minimum natural capital that the youth of today
will need in future for a healthy planet.
Youth as agents of change: In 2018, 25 children and young people successfully
sued the Colombian government for failing to protect the Amazon (Mila, 2019).

Above we propose a range policy pathways with relevance to youth and ouryouth vision, where young people have already acted for a better future. Taking
further action on these by governments at all levels and by other sectors could
bring our world closer to the youth vision of a healthy planet with dignity andequality for all.
To underscore our statements above, we present the thoughts of respondents
to our survey regarding the key learnings from COVID-19 pandemic that could
help in the fight against climate change, below.

4.3 Selected survey responses
WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. This is a global world and we cannot ignore ourneighbours if we want to solve any problem.
Rich countries handled the pandemic extremely poorly in terms of global equity
and justice and if we are to cooperate on climate change things need to bedone differently.
Seeing nature reclaim space during the pandemic helped me see that there
is so much we can do to accommodate nature, prioritize a change in thatparticular relationship and lean towards a symbiotic rather than a parasitic
relationship with nature.
We are able to fight global crises if there is enough political will, there isenough money around to support certain industries if wanted and we are allable of more and faster lifestyle changes than we thought.
Countries have always said that they cannot do anything at the expenseof economic growth. Yet, in the face of a global public health threat, many
countries, for a time, stopped entire industries. While this in and of itself hadconsequences that must be reckoned with, it demonstrates that if governments
are serious about an existential threat, they have the means to act. The political
will to fight against climate change is simply not there yet.
Media can play a larger role in portraying climate change as an immediate
threat like the pandemic and encourage climate friendly behaviour.
People don’t understand scientifically how their actions contribute to othersor simply don’t believe in solutions to these crises.

We must generate interest about sustainable development in an effort
to educate and engage young people with the SDGs and to encourage themto prioritize the goals in their lifestyles, behaviours, education and professional
careers as these goals provide a framework for a better world that children
could live in the future.
COVID-19 and climate change are two very different challenges, but they
do have some common match that’s like a key. They both are global and also,
they do not obey the national boundaries.
Our main problem is in education. Communities first need to be aware of theirproblems and challenges and then they can fight it.
Citizens should start from making little sustainable changes in life and should
encourage such actions on community level so that everyone can follow.

Sustainable and inclusive recovery

Quick mobilization is possible when people believe that we are in a crisis,
which clearly demonstrates that climate change is not treated as such.

43

5

Magnifying
youth-led action:
climate change
and beyond

The discussion so far makes it evident that fulfilling a youth vision for a healthy
and just planet requires a reconfiguration of humanity’s relationship withnature, socio-economic priorities, consumption and production patterns, andthe social contracts that govern day-to-day lives. Achieving these ends goesbeyond tackling climate change and the need to reduce emissions.
Many young activists have challenged business-as-usual strategies toeconomic growth and capitalist exploitation – pointing out these ‘neutral’processes and structures are interlinked with a history of colonialism,
racism, gender inequality and other forms of systemic oppression (Specia& Castle, 2021). In building a youth vision, we take an intersectional view ofenvironmental challenges, expressing the need to acknowledge and address
the wider systemic issues intricately linked with climate change, including
poverty, inequality, racism, sexism and marginalization and exclusion.

However, young people’s calls to action do not always translate to action
on the ground. Youth across the world often find their agency crampedby lack of financial or political power (Thew, 2018). This denies them theparticipatory mechanisms available to other better established non-state
actors – for example, organizing high profile side events at climate negotiations(Thew, 2018). The spokespeople for international youth are often volunteers –which means they often come from privileged
backgrounds and there is often a high turnover rate
among youth climate activists (Thew, 2018). Youthfrom the Global South face particular challenges in
obtaining the necessary funding and visas to contribute
effectively to global climate conversations (Thew,
2018). This was highlighted by some respondents,
including one who said that ‘an adequate youth
participation should be INCLUSIVE and consider
inequalities in and between countries, and the gap
global North/South.’

There is aneed to ensure
adequate support
within the climate
governancesystems
to empower
youth voices.

All this suggests that there is a need to ensure that
there is adequate support within the climate andother governance systems to empower youth voices –through financial support and/or political agency‑ especially youth voicesfrom marginalized or vulnerable communities. The high turnover rate among
youth also points to the need for systemic change to allow youth to keep
engaging and acting. Systems such as adequate environmental educationand skills training need to be put in place that can support the youth of today

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

Youth activists engaged in international climate negotiations, for example, havestressed not only the vulnerability of youth and future generations to climate
impacts, but have also expressed solidarity with other particularly vulnerable
groups, such as women, Indigenous peoples and marginalized communities
globally (Thew et al., 2020). Youth activists have called for a systemic shift
in how societies are structured, away from the current distribution of politicaland economic power, much of which lies with polluting industries (O’Brien et al.,2018). Youth have raised their voices in support of solutions that tackle both
structural inequality and climate change simultaneously.

