Youth on the Front Lines of Climate Activism

June 13, 2026 · Activism · Berkeley Earth Day editors

At the 2018 Berkeley Earth Day festival, one of the highlights was a panel called "Youth on the Front Lines of Environmental Advocacy", with high school and college students, Indigenous activists and a lawyer from a youth climate litigation group. It was a sign of things to come. Within a year, young people were leading some of the largest climate protests in history.

The school strike wave

In August 2018 Swedish student Greta Thunberg began sitting outside her country's parliament with a sign reading "School strike for climate". The idea spread quickly. On March 15, 2019, students in many countries walked out of class, including large marches in San Francisco. In September 2019 the Global Climate Strike, joined by adults as well, drew millions of people worldwide. Bay Area students organised walkouts, marches and lobbying days at City Hall and in Sacramento.

Taking it to court

Young people have also turned to the courts. The best-known U.S. case, Juliana v. United States, was filed in 2015 by 21 young plaintiffs supported by the nonprofit Our Children's Trust. They argued that the federal government's support for fossil fuels violated their constitutional rights. The case went through years of appeals before federal courts dismissed it, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take it up in 2025. In Montana, however, young plaintiffs won Held v. Montana in 2023, when a state court found that a law preventing consideration of climate impacts violated the state constitution's right to a clean and healthful environment, a ruling upheld by the Montana Supreme Court in 2024.

Youth leadership in the Bay Area

• School and campus groups running sustainability projects, garden programmes and divestment campaigns.
• Youth wings of climate organisations organising strikes and lobbying.
• Indigenous youth taking part in land defence, water protection and international climate talks.
• Student media creators explaining environmental justice on podcasts and social platforms.

Environmental justice at the centre

Many young activists frame climate change as a justice issue. Pollution and heat fall hardest on low-income communities and communities of colour, including parts of Richmond, West Oakland and East Oakland near freeways, ports and refineries. Youth groups often link climate campaigns to housing, health and jobs.

How adults can help

1. Listen first, and let young people lead their own campaigns.
2. Offer practical support: rides, meeting space, printing, mentoring.
3. Show up when they ask for adult numbers at marches and hearings.
4. Vote and contact representatives on the issues young people raise.
5. Support groups financially; youth organisers often work unpaid.

For a wider list of groups to join, see environmental activism and community groups in the Bay Area.