The youth activists leading the way

A statement by Jean McLean of the Green Economy Coalition emphasizing the critical role of youth activists in addressing climate, environmental, and economic crises, while calling for greater intergenerational collaboration to ensure the burden of change does not fall solely on the younger generation.

• Youth activists are characterized by their impatience for change and their understanding of the urgency regarding current climate, environment, and economic crises, necessitating greater intergenerational collaboration to build a just system.
• Youth-led activism is manifesting through legislative proposals, such as high school students in Indiana, USA, who wrote and proposed climate legislation due to inaction by elected officials.
• The #FridaysForFuture movement has enabled numerous individuals to organize protests and actions to increase the demand for faster and more ambitious climate action.
• Young people are utilizing legal systems to combat climate inaction, including a lawsuit by six Portuguese children and young adults against 33 countries at the European Court of Human Rights to reduce emissions, and a complaint by seven children in Peru against the state regarding deforestation in the Amazon.
• The Green Economy Coalition supports the United Nations' goal of fostering equitable intergenerational relations, asserting that the responsibility for societal transformation must be shared across generations.

APA

McLean, J. (2022). The youth activists leading the way. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/the-youth-activists-leading-the-way

Chicago

McLean, Jean. The youth activists leading the way. Green Economy Coalition, 2022. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/the-youth-activists-leading-the-way.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=McLean |first1=Jean |title=The youth activists leading the way |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=10 August 2022 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/the-youth-activists-leading-the-way |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mclean2022youth, author = {McLean, Jean}, title = {{The youth activists leading the way}}, publisher = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/the-youth-activists-leading-the-way}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }