It’s time for the youth climate movement to evolve

The authors argue that while the youth climate movement successfully raised global awareness between 2018 and 2022, it has failed to disrupt the systemic forces of ecological breakdown. They suggest the movement must move beyond the 'listen to the science' narrative, which they claim ignores the power dynamics and political-economic drivers of the crisis. To support this evolution, the authors have established Climate Vanguard, a youth-led think tank designed to provide research and communications to help the movement target root causes and build coalitions with frontline communities and workers.

• The youth climate movement was a major driver of global climate ambition from 2018 to 2022, but its momentum was significantly hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which neutralized mass mobilization and shifted media focus.
• The movement's reliance on the phrase 'listen to the science' is criticized for lacking a political-economic analysis and incorrectly assuming the climate crisis is primarily a result of an information deficit among policymakers.
• To become more effective, the authors state the European wing of the movement must overcome its insularity and form genuine coalitions with workers and frontline communities in the most affected areas.
• Climate Vanguard is established as a youth-led think tank to provide research and communications that substantiate movement demands and target the root drivers of the crisis, including an inaugural report on dismantling the fossil fuel industry to support the End Fossil campaign.
• A pilot project in collaboration with the Green Economy Coalition will map a globally representative sample of the youth climate movement to assess their orientation toward green economic reform and identify potential members for a global youth network.

APA

Johnson, J., & Herfort, N. (2022). It’s time for the youth climate movement to evolve. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/its-time-for-the-youth-climate-movement-to-evolve

Chicago

Johnson, Jack, and Noah Herfort. It’s time for the youth climate movement to evolve. Green Economy Coalition, 2022. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/its-time-for-the-youth-climate-movement-to-evolve.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Johnson |first1=Jack |last2=Herfort |first2=Noah |title=It’s time for the youth climate movement to evolve |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=10 August 2022 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/its-time-for-the-youth-climate-movement-to-evolve |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{johnson2022its, author = {Johnson, Jack and Herfort, Noah}, title = {{It’s time for the youth climate movement to evolve}}, publisher = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/its-time-for-the-youth-climate-movement-to-evolve}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }