Learning from Young People Engaged in Climate Activism: The Potential of Collectivizing Despair and Hope

Hope takes on particular significance at this historical moment, which is defined by the prospect of a climate-altered future. Young people (aged 18–29) from climate action groups in New Zealand were interviewed about how they perceived the future. Deploying a unique combination of conceptual tools and in-depth analysis of a small set of interviews, I explore young New Zealanders’ complex relationships with despair and hope. Paulo Freire claimed his despair as a young man ‘educated’ what emerged as hope. I extend Freire’s concept in two ways by considering: (a) how hope might also ‘educate’ despair and (b) how hope and despair might operate at a collective level, drawing on Rosemary Randall’s psychotherapeutic analysis of societal responses to climate change. Participants identified collective processes as generating hope. Collectivizing hope and despair is important so that young people do not feel climate change is only their burden to solve.

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Just Adapt: Engaging Disadvantaged Young People in Planning for Climate Adaptation

Politics and Governance ◽

10.17645/pag.v9i2.3892 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 100-111 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anna R. Davies ◽

Stephan Hügel

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Young People ◽

Public Participation ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Sense Of Self ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

Adaptation Planning ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Climate Action

The visibility of young people in climate change debates has risen significantly since the inception of the Fridays for Future movement, but little is known about the diversity of positions, perspectives and experiences of young people in Ireland, especially with respect to climate change adaptation planning. To close this knowledge gap, this article first interrogates key emergent spaces of public participation within the arena of climate action in Ireland in order to identify the extent of young people’s participation and whether any specific consideration is given to disadvantaged groups. It then tests the impacts of workshops specifically designed to support disadvantaged young people’s engagement with climate change adaptation which were rolled out with a designated Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools school in inner-city Dublin, Ireland. We found limited attention to public participation in climate change adaptation planning generally, with even less consideration given to engaging young people from disadvantaged communities. However, positive impacts with respect to enhanced knowledge of climate change science and policy processes emerged following participation in the workshops, providing the bedrock for a greater sense of self-efficacy around future engagement with climate action amongst the young people involved. We conclude that what is needed to help ensure procedural justice around climate action in Ireland are specific, relevant and interactive educational interventions on the issue of climate change adaptation; interventions which are sensitive to matters of place and difference.

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Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project Down Under: The Up Market of the Climate Movement

Practicing Anthropology ◽

10.17730/praa.37.1.j35q21p255678071 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 10-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hans Baer

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Environmental Problem ◽

Social Economic ◽

Field Research ◽

Status Quo ◽

Violent Conflict ◽

Climate Policies ◽

Climate Action ◽

The Status ◽

Action Groups

In terms of applied work, anthropologists have been working on climate change issues at two broad and quite distinct levels, namely in the formulation of climate policies and by becoming involved in climate action groups and the climate movement that supports social, economic, and technological changes in the interest of mitigating climate change, a phenomenon that an increasing number of observers view as the most profound environmental problem ever faced by humanity and one that will continue to play itself out during the present century. In her list of issues that engaged anthropologists examine, Warren (2006:213) includes "social justice, inequality, subaltern challenges to the status quo, globalization's impacts, and ethical position of our field research in situations of violent conflict." Ironically, many of these issues are related in one way or another to anthropogenic climate change. I maintain that more anthropologists need to become involved as observers and engaged scholars in applied initiatives seeking to respond to climate change on the local, regional, national, and global levels.

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Aligning Climate Governance with Urban Water Management: Insights from Transnational City Networks

Water ◽

10.3390/w11040701 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 701 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jale Tosun ◽

Lucas Leopold

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Management ◽

Local Governments ◽

Urban Water ◽

Urban Water Management ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

Climate Governance ◽

Depth Analysis ◽

Climate Action ◽

Transnational City

A growing number of cities in different world regions are forming transnational networks in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change. In this study, we are interested in the nexus between climate change and urban water management. How do transnational city networks for climate action perceive urban water management? What kind of activities do they adopt for improving urban water management? How effective are these in practice? This study maps 17 transnational city networks that primarily work on climate governance, assesses whether they formally embrace urban water management as a field of activity, and analyzes the extent to which they influence local climate action regarding water-related issues. Our descriptive analysis reveals that the great majority of transnational city networks has embraced goals related to urban water management, mostly framed from the perspective of adaptation to climate change. However, our in-depth analysis of two frontrunner cities in Germany shows that membership in ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) has only limited influence on the initiation and implementation of water-related policy measures.

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Understanding the evidence for climate concerns, negative emotions and climate-related mental ill-health in young people: a scoping review

10.1101/2021.09.27.21264151 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Reem Ramadan ◽

Alicia Randell ◽

Suzie Lavoie ◽

Caroline X Gao ◽

Paula Cruz Manrique ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mental Health ◽

Young People ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Health Research ◽

