Call for Papers - International Conference- Child/youth-friendly climate justice: Progress and Opportunities

6 Sep 2023

Papers are invited across disciplines on a broad variety of themes, including the best interests of children and the climate crisis, the participation and action of young environmental activists, children North and South, post-colonial approaches, and the sustainable development goals.

The conference will be held on Monday 30th September - Tuesday 1st October, 2024 in University College Cork

It is an exciting time in children’s rights. Children and youth have had leadership roles in efforts to combat the climate crisis, challenging traditional attitudes to children as passive victims. Children have been heard by national governments, parliaments and others in power. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has produced a General Comment on the right of children to a healthy environment, with the involvement of thousands of children all over the world. Much of the recent climate litigation involves children/youth as litigants or children’s rights arguments, in another groundbreaking turn for children’s rights. There is much to research in the area. There is also much to be done to bring together practitioners/advocates with academics who analyse these occurrences through the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Questions must also be asked about the extent to which climate/environmental justice systems are sufficiently accessible and appropriate for children and youth.  

This international, interdisciplinary conference fills this gap, hosting papers and discussions on this topic from children/youth, academics, practitioners and others. We will engage in critical discussions on children’s rights and interests in the climate crisis, and examine what exactly the right to a healthy environment means for children. We will examine what child-friendly justice looks like in the climate crisis, and potential consequences of developments in the area for children’s rights; particularly in relation to the UN convention on the rights of the child. We will examine how the children’s rights framework relates to arguments around future generations, and how climate action can progress intergenerational justice.   

Papers are invited across disciplines on a broad variety of themes, including the best interests of children and the climate crisis, the participation and action of young environmental activists, children North and South, post-colonial approaches, and the sustainable development goals. The aim is to develop a body of research on climate justice and children’s rights which will support efforts such as academic work, advocacy in climate and other environmental cases, and the implementation of the General Comment on the right of children to a healthy environment. It will also encourage critical thinking on a range of themes such as the extent to which justice systems are child/youth-friendly; the nature of the new General Comment; and the position of children as environmental rights activists. We will consider what climate justice means for children in the international arena, in the courts, and at local level also.  

Send abstract of maximum 250 words, plus short bio (200 words max) to youthclimatejustice@ucc.ie by Dec 12^th 2023 using the subject heading conference24. Please attach to your email as a single word document. 

*Some funding is available to scholars (and others) from the Global South to attend. There will be a competitive process to award this. Please indicate in your application if you wish to apply for this.* 

This event is part of the European Research Council-funded project Youth Climate Justice which seeks to reexamine children’s rights through the work of children/youth in the climate crisis. Part of the aim is to launch an international network on youth climate justice. The conference will be primarily in-person, although some accommodation for online participation may be possible (please indicate in your email if you will need to be online). 

Keynote speakers: 

Ann Skelton, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child/ Professor, University of Pretoria

Sumaya Mohammed, Climate advocate and student 

Ursula Kilkelly, Professor, University College Cork 

Laura Lundy, Professor, Queen’s University Belfast/University College Cork 

Karabo Ozah, Director, Centre for Child Law, University of Pretoria/ Lecturer, University of Pretoria

Dina Lupin, Director, Global Network for Children's Rights and the Environment/Lecturer, University of Southampton

Questions on the conference can be addressed to Professor Aoife Daly, School of Law, University College Cork: aoife.daly@ucc.ie 

The research project 'Youth Climate Justice' has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 101088453).