A Livable Climate Needs Help from Youth: The U.S. Can Foster It

The authors contend that youth are disproportionately affected by climate change and its associated security risks but remain excluded from formal policymaking. They propose three specific actions for U.S. leadership: including youth in the Paris Agreement negotiating team, utilizing youth engagement in public diplomacy and peacebuilding, and leveraging influence in international financial institutions like the World Bank to prioritize youth-led climate projects.

• Young people are largely excluded from formal climate decision-making, often facing 'youthwashing' where their inclusion is superficial. Data shows that only 1% of multilateral climate fund projects serving the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement involved youth under 18 in program implementation.
• Climate change significantly impacts youth, particularly in developing or conflict-affected states. UNICEF research indicates that 1 billion children live in countries at "extremely high risk" of environmental threats, and nearly 90% of the world's 1.8 billion people aged 10 to 24 live in areas where climate change undermines peace.
• Youth are actively innovating in climate policy and security. Examples include the Global Youth Climate Statement, which incorporated input from 700,000 youth across 150 countries, and the Somali Greenpeace Association, which successfully advocated for Somalia to establish a dedicated ministry for climate change and environmental issues.
• There is a strong correlation between youth and the perception of climate change as a security threat. In the U.S., 46% of people aged 18-29 identify climate change as a top security priority, the highest percentage of any age group.
• Multilateral funding for climate change is insufficient and fails to support youth as active agents. Analysis from 2007 to 2023 shows that only 4% of projects identify young people as active agents of change, and only 2.4% explicitly consider youth under 18 in their objectives and implementation.

APA

Barron, E., & Waters, K. (2024). A Livable Climate Needs Help from Youth: The U.S. Can Foster It. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/05/09/a-livable-climate-needs-help-from-youth-the-u-s-can-foster-it/

Chicago

Barron, Elsa, and Katherine Waters. A Livable Climate Needs Help from Youth: The U.S. Can Foster It. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2024. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/05/09/a-livable-climate-needs-help-from-youth-the-u-s-can-foster-it/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Barron |first1=Elsa |last2=Waters |first2=Katherine |title=A Livable Climate Needs Help from Youth: The U.S. Can Foster It |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=9 May 2024 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/05/09/a-livable-climate-needs-help-from-youth-the-u-s-can-foster-it/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{barron2024livable, author = {Barron, Elsa and Waters, Katherine}, title = {{A Livable Climate Needs Help from Youth: The U.S. Can Foster It}}, publisher = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/05/09/a-livable-climate-needs-help-from-youth-the-u-s-can-foster-it/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }