Filing for a lawsuit against their governments and protesting; the actions that youth have been taking to combat climate change

Children and teenagers around the world are demanding action from the government on the ecological crisis by taking them to court over “climate inaction”. These brave teens that are putting everything in line for the cause, are a great example of how much we can actually do no matter the size of the impact.

The six Portuguese young people who filed the first climate case at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Photo: Global Legal Action Network

Sofia Oliveira is one of six young Portuguese people who have filed a lawsuit against 33 countries with the European court of human rights, demanding that governments do more to reduce emissions and safeguard their future physical and mental wellbeing. Last October the Strasbourg-based court granted the case priority status. She and the other brilliant people showed resilience and determination to fight for their right: living in a healthy Earth. They started this initiative because they noticed in their hometown in Portugal the effects of climate change were increasingly visible: heatwaves that caused water shortages and affect food production, and violent wildfires.

Howey Ou, is one of China’s only youth climate activists to take part in Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion activities in recent years. Ou Hongyi, demonstrates for climate action, even though demonstrations are forbidden in China without explicit approval of the authorities. In October, Howey sat alone in front of a hotel for more than 10 hours to protest about the lack of ambition in the hotel industry in China to reduce carbon emissions.

These are just two of the many youths actively involved in the eradication of climate change, they set an example to all of us that passion and will power are the way to make changes. Actions that go from sharing knowledge about climate and solutions, to protesting in front of hotels like Howey Ou are all viable and essential actions that have large (or small, which is perfectly fine too) impacts that can help us move forward into a future where the youth doesn’t have to sue governments for better climate regulations.