Youth Perspectives on Climate Mobility and Justice Across the World
Climate mobility is the movement of people driven by sudden or gradual environmental changes, such as hurricanes, heatwaves, and floods, caused by climate change (IOM, 2019). Over the past decade, weather-related events have triggered around 250 million internal displacements, or roughly 70,000 people per day (UNHCR, 2025). Whether temporary or permanent, these movements profoundly shape young people’s lives, increasing risks such as disrupted education, health challenges, trafficking, loss of livelihoods, and food insecurity (GMFD, 2024).
Those most affected, youth and children, women, and Indigenous communities in the Majority World, remain largely excluded from high-level climate resilience and adaptation strategies. Their knowledge and practices are often overlooked, despite contributing the least to climate change and facing its harshest consequences. Climate change is not a distant threat; it is already reshaping how and where people live, deepening existing inequalities rooted in gender, race, class, nationality, and indigeneity, and shaped by legacies of colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism.
In response, the Climate Mobility Lead of MYCP is launching a global blog series to amplify youth voices on climate mobility. Through interviews with young advocates, this series highlights lived experiences, local realities, and visions for climate justice. These young leaders are those who understand the complex realities of climate mobility but also embody the resilience, creativity, and commitment needed to forge sustained climate justice. In a time when growing conservative forces are ruling politics and making people feel hopeless, we want to bring hope and empowered voices for peer learning.
Ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), we invite young people from Asia and the Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe to share their stories and define what climate justice means in their contexts. From April to November 2026, this youth-led initiative will bring together diverse voices to explore the links between climate change, migration, and displacement. Recognizing that the climate crisis is reshaping human mobility, forcing communities to move, stay, or adapt, this initiative unites diverse voices to demand action, build knowledge, and showcase solutions. This series will culminate in a collaborative declaration calling for more youth and human-centered climate action.
We need to walk hand in hand with one another. So, listen to our stories from youths across the globe!
References
https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/iml_34_glossary.pdf
