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The Childhood, Law & Policy Network (CLPN)

Children and the climate crisis - a special blog feature

Over the past two weeks, we have published pieces by seven of our members - Aoife Daly, Spyros Spyrou, Daniella Bendo, Noam Peleg, Tanu Biswas, Peter Kraftl, and Rongedzayi Fambasayi - on a broad range of issues concerning children and the climate crisis.

Published:

Access to Justice for Children and Youth in the Climate Crisis

Children and youth have been driving activism and litigation to combat climate change. Aoife Daly (University College Cork, Ireland) examines how accessible climate justice is for them.

Read the piece by Aoife Daly.

 

Ethnographic Explorations with Young Climate Activists in Cyprus 

Spyros Spyrou (European University Cyprus) discusses how young climate activists in Cyprus draw attention to the everydayness and continuity of the climate crisis, while still retaining hope, rooted in their willingness and capacity to act collectively to bring about change.

Read the piece by Spyros Spyrou.

 

Covid-19 and the Climate Crisis: Young People’s Participatory Leadership and Engagement During a Time of Global Pandemic

Young climate activists have found new ways to bring attention to climate issues. Daniella Bendo (King’s University College at Western University, Canada), Christine Goodwin-De Faria (Trent University, Canada), and Richard Mitchell (Brock University, Canada) discuss an online toolkit developed by young climate activists to educate adults and facilitate children's participation in the social movement.

Read the piece by Daniella Bendo, Christine Goodwin-De Faria, and Richard Mitchell.

 

Australian Climate Change Court Ruling a Setback for Children's Rights

Australia's Federal Court recently ruled that the country's Environment Minister has no duty of care for future generations when deciding whether to approve the expansion of coal mines. Noam Peleg (University of New South Wales, Australia) argues that the judgment leaves children with limited recourse: they can't vote, they are ignored by politicians, and now the Court refuses to scrutinise decisions that primarily affect them.

Read the piece by Noam Peleg.

 

Decolonial Childism: Nurturing Diversity for Intergenerational Sustainability

Tanu Biswas (University of Stavanger, Norway) argues that the aims of education and economy need to be aligned with the larger aim of sustaining life on this planet. Expanding the scope of education - as an intergenerational relationship that gives children access to a diversity of knowledge, choices, and resources - is a direction worth considering, she suggests.

Read the piece by Tanu Biswas.

 

Challenging Behaviours and Challenging Climate Change

Experimental educational activities on the climate change, delivered to non-White schoolboys who were labelled as "challenging," raise questions about "challenging" behaviours and the climate crisis. Peter Kraftl (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom) asks: Who is able to utter or perform a challenge to the climate crisis, and how?

Read the piece by Peter Kraftl.

 

Deadly air pollution and children’s rights in South Africa: Spotlighting the High Court’s blind spot 

In a recent judgment on deadly air pollution, South Africa’s High Court described the applicants’ invocation of child rights as “opportunistic and misleading.” This, Rongedzayi Fambasayi (North-West University, South Africa) argues, indicates that child rights are a blind spot of the Court.

Read the piece by Rongedzayi Fambasayi.

 

 

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