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“You Need a Month’s Holiday Just to Get over It!” Exploring Young People’s Lived Experiences of the UN Climate Change Negotiations

Author

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  • Harriet Thew

    (Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Lucie Middlemiss

    (Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Jouni Paavola

    (Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

Abstract

Despite youth organisations having participated as a recognised constituency (YOUNGO) in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for over a decade, few studies have explored their lived experiences of participation. Drawing upon deep ethnographic engagement with a member organisation of YOUNGO conducted between 2015 and 2018, this paper applies the “7P” model from the Youth Studies literature to explore youth participation in the UNFCCC from seven intersecting lenses: Purpose , Positioning , Perspectives , Power Relations , Protection , Place , and Process . This yields many insights into how youth participants negotiate sustainability in this context, including the Purposes or drivers motivating their participation, the ways in which youth are Positioned within the UNFCCC, the asymmetrical Power Relations they have to navigate, as well as the logistical challenges relating to their Protection, including their physical safety and psychological wellbeing. Based on rich empirical findings, we amend the 7P model of youth participation, replacing Process , which we argue is more of a methodological than an analytical concern, with Psychological Factors , which we propose is a key factor in shaping youth participation in negotiations of sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Harriet Thew & Lucie Middlemiss & Jouni Paavola, 2022. "“You Need a Month’s Holiday Just to Get over It!” Exploring Young People’s Lived Experiences of the UN Climate Change Negotiations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:4259-:d:786517
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Adrian Brügger & Moritz Gubler & Katharine Steentjes & Stuart B. Capstick, 2020. "Social Identity and Risk Perception Explain Participation in the Swiss Youth Climate Strikes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-17, December.
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    3. Cahill, Helen & Dadvand, Babak, 2018. "Re-conceptualising youth participation: A framework to inform action," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 243-253.
    4. Matthias Kowasch & Joana P. Cruz & Pedro Reis & Niklas Gericke & Katharina Kicker, 2021. "Climate Youth Activism Initiatives: Motivations and Aims, and the Potential to Integrate Climate Activism into ESD and Transformative Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-25, October.
    5. Harriet Thew, 2018. "Youth participation and agency in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 369-389, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gloria Freschi & Marialuisa Menegatto & Adriano Zamperini, 2023. "How Can Psychology Contribute to Climate Change Governance? A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-24, September.

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