Negative Emotions ◽

Youth Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Original Research ◽

Climate Action

ABSTRACTBackgroundHuman-induced climate change represents a serious threat to human health, including mental health, due to both the traumatising effects of extreme climate events and the psychological effect of worry about climate change. The present scoping review aims to systematically search and synthesise original research related to mental health and climate related concerns, negative emotions and mental ill-health in young people. Findings will help to understand the current landscape, gaps in the literature, and to provide recommendations for future youth mental health research and practice.MethodsA systematic search and narrative synthesis of the literature published prior to October 2020 examining negative emotions associated with climate change in young people was undertaken. Studies were included if they examined mental ill-health (e.g. symptoms of depression or anxiety) or negative emotions (e.g. distress, worry, concern) associated with the threat of climate change.FindingsOf the 3329 peer-reviewed articles screened, 12 met the inclusion criteria. Together, included studies show that young people are worried about climate change. Studies also explored the coping strategies young people use to manage their distress caused by climate change.InterpretationsThe limited literature in this area indicates a key gap in youth mental health research. Available evidence suggests that young people are concerned about climate change, which may increase risk of mental ill-health. Thus, clinicians should assess for and address climate anxiety in young people. Mental health leaders are urged to advocate for urgent climate action to mitigate the effects of climate anxiety in young people.Fundingthis project was not funded.

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From knowledge to action – can modern and active teaching formats help to bridge the value-action gap among school students and raise their climate-friendly behavior?

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8229 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eva Feldbacher ◽

Manuela Waberer ◽

Lena Campostrini ◽

Gabriele Weigelhofer

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Young People ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Population Group ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Basic Knowledge ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

School Students ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Complex Relationships

Numerous studies and survey results indicate that the majority of the population is aware of climate change and displays worries about it, but only a few people show willingness to change their behavior accordingly and to act more climate-friendly. The discrepancy between knowledge and action (value - action gap) is seen as an obstacle to successful adaptation to climate change, and is particularly pronounced in the young population group. In addition to the lack of a sound basic knowledge, young people above all lack the believe in their own possibilities and the conviction that their actions are enough to achieve something (&#8220;bigger than self-dilemma&#8221;).&#160;We initiated a research &#8211; education &#8211; cooperation project to reach out for school students and tried to motivate them to engage intensively with climate change and to increase their climate-friendly behavior. Modern teaching and learning formats were used in order to contrast to the typical &#8220;learning&#8221; at school and foster voluntary engagement, to transfer positive messages and solutions, and to emphasize the self - efficacy of their actions. The aim of the project was to examine, whether an active engagement over a prolonged time period with topics around climate change can achieve a greater effect on the understanding of complex relationships and raise climate-friendly behavior more effectively than a short, passive learning phase. With the help of an online questionnaire all involved students answered climate-relevant questions of the categories &#8220;behavior, perception and knowledge&#8221; before and after the activities.The questionnaire results revealed that a general knowledge about climate change and climate awareness exist among the students surveyed, even before the project activities. More than 90% believe that every single person can contribute significantly to tackle climate change. However, students had problems with understanding complex relationships and long-term interactions of the consequences of climate change on people and ecosystems. For example, it was difficult for students to correctly estimate virtual water consumption and to see the potential social consequences of climate change.We believe that modern educational concepts on climate change should foster system understanding and seize on the young people&#8217;s positive attitude towards climate protection by pointing out concrete, climate-friendly ways of behavior. In this way it is possible to strengthen the young people&#8217;s believe in their actions (self-efficacy) and to reduce the gap between attitude and action.

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Youth Advancing Climate Change

Practicing Anthropology ◽

10.17730/0888-4552.42.2.19 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 19-23

Author(s):

Tasha Elizarde ◽

Kate McWilliams ◽

Kelsey Schober ◽

Brian Conwell ◽

Carly Dennis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Young People ◽

Social Science ◽

Leadership Team ◽

Economic Environment ◽

The Political ◽

Climate Action

Abstract In August 2018, twenty-five young change-makers from Alaska attended the first ever youth dialogue hosted by former Governor Bill Walker's Climate Action Leadership Team (CALT). Five of the dialogue attendees, Tasha Elizarde, Kate McWilliams, Kelsey Schober, Brian Conwell, and Carly Dennis, describe their experiences as young people in the climate movement. They begin by describing their experiences with climate change in Alaska, the work they do within the climate movement, what inspires their work, how the political and economic environment influences their work, and conclude with how social science can support climate work.

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The Role of Late-Night Infotainment Comedy in Communicating Climate Change Consensus

10.31234/osf.io/ufg9r ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Edward John Roy Clarke ◽

Anna Klas ◽

Joshua Stevenson ◽

Emily Jane Kothe

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Policy Support ◽

Mitigation Policy ◽

Behavioural Intentions ◽

Late Night ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Climate Action ◽

Adaptation Policies ◽

Diverse Audience

Climate change is a politically-polarised issue, with conservatives less likely than liberals to perceive it as human-caused and consequential. Furthermore, they are less likely to support mitigation and adaptation policies needed to reduce its impacts. This study aimed to examine whether John Oliver’s “A Mathematically Representative Climate Change Debate” clip on his program Last Week Tonight polarised or depolarised a politically-diverse audience on climate policy support and behavioural intentions. One hundred and fifty-nine participants, recruited via Amazon MTurk (94 female, 64 male, one gender unspecified, Mage = 51.07, SDage = 16.35), were presented with either John Oliver’s climate change consensus clip, or a humorous video unrelated to climate change. Although the climate change consensus clip did not reduce polarisation (or increase it) relative to a control on mitigation policy support, it resulted in hyperpolarisation on support for adaptation policies and increased climate action intentions among liberals but not conservatives.

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