Harriet Thew

How do youth experience participation in global climate change governance?

The youth constituency is one of the fastest-growing non-governmental groups participating in the international climate change negotiations. Young climate activists are gaining unprecedented media coverage for catalysing widespread protests around the world. But how do youth experience participation in global climate change governance? Harriet’s PhD addresses an empirical gap regarding youth participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It uses the qualitative method of ethnography (sometimes known as “deep hanging out”) to explore how youth participants experienced the UNFCCC from 2015-2018. It sheds light upon their motivations, identities and demands, their navigation of complex power relations and their conceptualisations of climate justice, offering several conceptual contributions. The longitudinal aspect of this work offers unique insights into how youth perceptions and participatory strategies change over time, gained through trust and understanding built between the researcher and participants.

In addition to its empirical novelty, this PhD’s potential for impact is heightened by the recent surge of youth climate activism catalysed by Greta Thunberg and the School Strikes for Climate movement. The presence of millions of young people on our streets place youth firmly in the spotlight and researchers and practitioners alike are turning their attention to this dynamic and inspiring group. Harriet’s PhD takes an important first step towards understanding this growing social movement and lays the foundations for further critical research as well as interventions in climate change policy and practice.