45

in becoming leaders of tomorrow – not trap them in systems within which
it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve change.
Since human agency informs how vulnerability to climate threats is distributed
among populations (Wisner & Kelman, 2012; Raju et al., 2022), agency thatis distorted by biases will naturally result in unequal distribution of vulnerability.
Exercise of agency and distribution of power through governance is one of
the key factors determining the climate vulnerability of social groups (Thomas
et al., 2019). Global governance includes ‘the totality of institutions, policies,
norms, procedures and initiatives through which States and their citizens
try to bring more predictability, stability and order to their responses totransnational challenges’ (United Nations, 2014, p. vi). Thus, global governanceis a critical lever for action across nations, economic sectors, and social groups
to achieve a just and sustainable future.
The existing global governance framework has fallen woefully short oftranslating stated commitments into actual outcomes. For example, halfof all cumulative carbon dioxide emissions have happened since the first
IPCC assessment report in 1990, while annual emissions in 2018 were60% higher than in 1990 (Stoddard et al., 2021).
Two important questions arise: Are youth participating adequately
in governance, and thereby exercising their agency to bring their visionof systemic change to reality? And if not, what needs to change?

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

We argue that aligning global governance with certain core values is central
to fulfilling a youth vision for a healthy planet and a sustainable and inclusive
planetary recovery. These values are inclusivity through representation andmeaningful participation in politics and decision-making, interconnectednessof institutions and cross-sectoral policies, accountability through litigation,and empowerment through education.

46

5.1 Inclusivity of youth throughrepresentation in governance
Representation is one of the two critical components of governance that
determines how governance structures’ outcomes are distributed (Thomas
et al., 2019). Several dedicated organizations represent the youth constituency
in international environmental governance. For example, YOUNGO is the
youth constituency to the UNFCCC; Global Youth for Environment is the youth
engagement mechanism for UNEP (YOUNGO, 2021). Despite the organized
platforms for youth representation at international fora, representation in
actual negotiations remains tokenistic, and its tangible outcomes are limited(Lubben, 2019). Global climate governance needs clear goals and metrics
to ensure global youth representation, especially of youth from marginalized
communities. The goals should include quantifiable targets and mechanisms
to collect data and evidence on progress indicators towards those targets.

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 provides a concrete
example of such a framework, requiring public bodies to measure and reportprogress towards seven predefined goals (Welsh Government, 2022).

Photo: UN Photo / Laura Jarriel

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

More than half (57%) of the respondents surveyed for this report feel thatyouth are inadequately represented in global climate governance. The survey
results were segregated according to the UNFCCC categorization of Annex
I and non-Annex I parties. Overall, Annex 1 Parties to the Convention include
industrialized countries plus economies in transition (the EIT) parties. NonAnnex I Parties are mostly developing countries recognized by the Convention
as vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. The survey conducted
for this report finds 53% of youth from non-Annex I countries feel inadequately
represented in global climate governance compared to 47% of youth fromAnnex I countries.

47

On the other hand, 62% of young people from these non-Annex I countries
are not aware if representation is adequate or not, in comparison to
38% of youth from Annex 1 countries. The relevance of these negotiations isimportant, as one respondent expressed, to ‘improve awareness about “Whatis a conference?”, “what can we achieve by participating?”, “How can it impact
at a globe space?” to all the youth. For me I was not aware of such meetings(and its purpose) till I got graduated.’
To highlight a practical solution proposed by one respondent, to address this,Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

governments should always bring official youth delegates withthem to COP negotiations that they fund fully their transportation,accommodation, and meals. Second, the most direct impact will
be if young people run for elected positions. In the US, you mustbe 25 years to run for Congress, but in many states, you only
have to be 18 to run for local or state government. But theseyoung people need training and money for their campaigns. Third,
governments should create special Climate Negotiation Fellowshipsthat are 2 – 3 years long as entry level jobs into the government.
For example, in the US this would be at the State Department
or Department of Energy.

48

Characteristics unique to youth, such as limited ability to exercise traditional
methods of non-state actor agency and form professional networks due
to financial constraints, impede youth representation in global governance(Thew, 2018). Other systemic issues such as immigration and inequitable
access to COVID-19 vaccines further compounded poor youth representationin the recent past (Aziz, 2019; Barford, 2021; Lawson,2021). Youth have limited power to directly implementchanges in governments and corporations due toan absence of qualifications (Han & Ahn, 2020). This
was also elaborated by a respondent, ‘I think thatwhile there is an argument to be made that we are
increasingly being represented, I would rather positthat we are being talked about more. The opportunity
to get involved in these contexts is somethingthat is a somewhat hidden opportunity to many.’

Youth have limited
power to directly
implementchanges ingovernments andcorporations due
to an absenceof qualifications.

The Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality
Network (CYGEN) brings the conversation of the
LGBTQIA+ living within intersections of discrimination
based on gender identity, sexual orientationand expression to go together with climate justiceconversations. According to CYGEN, LGBTQIA+ people are particularly
vulnerable to climate change and experience its effects disproportionately
because of their social roles, further leading to partial or incomplete
integration in societal issues. The injustices experienced include discrimination,
gender‑based violence and lack of access to information. This was alsoechoed by the International Student Environmental Coalition (ISEC) Trinidad
and Tobago representative, noting the discrimination around racial identity
and sexual orientation are some hindrances to using their platforms tovoice issues on disaster risk reduction at the community level. For example,
one respondent mentioned that ‘if the representation in the rooms is inclined
to a certain type of people (orientation of their skin colour and geographicbalance) then the process has started on the wrong note. Policy needs
to put the most vulnerable at the forefront.’
Despite consistent calls from youth for increased inclusivity in international
climate governance (Hunt, 2021; YOUNGO, 2021; Youth4Climate, 2021), there
are limited examples of youth’s direct participation in climate governance.
For instance, Nigeria’s youth were mobilized under the National Youth Climate
Consultation to provide inputs to the country’s 2021 Nationally Determined
Contributions (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2020). The
European Citizens’ Initiative’s ‘Fridays For Future’
team submitted demands for increased ambition
on climate action, including stronger legislationand free educational materials for member statesto the European Commission in July 2019. However,
evaluation of the actual impact of such inputs
remains elusive.
While meaningful representation at international
negotiations is essential, official non-state actor
representatives’ accountability to the constituencies
they claim to represent may sometimes be inadequate,
or some groups may not be represented at all (Kuyper& Bäckstrand, 2016). Thus, local institutions need totake responsibility for youth representation to ensurethat issues concerning youth are discussed and addressed at the lowest level
capable of doing so. An example is local COVID-19 recovery efforts. Only about
30% of the youth surveyed said they were part of COVID-19 recovery efforts.
At the local level, experience in Cambodia showed that young people may
get excluded from community-level engagement due to frequent migration
for better economic opportunities or due to parents’ desire for young people
to spend their time earning a living (Heng et al., 2014). Youth participationin decentralized governance needs legal definition in such contexts. Similar
efforts in Mzuzu City, Malawi, showed that attracting youth participation in
decentralized decision-making requires systematic capacity building (Zimba
et al., 2021). Further, experience in urban‑peripheral areas in Brazil showed thatmainstream discourse on climate change might be disconnected from young
people’s everyday experience, leading to a perception of disinterest among
students (Börner et al., 2021).
Thus, all tiers of governance should ensure that youth voices and demands arelegitimized within the mainstream rather than being tokenized. If participationfrom the youth and other marginalized groups is to be meaningful in efforts
that are simultaneously global and local (‘glocal’) for building a healthier planet,
their representation should be systematically encouraged, legally guaranteed
and financially supported across all levels of administration.

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

Youthrepresentation
should be
systematicallyencouraged,
legally guaranteed
and financially
supported.

49

5.2 Empowering youth throughclimate education

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

Growing environmental risks will pose the biggest existential threat, especiallyto the youth demographic, requiring future mitigation measures to solve
ecological challenges. Youth voices are often marginalized due to the projectedlack of experience and knowledge on the subject. Nearly a fifth of the youth
surveyed said they feel powerless to do something about climate change.
Climate education to provide youth with a sense of empowerment andself‑agency for meaningful participation in decision making and simultaneously
catalyse them to opt for safer and sustainable lifestyle choices to combat
climate issues is required now more than ever (Thew, 2018). Building theright base through education is critical to mould youth to influence future
generations, to forge innovative solutions and support networks neededto address and adapt to a climate-constrained world.

50

Photo: UN Photo / Manuel Elías

Several youth activists have highlighted a lack of discourse on climatechange and its impacts within schools (Kamal, n.d.). Hence, young people
educate themselves on climate change through sources outside of schools,
such as online sources and networking groups (Neelima, 2018). Some of theroot causes for youth’s lack of climate literacy are an absence of support bycommunity and government, lack of adequate funding and time for field visits,
disinterest among students, lack of teacher training, limited access to quality
content, and rigid classroom training systems resistantto curriculum revision (Anderson & Jacobson, 2018).

It is time
to reimagine
education
to enable
fundamental
transformationsof the mindset
and lifestyleof futuregenerations.

Despite this, continuous efforts are being madeby young people with or without resources to foster
awareness, capacity building and environmental
education. For instance, Somalia Greenpeace
Association (SOGPA), a youth-led non-profit
organization formed in 2019, disseminates awarenessabout extreme climatic events, such as floods,
droughts, food insecurity, and locust invasions that
affect Somali people; the information is spread inan easily consumable fashion at the local community
level (SOGPA, n.d.).

