Youth activists are now real agents of change at global climate summits

Climate Justice activists taking part in a youth-led #FridaysForFuture protest in Cork City last year. Diverse and engaged young people are adding fresh perspectives to political proceedings. Picture: Larry Cummins
Standing in the middle of the UN climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, a young undergraduate student asks to learn more about the conversations that were shaping the negotiations. She’s attending discussions around the global goal on adaptation, one of the many key themes in these latest climate negotiations.
Nearby, young negotiators sit around a table until late in the evening brainstorming for the next day. Outside this building, two young people stand holding signs with slogans that stress the need to “fill the fund” of loss and damage that provides financial assistance to the most climate-vulnerable countries.
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB