Professor Paul Almeida and graduate students have published the article "Working-Class Youth Participation in Climate Action: Networks, Civic Experience, and Equity" in npj Climate Action. The article explores the factors that drive individual participation in climate action, with a particular focus on working-class youth of color.
Abstract: Research on individual participation in climate action largely focuses on middle-class environmental activism around protest events. To better understand the expansion of civic engagement on climate issues, more work needs to be carried out on wider sectors of the population. This study examines the drivers associated with involvement in climate action at the individual level with a survey sample of working-class youth of color. The findings suggest that youth embedded in pro-climate social networks, a history of civic engagement, and an equity belief system increase willingness to participate in several forms of climate action, including climate meetings, demonstrations, and inviting others to participate. For larger climate action initiatives to overcome the barriers of participation, linking to specific pools of sympathy in civil society that value economic equality may provide a mass base of support for policies consistent with just transition perspectives.