Such youth-led activities on increasing awareness and knowledge areparticularly important since 57% of respondents surveyed feel youth
are inadequately represented in global climate governance; 25% of the
respondents cannot tell if and how the representation is inadequate. Of thisnumber, more than half (53%) are students ranging from secondary, higher
secondary to master’s degree students, and they note a gap in alignment ofclimate change governance and negotiations to the current education system.
This is also echoed by several respondents as quoted:
Introduction to matters climate change at primary school levelso that advocacy is cultivated early.
Rather than just subjective information provision practicalsolutions should be taught in classrooms.

Therefore, it is time to reimagine education to enable fundamental
transformations of the mindset and lifestyle of future generations.
First, mandate the inclusion of climate education with a strong civic
engagement component across educational levels. A 2021 report by UNESCO
that looks at the extent to which environmental issues are integrated in

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

Similarly, Youth for Climate India and Indian Youth
Climate Network (IYCN) formed as a coalition ofyoung people and youth-oriented organization in India
are some telling examples. They work on generating holistic awareness andempower young people to battle climate change, at a local, state, national
and international level (IYCN, n.d.).

51

education policies and curricula across 46 UNESCO member states indicatesthat 45% of national documents examined made little or no reference
to environmental themes (UNESCO, 2021).
Some good examples exist of climate education led by some governments.
For instance, it is now mandatory in India to include environmental education
at all levels of formal education (Sharma & Menon, 2018). Italy madecompulsory for all public schools from grade one to high school to teachenvironmental topics for at least one hour every week. Mexico has also
mandated environmental education. Over 20 states in the US have adopted
the Next Generation Science Standards, which include climate change as
the core topic (NCSE & TFNEF, 2020). All countries should follow suit andmake UNESCO’s vision of making environmental education a core curriculum
component by 2025 into reality.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

In addition, climate education should be customized, covering local andregional case studies of climate impacts. More importantly, it should go
beyond technical knowledge of climate science with additional elements
on civic education and engagement to enhance students’ participation now
and as future citizens (Basu & Kaplan, 2015; Nisbet, 2010). Estimates suggestthat over 1 million children suffered learning disruptions during California’s
2018 – 2019 wildfire season and nearly 6000 schools are located in flood zones
in the US (Kwauk & Winthrop, 2021). As children live the results of climate
impacts, their curricula should incorporate practical training to allow youth
to apply their knowledge in real-world settings to adapt to the harsh impactsof climate change.

52

Second, invest in climate educators, educational infrastructure and training
faculties. While the evidence shows the inclusion of environmental issues in
education policy and curricula has increased significantly over past decades,
international studies on teacher education indicate limited proficiency ofteachers in both environmental-related contents and pedagogical approaches(Brookings, 2018). Most educators are often ill-equipped to teach environment
education that is included by national policy-makers (UNICEF, 2020a).
Studies from around the world inform how sustained professional development
workshops improve content knowledge of novice teachers (Drewes etal., 2018). Therefore, as an immediate step, governments should prioritize
environmental and climate educational capacity building, teacher training,professional development workshops, mentoring, and the developmentof effective leadership to deliver quality climate and environmental education.
In addition to basic educational guidance, infrastructure is key: unreliable
power supply and poor internet access continue to limit access to educational
resources, especially for rural and socio-economically disadvantaged youth
in parts of the world (MSU, 2020). A recent study by UNICEF and International
Telecom Union reports that two-thirds of the world’s school-age children
have no internet access at home (UNICEF, 2020c).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, over 31% of schoolchildren worldwide faced
the risk of learning discontinuity due to absence of technologies to support
remote education, when measures like school closures were announced

Photo: arrowsmith2 / Getty(UNICEF, 2020a). Such technology and digital divides
cause them to lose out on education, making the young
population vulnerable in a climate-constrained world.
Investment in educational infrastructure and renewable
technologies to power such facilities needs to beprioritized to help youth with learning.

Finally, support innovation in educational approaches.
While inclusion of facts in curriculum support informed
civic engagement and action among students, theyoften find it difficult to comprehend the colossal
damage from climate catastrophes. Schools are
now encouraging innovations that connect the dots
between curriculum and creativity. Minecraft Education
Edition’s Climate Futures, an online game, is one suchtool that educates youth about climate crises. Schools in New South Wales,
Australia, are now using Minecraft in classrooms to encourage innovative
thinking and allow students to create and build solutions to face the climatechange threat (NSW Department of Education, n.d.; Panecasio, 2022).
Such early exposure to innovation and problem-solving skills also can foster
youth in building careers and entrepreneurship in environmental issues.
Similarly, ‘snackable’ videos, well-made infographics, and other content
featuring climate issues on social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter,and Instagram to target younger generations are on the rise; these could gain
in importance, given that statistics indicate an average of nearly two hours
daily spent on social media by internet users (Hootsuite & We Are Social, 2022).
The power of such innovation and new thinking should be actively unleashedto create a more environmentally literate and civically engaged global society.

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

Early exposure
to innovation andproblem-solving
skills can foster
youth in building
careers andentrepreneurshipin environmental
issues.

53

5.3 Interconnectednessof institutions and policies
Interconnectedness in governance is relevant along several dimensions:(a) local and global administrations to scale up climate change mitigation
and adaptation efforts, (b) transnational governance systems for concerted
action towards international goals, and (c) diverse policy issues effecting
an economy-wide transition to a healthier planet.
Global governance of environmental challenges happens through treaties
and agreements, which provide a legal basis for international cooperation andnegotiations between sovereign states. There are nearly 2000 international
environmental treaties currently in force (Ecolex, 2022). However, the example
of climate change commitments shows that translation of international
commitments into national legislation or strategies has largely happened in
the build-up to landmark international events, such as the 2009 Copenhagen
Accord and the 2015 Paris Agreement (Iacobuta
et al., 2018). While this points to the effectivenessof international political pressure in spurring national
action, it may also indicate a lack of urgency
or consensus on climate action within domestic
boundaries – a risk to rapid mitigation and adaptation.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

As a group, youth
are spatiallyand temporally
vulnerable toenvironmental
degradation.

54

National commitments do not necessarily translate
into optimal outcomes at the local level. Lessons inforest land restoration from northern Thailand showthat power imbalances between national governancebodies and local communities can lead to suboptimal
outcomes (Sapkota et al., 2021). Without inclusion of affected communities
in the process of forming global policies and of translating global policies into
domestic policies, participation in governance may not yield positive outcomes(Gustafsson & Schilling-Vacaflor, 2022).
Thus, the multilevel interconnectedness of governance requires innovativemeans of giving decision-making power to youth. As a group, youth are
spatially and temporally vulnerable to environmental degradation (Di Gregorio
et al., 2019).
Existing global governance systems, within which environmental governancefunctions, are ill-equipped to manage economic interdependence; areasymmetric in scope, access and outcomes; and have led to shrinking
policy space for national governments, which has impeded their ability
to address domestic inequities (United Nations, 2014). Developed countries(or Annex-I countries) have failed to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction
commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol (Prasad et al., 2021), leading
to constrained space for developing countries to transition to sustainableeconomies. As countries negotiate environmental treaties based on theirwider economic interests, policy coherence is increasingly forming the
focus of discourse on multilateral environmental agreements.

Policy coherence can be defined as a process of policymaking thatsystematically considers the pursuit of multiple policy goals in a coordinatedway, by minimizing trade-offs and maximizing synergies. Such coherence iswidely seen as critical to channelling interconnectedness and leading to thesuccessful implementation of global policy frameworks (Antwi-Agyei et al.,2018; Dzebo et al., 2019; Nilsson & Weitz, 2019; OECD, 2018). Multilateralenvironmental agreements have barely made any progress towards integrating
issues beyond limited scope (Azizi et al., 2019). Policy coherence efforts that
aim to jointly implement environmental, social and economic goals can bea strategy for operationalizing our youth vision for systemic change, while
ensuring that action on climate change does not come at the expense of othercritical development goals, such as poverty and inequality reduction.
The complexity of international governance of the environment neednot hinder youth action. Globally, youth have access to contemporarycommunication methods such as social media, and they have connected theirlocal experiences with mainstream climate and sustainability science (Eide& Kunelius, 2021).

5.4 Accountability
through litigation
While youth-led climate protests have received much attention in recent years,
youth have also been targeting policymakers through more formal mechanisms,
such as litigation efforts. Climate change litigation is increasingly being used
as a tool to influence policy decisions and corporate behaviour.
Litigation related to climate change has been filed in over 28 countries.
While most of the cases target governments, an increasing number of suits
target industries that are high emitters of greenhouse gases (Setzer & Byrnes,2020). An increasing number of these cases are being filed in low- andmiddle‑income countries.
Another major trend is that many of these cases have young plaintiffs. Youth,
especially those below legal voting age in their countries, use climate litigation
as a means to raise their voices.
Youth voices holding governments and corporations responsible is not new.
In 1992 the then 12-year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki – who at age 9 had founded

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

This can be seen in the case of Symbios and Klimatstudenter, two university
student organizations in Sweden, which organize activities and campaigns
on climate change for students at Stockholm University and elsewhere.
Their approach and purpose target the day-to-day lifestyle changes thatstudents can adopt, such as shifts to sustainable fashion and vegan diets.
Youth organizations such as these aid many young people in their desire‘to do their part’.

55the Environmental Children’s Organization – raised money to attend and speakat the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. Cullis-Suzuki wanted to go in order to remind
policymakers that her generation would have to deal with the impacts of theirdecisions (Han & Ahn, 2020).
More recently, in August 2015, 21 teenagers from Oregon filed a lawsuit (Juliana
v. U.S) against the federal government and the fossil fuel industry arguingthat failing to take action against climate change violated their rights to life,
liberty and property (Han & Ahn, 2020). Six young people in Portugal have filed
a legal action accusing 33 countries of violating their right to life by not doing
their share to tackle climate change (Lewis, 2021). And 25 young people filed
a motion to stop deforestation in the Amazon in Colombia (Change, 2020).

