Navigating Climate Governance: Intersectional Youth Visions of Just Urban Adaptation

Abstract

This article investigates climate justice, specifically exploring youth perspectives, gender and intersectionality within urban climate adaptation governance in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Addressing significant gaps in existing research, it focuses explicitly on how young women and gender-diverse youth perceive climate adaptation, experience participation barriers and envision transformative pathways to achieve climate justice. Our qualitative, participatory research explores three central questions: (1) What barriers do young women and gender-diverse youth face in climate governance? (2) How do neoliberal discourses shape youth perceptions and experiences of adaptation responsibility? (3) What transformative approaches do these youth advocate for achieving inclusive climate justice? Our findings reveal significant procedural and recognitional injustices; participants described persistent marginalisation due to their age, gender identity and ethnicity, reflecting broader structural exclusions in climate governance processes. Despite initially internalising neoliberal adaptation narratives of individual resilience, participants critically challenged such discourses following experiences of inadequate systemic support during recent climate disasters. They advocated strongly for inclusive, community-based governance that addresses intersectional vulnerabilities and promotes genuine equity and procedural justice. Moreover, youth participants argued explicitly for systemic changes, including co-governance arrangements grounded in mātauranga Māori (Indigenous knowledge) and critiques of neoliberal capitalism and colonial frameworks. Ultimately, we argue that meaningful youth engagement requires transformative, intersectional approaches to climate adaptation that go beyond tokenism to redistribute decision-making power and address deeper social and environmental injustices.