An Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

Abstract Youth have the potential to play a key role in addressing the root causes of global climate change and in promoting a more sustainable local and global society. In this special issue, a group of scholars, representatives of community organizations, and young environmental leaders share what they have learned about engaging youth in six different countries in environmental action. The issue features Youth Leading Environmental Change (YLEC), a collaborative, evidence-based, multinational, youth-focused project and research study. The six participating countries include economically developing countries in the global South that face many impacts of climate change—Bangladesh, India, and Uganda—and economically “developed” countries in the global North that significantly contribute to climate change without facing comparable impacts—Canada, Germany, and the United States. Each country hosted one YLEC case study, which was anchored within a shared environmental justice framework, derived from the appl...