Youth activism in action in response to climate change

Päivitetty viimeksi Tiistai, 17/03/2026

The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of our time, threatening our health, livelihoods and democracies. In parallel, democracy and young people’s fundamental civic rights are also being challenged. So what are young people doing to defend their rights?

The latest Youth action for climate: compendium of practices highlights inspiring examples of youth-led activism and advocacy responding to the climate crisis by presenting how young people continue to take action in the face of growing ecological challenges.

Despite the ongoing climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution, youth-led climate action has not subsided – it is transforming, taking different forms and democratic repertoires. 

This compendium profiles 10 real-life examples, organised into five main themes. Namely, it explores youth activism at international level, it examines how young people engage with the crisis through local activism and it recounts young people’s mental health is impacted in this context. It also covers the multiple insecurities and their relation to the climate crisis and focuses on young people engaging with the crisis though climate litigation. These key topics all drew inspiration from the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership’s symposium, “Young people, democracy and climate action”, that was held on 24-26 September 2024 in Strasbourg, France.