In solidarity with the Global Climate Strike, young environmental advocates hold colored boards and attempt to make an earth image during a rally at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City (east of Manila, Philippiness) in September 2019. Environmental protection advocacy groups urged the Philippine government to urgently respond to the climate change crisis. EFE/EPA/ROLEX PENA
“We will remember a time when our homes stood proud and tall, for today they stand no more. That place is now taken by the ocean.” These are the words of a young poet from Papua New Guinea,Speaking at the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, November 2021.
To echo the poet’s words, children living today as well as future generations, in particular those in low-income countries, will be The hardest to reachby the effects of climate change and ecosystem destruction. In the year 2100, sea levels will rise by approximately Nearly 200 million are at risk, especially in coastal Asia. We can stop this by working to protect the rights of children, youth, and their right to live in healthy environments.
Caption: The sea-level rise is having profound consequences for young people today and future generations. Image/Statista
Far from being passive victims of environmental degradation, children and youth—many of them in the Global South—are playing an increasing role tackling the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, and securing their own right to a healthy environment. Their leadership is crucial for a healthy biosphere, the thin layer of Earth that supports life and where water, land, and air interact.
We need to recognize and promote the value of such work if we are to transform towards global sustainability. We need a truly global vision which supports the agency and contributions of youth from the Global South.
Multilateral opportunities to leverage
Many multilateral agreements contain language that addresses climate and the future of young people. The Paris AgreementOn climate, for instance, it refers to intergenerational equity as well as the rights of children. The Glasgow Pact, in paragraph 64, urges parties and stakeholders to “ensure meaningful youth participation and representation in multilateral, national and local decision-making processes, including under the (UNFCC) Convention and the Paris Agreement.” The Convention on Biological Diversity explicitly states that it is “determined to conserve and sustainably use biological diversity for the benefit of present and future generations.”
Some might think that the Global North is responsible for the implementation of multilateral human rights and environmental agreements. But this is only one part of the story.
Multilateral environmental forums have young people speaking up, not least because they are most directly affected by climate change and ecosystem degradation. Joanna Sustento from the Philippines was a young climate activist. She survived Typhoon Haiyan and lost almost her entire family. She has been active in the global climate negotiations, proving that no one is too old to make a difference. Many children and young people from the Global South participate in the Global South Youth Initiative. YOUNGO, the constituency of UNFCCC aiming to empower youth and formally bring their voices to shape the intergovernmental climate change policies
The biodiversity of the earth is the Global Youth Biodiversity NetworkRepresents the voices of global youth at biodiversity negotiations. They demand transformative change and prioritise intergenerational equity, youth participation and human rights.
The Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental UN body, was established just weeks before the Glasgow climate conference. RecognizedHuman rights include a healthy, sustainable, and clean environment. The following are some of the OrganizationsThis resolution was pushed for by the Children’s Environmental Rights Initiative, a movement made up of young people who work under the auspices the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.
Youth are exercising their freedoms in one way: Healthy environment is possibleThis is done by combining regional legal developments with national laws. In Indonesia, Article 28h(1) recognizes that everyone has the right to a healthy and happy environment. These legal advances are built upon by the HRC decision.
A rise in youth activism has led to calls to establish genuine intergenerational partnerships, acknowledging their incredible ability for mobilization and harnessing technology advances. Although there is one youth agency in all countries of the Global South, innovations from the Asia-Pacific region are often overlooked.
Youth action in the Asia-Pacific Region
Youth are using social media and popular culture to amplify climate and biodiversity research by environmental organizations. The Twitter account Kpop4planet ran a digital campaign #SavePapuaForest 2020, which made palm oil–linked deforestation a trending topic in the digital world. GreenpeaceReports indicate that the campaign raised concerns that nearly a million hectares were being converted to oil palm plantations. An investigative reportPublished by BBC, Forensic architecture and Greenpeace in 2021 also showed that Korindo (a Korean palm oil company) had burned thousands upon thousands of hectares in Papua. In 2021, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) terminated Korindo’s sustainability certification.
The youth-led organisation is another example. Students from Pacific Islands Fighting Climate ChangeFor years, they have been advocating for climate action in the Pacific Islands. They are currently attempting to obtain an advisory opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice.
Such campaigns are not being orchestrated by “the usual suspects” of NGOs of the Global North. Many are spontaneously arising in response to the social-ecological crises we share. They should be supported and recognized.
States that comply with their human rights obligations send a clear message that children and youth who are at the forefront of the fight against climate changes, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and other threats to the environment, are valued. In order to bring about sustainability transformations, children and youth must not be the only ones involved. We must all work together, urgently, and collectively. We cannot do this alone, or even alone as sovereign states: this effort needs everyone—especially young people.
As the young poet urged in Glasgow: “Let us work together and let our story be told. Trust us to lead our solutions locally and act now.”