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

At the UN Climate Summit in 2019, Greta Thunberg, along with 15 otherchildren, filed a formal complaint under the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child, arguing that countries’ failures to address the climate crisis violated
the convention (Han & Ahn, 2020). In our survey results,
59% of the youth responding stated that they feel
either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied withthe actions taken by their government to protect its
citizens from the impacts of climate change.

56

59% of the youth
responding statedthat they feel
either somewhat
dissatisfied orvery dissatisfied
with the actions
taken by theirgovernment toprotect its citizens
from the impactsof climate change.

Similarly, youth activists in Europe collected signatures
under the European Citizen’s Initiative in 2019 topressure the European Parliament into taking action
on the climate crisis. They demanded that the EU
adjust its Paris Agreement goals to ensure an 80%
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
(Han & Ahn, 2020). And in April 2021, the Federal
Constitutional Court (the highest court in Germany)sided with German youth activists who had filed a casedemanding that the government expand legislation toachieve net zero targets by 2050 (Edy, 2021).

These youth-led climate litigation efforts could be
instrumental in advancing progress on addressing
the losses and damages that countries andcommunities are already facing as a result of climate
impacts (Toussaint, 2021). In addition, youth have also been putting forward
demands on how policymakers can address loss and damage. In the run-up
to the climate change conference in Glasgow in 2021 (COP26), for instance,
the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition’s key demands included pledging
a trillion US dollars in finance for loss and damage over the next five years;
taxing big polluters, such as large industries and corporations, to pay for loss
and damage; and highlighting youth voices in loss and damage negotiations(LDYC, 2021).
Litigation efforts also come with their own roadblocks. One of the major
challenges is the difficulty in establishing a causal relationship between
specific climate-related losses and sources of greenhouse gas emissions(Setzer & Byrnes, 2020). However, as the science linking greenhouse gas

emissions to specific climate-change outcomes improves, it will be easier
to link the contributions of corporations and the lack of preparedness ofgovernments to the losses and damages from climate change and to claim
adequate compensation.
Another difficulty is assessing the long-term impacts of climate change
litigation. Legislation resulting from litigation may be reversed. The outcomesare often in the form of reputational risk to corporations or governments,
the impact of which is difficult to quantify (Setzer & Byrnes, 2020). Large
scale climate litigation is also relatively recent and its long-term impacts are
therefore unknown.
Litigation can also often be a lengthy and expensive affair and is not accessible
to everyone. For citizens of non-democratic nations, holding governments
and corporations responsible is simply not possible. Another roadblock is thatindustry representatives and climate change denying NGOs are also hoppingon the litigation wagon and are bringing lawsuits that support deregulationof climate change and removal of climate protections.

Youth have already been putting forward solutions and recommendations
for addressing the climate crisis to be taken up by policymakers. In the
run up to COP26, YOUNGO released a global youth statement representing
the views of over 47 000 young climate leaders from across the world(YOUNGO, 2021). This included calls to action such as: aligning countries’
climate policies with scientific guidance and increasing ambition; promoting
an energy transition to renewable energy sources; providing climate financeto least developed countries, including finance for loss and damage; andaddressing the disproportionate effects of the climate crisis borne by
marginalized communities.
Some of the components to legitimize youth voices and to accelerate
implementation include networking and collaboration; education, capacity
building and skills development; policy and policy development such as
assisting young people to engage in decision-making processes and inclusionof intergenerational equity in policy; and conceptual changes such asrecognizing young people as effective participants and considering climatechange in context of other developmental challenges (Benkenstein et al., 2020).
Young people want policymakers to ensure longer-term thinking, throughboth acknowledging that climate impacts are already occurring and recognizingthat the livelihoods of future generations are severely at risk. For example,
one survey respondent argued that:

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

5.5 Accelerating implementation:
calls to action forpolicymakers

57For me, at 18, I recognize that I will be living with the long-term
impacts of the generations before me. I understand that there
are tangible changes that can be made to avoid the large-scale
impacts. I think sometimes older people lack the same kind of longterm vision, or sense that these decisions will directly impact them.
Furthermore, youth are willing and ready to play key roles in implementing
and actualizing policies for a healthy environment. It is highly important to
tap into the potential of growing young experts in the field of environmental
sustainability and climate change to adequately utilize their skills.
Findings from the survey for this report also include suggested pathways
forward for reducing the effects of and adapting to climate change. Overall,
the majority of youth who responded to the survey believe that the highest
impact on dealing with the climate crisis would come from political will ofnational governments to take action, as well as from global consensus on thescale and pace of action. Activism efforts to pressure governments into taking
action is also flagged as high on the agenda. This highlights the critical roleof policymakers as agents of change in the climate crisis, with youth playing
a role in holding governments accountable.
The survey also suggests that a majority of youth (57%) believe that youth
are not adequately represented in international climate negotiations. Of these,
66% are either female or identify as other gender minorities, and 57% areaffiliated with Global South countries.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

On this basis, the survey results for this report include key recommendations
for how to ensure adequate youth participation and involvement. Figure 6
presents the 415 recommendations, coded and synthesized.

58

The top recommendation emerging from these responses is the need for more
opportunities for youth to engage in different forums and voice their concerns.
For example, one of the responses highlighted the need for ‘more platforms
on an international and global scale to raise voices and concern regarding
the inability of governments to take decisive actions against climate-change
inducing practices.’
Going beyond this, however, a number of responses also highlighted challenges
with existing participation efforts, and stressed the need to move beyond
participation and representation. For example, 16% of responses emphasized
the importance of greater decision-making power given to youth, with youth
actively involved in climate policymaking. This included suggestions such as
electing young candidates to government and ‘legislation on empowering youth
with an official representative on constructing policies towards an eco-friendly
environment with a seat/power to vote/veto government’s proposed laws’.
In our survey, 12% of responses stressed the need to not only listen to youth
voices, but actually work towards implementing the solutions proposed byyouth. For example, one respondent stated that ‘oftentimes, we are tokenized.
We are asked to provide a youth perspective that is lauded as ambition, but not
actually considered as the appropriate pathway for action’.

Moreover, 57% of responses also emphasized that global youth are notadequately represented in the international climate negotiations. For example,
one respondent stressed the need to ‘improve/increase support for theparticipation of young people especially those from developing countries
and Small Island Developing States who are most vulnerable to the effects ofclimate change’. In addition, 6% of responses called for increased negotiating
power for youth within the climate negotiations, such as through youth being
part of country delegations, quotas for youth involvement, and ‘organizations
like YOUNGO [should be] given more delegates and speaking time at COP andother climate conferences’.
Another key recommendation from the survey is to increase education,awareness raising and capacity building targeting youth. Nearly a seventhof survey respondents raised the point of incorporating climate education inschool curriculums, as well as educating and training youth to be policymakers
leading efforts to deal with climate change. Similarly, 6% of responses also
highlighted the need for capacity and resources for youth to be able to engage
in participatory processes, including through financial support to attend climate
negotiations.

Figure 6
Recommendations for youth inclusion
Better participation and opportunities tovoice youth concerns in different forums
More decision making power,with youth represented in policymaking
Education, awareness raisingand capacity building of youth

More diversity and involvementof youth from the Global South
More youth in negotiating positions,eg as part of country delegations
Increased capacity and resources
to enable youth engagement
Youth representationin different organizations
Other
Better voting rights for youth
Ensuring a long-term policy visionthat incorporates the future of youth

Number of responses
Derived from the youth survey.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Magnifying youth-led action: climate change and beyond

Moving from representation
to implementing suggested solutions

59

Conclusion
This report highlights views from young people (ages 18 – 30) representing
89 countries, almost half of the total number of countries globally. The views
expressed and recommendations proposed are timely, as on average, youth
alive today have lived and experienced half the era since the Stockholm
Conference took place in 1972.
The climatic conditions throughout this period have worsened, causing many
young people anxiety from lived and predicted dangers related to climatechange. The anxiety is due to compelling reasons, as reviewed in this report,
where a child born in 2020 will experience on average twice as many wildfires,
2.6 times as may drought events, 2.8 times as many river floods and 6.8 times
more heatwaves across their lifetime, compared to a person born in 1960.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable futureThis reality has pushed some young people beyond anxiety to action, invarious capacities and often with little to no resources. Youth from diverse
backgrounds are at the forefront of advancing sustainability, througha combination of activism, litigation and on-the-ground efforts. Anothersegment of young people may choose to pursue careers in the sciences,
politics and government, economics, and diverse interlinked sectors, to better
equip themselves with knowledge and skills to deliver rigorous research, aswell as develop alternative innovative models and approaches that will continue
to meet and sustain the needs of the current generation, without further
compromising the natural and ecological environment.

60

With the concept of global solidarity as a basis to tackling environmental
challenges in a post-Stockholm+50 world, young people are uniting. They
have joined efforts and forces through global and local – or ‘glocal’ – networks,
social media, and issued joint statements, among other acts. Often, youth go
beyond the systemic barriers that often alienate and classify members of any
society based on geographic location, race, religion and gender orientation,
among others.
In the long run, legitimizing youth voices in mainstream policymaking
with greater decision-making, financial and political power will acceleratecurrent efforts towards systemic changes that will lead to a sustainable
world. Reforming governance to ensure better and productive youth
inclusivity, interconnectedness and accountability, with education andcapacity building, will be fundamental to achieving our youth vision ofa post‑Stockholm+50 world.

