It’s time for the youth climate movement to evolve

In a statement published by the Green Economy Coalition, Climate Vanguard co-founders Jack Johnson and Noah Herfort argue that the youth climate movement must evolve beyond generating awareness to target the systemic and political-economic drivers of environmental breakdown. They announce the launch of Climate Vanguard, a youth-led think tank designed to provide research and communications support to help the movement transition toward radical transformation and dismantle the fossil fuel industry.

• The youth climate movement, while successful in creating global awareness and ambition between 2018 and 2022, was significantly hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which neutralized mass mobilization and shifted media focus.
• The authors contend that the movement has failed to disrupt systemic forces of ecological breakdown because it has relied on media visibility and the slogan "listen to the science," which they argue lacks a political-economic analysis of the power dynamics and structural drivers of the crisis.
• To achieve meaningful change, the authors suggest the movement must escalate its mandate and the European sector must overcome its insularity by forming coalitions with workers, frontline communities, and the most affected areas.
• Climate Vanguard is being established as a youth-led think tank to support the movement's radicalization through tailored research and communications. Its initial activities include a report on dismantling the fossil fuel industry to support the 'End Fossil' campaign and a pilot project with the Green Economy Coalition to map the youth climate movement's orientation toward green economic reform.

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} }