| dc.description.abstract | As the world continues to experience varying dynamics
of the climate change crisis, youth exclusion and underrepresentation
in significant decisions on climate change
has emerged as a concern for three main reasons.
Firstly, youth represent a large proportion of the world’s
population. Today, young people aged between 10 and 24
years make up 1.8 billion of the world’s population, which
represents 16 percent of the global population, while in
developing countries they constitute up to 80 per cent of
the population (UNDP, 2022). Secondly, this demographic
will inherit the effects of climate change caused by actions
of past and current generations and, consequently, there
are growing calls for meaningful youth engagement
(African Youth Climate Assembly Declaration, 2023; UNDP,
2022). Meaningful youth participation in climate action is
“making young people a real priority in policies and policy
making, recognizing their efforts and impact to date, and
promoting and enabling their participation in climate
politics. It is also about securing their rightful place in climate
governance structures across all levels, and empowering
and collaborating with them in the implementation of
solutions” (UNDP, 2022:12). This definition acknowledges
that young people are key drivers of climate change
advocacy, innovation, and sustainability (UNDP, 2022),
but several factors have led to their exclusion from climate...... | en |
