Young people in France call for better climate education as a leverage for ecological action
In this interview we spoke with Jeunes Ambassadeurs pour le Climat (JAC), an association of young people in France aiming to raise awareness and educate people on climate and environmental issues. We spoke about climate education as a leverage for climate action, why the French government must offer better support, and how leaders must better enable children’s involvement in local and international decision making spaces.
CRIN’s ‘Children’s Access to Environmental Justice’ project is producing research on 43 different countries examining how laws and policies protect - or fail to protect - children’s environmental rights. We want to see stronger standards on children’s rights. We have recently launched our report on Children’s Access to Environmental Justice in France, but the reports are only one side of the story. We also want to hear directly from those advocating for children’s environmental rights. Through interviews we aim to explore how our findings relate to and can support the efforts of those at the forefront of the climate justice movement.
In this interview we spoke with four young people: Loiuse A, Louise C, Titouan and Pablo from Jeunes Ambassadeurs pour le Climat (JAC), an association of young people in France aiming to raise awareness and educate people on climate and environmental issues.
CRIN: How are children and young people most impacted by climate breakdown in your country?
Louise C: The main thing in France is the psychological impact. Eco anxiety affects young activists in France, but in the rest of the world too. It also impacts us in the form of our interests and what we get involved in, this can be academically, what we choose to do professionally, or the choices we make day to day in our lives. And it also has an impact on the education funds. We hope that maybe after COP27, France will increase its commitment to climate education, and that this will change something for the access to environmental education in France.
Pablo: I think it's particularly difficult because we know as a fact that the future is going to be worse than it is today. So we are going towards it with the certainty of having to face a lot of issues and challenges. Our society was never built to face these challenges. Adults ask us “what do you want to do in 10-20 years?” But I don't even know how our lives and society is going to be in 20 years. It's hard to face that.
What are children and young people in France doing to improve climate justice?
Louise C: I work with the Climate Academy in Paris which opened one year ago. The main goal of this is to give school students access to environmental education, in order to build a critical opinion about what's happening - for example which decisions have been made by the government and how we can act and engage. At JAC we focus on promoting understanding and critical opinion. But other groups also promote other ways of engaging in climate justice in France such as civil disobedience, organising marches, using art, advocacy groups, etc.
Pablo: In most European countries, there is a high increase of direct action and civil disobedience. A lot of the young people are struggling, they have marched, have tried to educate, and it's not working. Governments are still not doing enough. Direct action is our last resort.
What does environmental education mean exactly to you? And why do you think it is important?
Titouan: Environmental education means giving children and young people the information they need to construct their own understanding about climate change and how we as a society must respond to it. It's not a definition but a way of thinking, for me.
Pablo: I always think about that quote from Nelson Mandela - “Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world.”
How can climate education be a leverage for climate action?
Pablo: When you educate people, you give them the power to understand the situation, to be able to act upon it and take part in building their future. The Citizens Climate Convention, where 150 French citizens were randomly picked to develop solutions for the climate is a great example. It showed us that even if you have climate scepticism or climate deniers, through education, they can come up with solutions that are far better than what governments and politicians have offered before.
Louise A: It was amazing, because you really had representation of different points of view and of minorities that are not often represented in these conversations. It included young people from the age of 16 as well. This convention really highlighted the importance of education. When people know the consequences of our actions within our society and systems, then they don't want to build policies that support fossil fuels, or that support advertising for more consumerism.
Pablo: There have been surveys about the policies that the Citizens Convention has proposed, showing that most people are in favour of them. This shows that even when politicians can’t propose suitable solutions, when you bring people together that represent the population, and let them work together, they can come up with solutions.
Do you think the Citizen’s Climate Convention is a meaningful way of involving children and young people? Or are there other better ways to involve children and young people in policy making?
Louise A: First, people who are shaping the policies right now tend to be obsessed by either profit or the next elections. We cannot think about climate change, or other societal issues with such a short term perspective. Young people value the future as much as the present. Second, it allows us to understand the mechanism of our democracy, for example how it can be corrupted by the media, but also the various ways in which we can uphold democracy. Third, being involved in shaping policies gives us hope that we can shape the society we want. It allows us to take part in concrete action towards our dreams. Everyone should be able to play a part in a big united dream.
There is a section in the CRIN’s report on children's access to justice for environmental rights on climate education and civil and political rights in France. Does the finding reflect the reality, and what do you think about it?
In France, climate education is part of the primary and secondary school curriculum. This is a national standard, but the topic hasn’t been incorporated into the curriculum as a standalone subject. Our research found that instead, the education system calls on NGOs and civil society groups to come to schools and deliver this education for the government. This means that if groups like JAC don't exist, climate education doesn't seem guaranteed in France.
