For the last decades we have been witnessing the constant breaking of historical temperature records which highlights the dangers caused by climate change including floods, droughts, fires, crop damage and other threats to life around the world. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF,2021), almost half of the world's children and adolescents live in countries classified as "extremely high risk" for climate disasters, and Brazil is among them. We understand that the climate crisis impacts directly the implementation of children´s rights. Therefore, the International Center for Research and Policy on Childhood (CIESPI/PUC-Rio) has been engaged in multiple initiatives focused on the environment. The Center is one of the founding members of the Coalition for Climate, Children and Adolescents (CLICA), a collective of institutions from civil society for the purpose of defending the rights of children and youth, of current and future generations, by means of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

The CIESPI project Youth and Climate Change in Brazil aims to address these issues. Its main objectives are 1) Deepen our understanding of young people´s perceptions and actions in relation to climate change, and 2) develop and disseminate strategies to promote engagement by the younger generations in efforts to mitigate and/or reduce its impacts.

As a means to understand their ideas about climate change and strategies adopted in their daily lives, the first phase of the project includes interviews with 200 young people aged between 12 and 18 from 10 Brazilian cities, spread across the five regions of the country. The second phase, to be initiated in the first semester of 2025, will focus on developing and disseminating youth engagement strategies in Brazil and internationally with the participation of young consultants. Based on the data the research team will formulate a political advocacy plan with associated products. Those products will be suitable for different audiences including students, key actors and government stakeholders. The CIESPI team intends also to formulate contributions for the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), to be held in Belém (State of Pará, Brazil) in 2025.

Coordinated by Irene Rizzini, professor at the Department of Social Service at PUC-Rio and director of CIESPI/PUC-Rio, the project was approved by the Research Ethics Chamber of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. The project is supported by José Luiz Egydio Setúbal Foundation, and the Nova Institute for Health. CIESPI is partnering with the Aprendiz Institute on aspects of the project.

Research team (CIESPI/PUC-Rio)

Coordination:
Irene Rizzini

Executive coordination:

Maria Cristina Bó

Consultant:

Malcolm Bush

Research:

Renata Brasil

Carolina Terra

Mariana Menezes