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Flexible Networks Asserting Agency : Youth Participation in UNFCCC Processes

Kang, Yi Hyun LU orcid and Orsini, Amandine (2026) In Global Environmental Politics
Abstract


Youth are increasingly regarded as key actors in climate politics. At the global level, youth participation is visible at the conferences of the parties (COPs) to the UNFCCC. While the number of youth participants has gradually increased, the structural dimensions of youth participation, especially their networks in international policymaking, remain underexplored. This article addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing youth involvement at the UNFCCC COPs from COP1 to COP27 using social network analysis. By examining coaffiliation and side-event co-organization networks, we argue that youth actors persistently contribute to climate political spaces as active network cocreators. Despite structural inequalities, youth-to-youth... (More)


Youth are increasingly regarded as key actors in climate politics. At the global level, youth participation is visible at the conferences of the parties (COPs) to the UNFCCC. While the number of youth participants has gradually increased, the structural dimensions of youth participation, especially their networks in international policymaking, remain underexplored. This article addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing youth involvement at the UNFCCC COPs from COP1 to COP27 using social network analysis. By examining coaffiliation and side-event co-organization networks, we argue that youth actors persistently contribute to climate political spaces as active network cocreators. Despite structural inequalities, youth-to-youth collaboration, from both Global South and Global North, bridges informal and formal modes of engagement in climate politics, asserting youth agency. Moreover, the varied communities of youth networks show that youth are heterogeneous actors pursuing diverse mobilization strategies, not necessarily based on ideational affinity.
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Global Environmental Politics
publisher
MIT Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:105042456816
ISSN
1526-3800
DOI
10.1162/GLEP.a.775
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
765fba2d-580f-4927-b3e6-ffb4b9008f62
date added to LUP
2026-09-15 12:06:43
date last changed
2026-09-15 12:07:50
@article{765fba2d-580f-4927-b3e6-ffb4b9008f62,
  abstract     = {{<br/><br/>Youth are increasingly regarded as key actors in climate politics. At the global level, youth participation is visible at the conferences of the parties (COPs) to the UNFCCC. While the number of youth participants has gradually increased, the structural dimensions of youth participation, especially their networks in international policymaking, remain underexplored. This article addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing youth involvement at the UNFCCC COPs from COP1 to COP27 using social network analysis. By examining coaffiliation and side-event co-organization networks, we argue that youth actors persistently contribute to climate political spaces as active network cocreators. Despite structural inequalities, youth-to-youth collaboration, from both Global South and Global North, bridges informal and formal modes of engagement in climate politics, asserting youth agency. Moreover, the varied communities of youth networks show that youth are heterogeneous actors pursuing diverse mobilization strategies, not necessarily based on ideational affinity.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Kang, Yi Hyun and Orsini, Amandine}},
  issn         = {{1526-3800}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{MIT Press}},
  series       = {{Global Environmental Politics}},
  title        = {{Flexible Networks Asserting Agency : Youth Participation in UNFCCC Processes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/GLEP.a.775}},
  doi          = {{10.1162/GLEP.a.775}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}