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The intent of the youth survey conducted for this report was to gain anunderstanding and collect opinions of youth (ages 18 – 30) from around theworld, on their perspective on key environmental issues and help solidify
the key findings in the report. The survey was launched on Google Forms andyouth organizations were requested to distribute the survey within their youth
networks. The survey had an age minimum of 18 years old, underscored by amandatory question about the age of the respondent being minimum 18 years.
After construction of the survey, a pilot survey was launched that was
answered by the report authors and their colleagues, to ensure thefunctioning and clarity of the questions. After receiving the feedback,the survey was finalized and launched on 20 January 2022 and closed
on 8 March 2022. The survey was emailed to youth organizations (as identified
in the acknowledgements), which then helped forward the survey to their
youth networks.
A total of 1050 responses from 89 countries were collected. After the youth
survey closed, respondents that did not fit in the age range of 18 – 30 wereomitted manually, to ensure only responses from those within the age range as
decided for this report were considered. Additionally, the respondents who did
not provide consent for the authors to present their responses (0.6%) wheremanually omitted, resulting in 910 responses. The data were then downloaded
to an Excel spreadsheet and coded manually, as per requirements of eachsection of the report.

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future

The different types of representations are presented in the graphs below.

66

Countries represented in the survey

Argentina

Democratic Republic

LiberiaSouth Africa

Luxembourg

Spain

Austria

Denmark

Malaysia

Sri Lanka

Bangladesh

Dominica

Malta

Sudan

Barbados

EcuadorMexicoSwedenBelgium

Estonia

Myanmar

Switzerland

Bolivia

Ethiopia

Namibia

Tanzania

Bosnia and

Fiji

Nepal

Thailand

Herzegovina

FinlandNetherlands

Timor-Leste

Botswana

FranceNew Zealand

Togo

BrazilGeorgia

Niger

Trinidad and Tobago

Bulgaria

Germany

Nigeria

Tunisia

Burkina Faso

Ghana

Pakistan

UgandaBurundiGuineaParaguay

United Kingdom

Cameroon

GuyanaPeru

United States

CanadaIndia

Philippines

Viet Nam

Chad

Indonesia

Poland

Yemen

Chile

Iran

Portugal

Zambia

China

Iraq

RwandaZimbabwe

Colombia

IrelandSenegalCôte d’Ivoire

Italy

SerbiaCroatiaJapan

Sierra Leone

Cyprus

JordanSingapore

Czech Republic

Kenya

Somalia

Australiaof the Congo

Appendix

Countries represented in the survey

67

The survey questions revolved around the key topics in the report and are
as follows:
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•

Charting a youth vision for a just and sustainable future•

68

Do you know what is climate change?
According to you, what are the top three causes of climate change?
Do you feel that climate change impacted you? If yes, how has it impacted you?
How do you feel about climate change?
Do you think it is necessary to change our individual behaviour/habits to reduce
impacts of climate change? If so, what are the top three changes you are willingto adopt?
According to you, how important is each of the following in assessing theprosperity of a country?
How satisfied are you with the actions taken by your government to protect
its citizens from the impacts of climate change?
How satisfied are you with the actions taken by your organization to address
climate change issues?
How big is an organization’s strategy to address climate change issues a factor
in your decision to be a part of it?
To what extent do you feel that the following would have an impact on reducing
the effects of, and adapting to, climate change?
Do you think the global youth is represented adequately in the international
climate negotiations/governance? If not, what do you think needs to be done
to ensure adequate youth participation and involvement?
Do you feel that youth have the capacity to create change in the current
climate change efforts?
Are you or have you been involved in efforts that address climate change?
Do you think your government is doing enough to support environmentally
sustainable recovery from the pandemic?
Have you been or are you involved in any activity that relates to sustainable
and inclusive Covid-19 recovery? If yes, what are these activities? If not,which activities do you think are essential to ensure sustainable and inclusive
Covid-19 recovery?
What do you think are the key learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic that
could help in the fight against climate change?

Gender
1050 responses

Male: 36.7%

Female: 61.3%

Nonbinary: 0.7%

Gender queer: 0.5%

Derived fromthe youth survey.

Affiliation
1050 responses

Prefer not to say: 0.9%

Student: 40.8%
Non-governmental organization/
civil society organization: 23.9%
Private sector: 11.5%
Government/public sector: 5.9%
Inter-governmentalorganization: 2.5%
Academia: 7.7%
Self-employed/freelance: 4.3%

Derived fromthe youth survey.

Highest education
1050 responses

No affiliation: 3.5%

Primary: 0.2%
Secondary: 1.6%
Higher secondary/high school: 15.5%
Bachelor's degree: 41.1%
Master's degree: 37.3%

Derived fromthe youth survey.

Technical certification/
vocational studies: 1.5%

Appendix

Doctoral: 2.8%

69