The Joint Council on Youth discusses the effect of the climate crisis on young people’s access to rights
17 June 2020: following a proposal from the Advisory Council on Youth, the Joint Council on Youth – the co-managed decision-making body of the Council of Europe youth sector – debated the issue of the climate crisis and global governance.
Millions of young people took to the streets to demand urgent action on the ecological crisis since Greta Thunberg staged a protest in 2018 outside the Swedish Riksdag. Now, the Advisory Council of Youth has put this issue firmly on the agenda of the Council of Europe youth sector by organising this thematic debate.
The online debate, which was well attended by governmental and youth representatives alike, examined the climate crisis from a rights-based approach, studying the current and future effects of climate change on young people's access to rights, participation and quality of life. From the right to a healthy/clean environment in international human rights law, especially the European Convention on Human Rights, the speakers elaborated on the consequences of climate change on young people’s rights, the importance of youth participation in this global debate, to how the youth sector could address this challenge. The debate touched on the effect of the crisis on specific vulnerable groups highlighting the extent to which we are not all equal in the face of ecological degradation and how human rights education can help. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in this context was also mentioned.
Building on the positive momentum created by this thematic debate, the main conclusions will be presented to the Joint Council on Youth at its next meeting in October for its discussion on possible follow-up to the debate.