Pablo: In France the government has for a long time been delegating social issues to organisations. It doesn’t commit to actual policies or financial support. With the lack of investments in education, we have seen that there are not even enough teachers in schools right now. But our children are the future of the nation. They should be our most precious resource.
Titouan: The main efforts are focused on economic policies which are short term and not sustainable without a solid investment into education. Education is the way to enable people to contribute to shaping our societies.
Louise A: Although one positive news is that on 20 October, the minister of education said that by 2025 we will make environmental education compulsory. It's not concrete yet, but it shows that the government might offer more support to organisations like ours.
Did you participate in last year’s COP26 in Glasgow? What do you think about children’s and young people's participation in these international conferences? Do you have any thoughts on how these spaces should be improved to help children and young people to participate in them?
Titouan: Participating in COP26 has allowed us to understand what doesn't work. We met different actors and understood what doesn't work and what needs to change.
Louise C: If a decision has been made through the negotiations at COP, parties should be held accountable for its implementation but we are lacking such a system for countries to take up their commitments.
Louise A: At COP26 we spoke with various groups. We all wanted to say to leaders that they must take into account the IPCC recommendations and to adapt juridical and economic structures to these recommendations. It must be done in a just and fair way for all people. If we push this message all together, we can be powerful.
I recently spoke with Youth and Environment Europe, and they shared three main points in order to improve spaces like COP for young people. First, governments should offer support for young people to attend. We are allowed to ask for observer badges, but we don't always have the funds to go there. Second, there must be spaces for young people. At COP27 there was the Children and Youth Pavilion. This is amazing because for the first time young people from all over the world who have the same dreams can just meet and share this space. Third, children must be supported to participate.
Titouan: It can be difficult for young people to take the floor during negotiations, because sometimes we don’t fully understand what’s going on. So in some cases it might be better to involve young people as advisors, so that we can give our opinion but not necessarily make decisions.
Louise C: Even if we can attend with an observer badge, it's very hard to have the confidence to speak out during negotiations. It’s also about the understanding and the analysis that’s required in these spaces. We’re lucky because we have the opportunity to go to school, to develop a critical mind and to have access to all this information. But what about young people without this access? Their voices matter too.
Pablo: I agree, spaces like COP are not friendly, there are a lot of acronyms, a lot of technical words. It might be necessary because these are complicated issues. But they could have offered education to help people understand what’s going on. Just like with the education system in France, it falls on some NGOs to educate, to explain how it works and to support young people to participate. This is a real issue during COPs.
Did you go to this year’s COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt?
Titouan: We didn’t. Partly because of the carbon footprint, the human rights issues, but also because we thought about the impact we might be able to have. There are two big climate negotiation meetings every year, one in Bonn, Germany in June which is just next to us so we can go by train, and the COP which happened this year on another continent. COP is just where final decisions and negotiations are made, but they are based on the hard work being done all around during the past year. That’s why we usually prefer to attend the Bonn meetings.
Louise C: In Bonn it’s easier for us to organise advocacy because it's easier to prepare alongside others going to Bonn who have the same aims. At COP it feels like a big market of people interested in climate change, but they are not necessarily all there for the same goal.
Louise A: We try to be where we are the most useful, and Louise coordinates an amazing programme at the Climate Academy in Paris. We offer education and tools to young people and help make sure they understand what's going on.
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About JAC and the speakers
JAC is an association of young people aiming to raise awareness and educate people on climate and environmental issues, through conferences and workshops. JAC is the link between young people in France and the UN Climate Change process - and many members and students (mainly in the Paris region), take part in climate negotiations (COPs) and biodiversity conferences (IUCN).
Pablo (23) recently graduated from behavioural economics, and is currently interning in the lobbying team in an NGO advocating for the protection of oceans. Pablo approaches climate change through a systemic point of view - advocating for better education and direct action from citizens.
Louise Chevrinais (21) studies international relations and is simultaneously doing an apprenticeship in public and institutional relations with Empow’Her NGO. Louise advocates for integrating the fight against climate change into humanitarian programmes for the empowerment of women and girls, and also accelerating a policy of joint-action for environmental and social justice.
Titouan (23) has a Masters degree in Ecological Policies and Sustainability at Sciences-Po in Lille. Titouan approaches the ecological emergency through a focus on education, media and art. He is very passionate about culture, science and politics.
Louise Arrivé (22) holds a Masters degree in Urban Territorial Strategy at Sciences-Po Paris. Louise approaches new social projects with creativity and works with lots of people and organisations. She’s not put off by the scale - from cities to COP - she ensures all types of actions complement each other.
See more about what children have to say on the climate crisis, and why more needs to be done to involve them: Children’s rights and voices in the global response to climate change.
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