Context/background of project:

Addressing climate change is the 13th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), where it is described as the single biggest threat to development, and since it will disrupt the basic necessities for human health and well-being – food, water, clean air, and a safe place to live – it will impact on almost all the other SDGs (Sanson, A. et al, 2018).
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007), human activity is likely to be the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions to the Earth’s atmosphere, causing global temperatures to rise and Earth’s climate to change. All countries, particularly developing countries, are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, and are already experiencing increased impacts including persistent drought and extreme weather events, sea level erosion and ocean acidification, further threatening food security and efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development.

International frameworks on climate change and sustainable development policy support youth education and participation in responding to climate change. Youth are identified as a major stakeholder with the right and responsibility to participate in sustainable development. Youth participation promotes active citizenship and the empowerment of future generations to engage in environmental governance, including climate change governance. The UNFCCC, through its Article 6 on Education, Training and Public Awareness, calls on governments to implement educational and training programs on climate change to educate, empower and engage all stakeholders.

The Doha Work Programme on Article 6 of the Convention adopted in 2012 has also targeted youth as a major group for effective engagement in the formulation and implementation of decisions on climate change. Presently, actual implementation of policies at regional or national/local levels is typically lacking or insufficient, especially in developing countries (Narksompong & Limjirakan, 2015). A growing body of empirical research and practice is emerging that emphasises young people’s capacities to influence and participate directly in efforts to learn about, prevent, prepare for, cope with and adapt to climate change and extreme events.