As the world faces a climate emergency—with increasingly destructive fires, floods and extreme weather calling attention to the urgent need for action—young people have taken the lead on climate activism around the world. Youth movements like “Fridays for Future” make clear that this generation of young people—the largest in history—will not stay quiet in the face of threats to their future and the planet they call home.

As a response to this crisis, Climate Action is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are objectives of the Agenda 2030 of the United Nations. SDG No. 13 pleads: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”.

Within the LACA learning model, the Sustainability and Climate Action Challenge represents L=LEARN. For young people processing with the reality of the climate crisis, opportunities for collective education and reflection and tools for self-expression and action can help mitigate the sense of struggling alone. This challenge seeks to empower young people with tools to advocate for sustainable change and mobilise their communities toward innovative and appealing climate action. Through the Community Challenge “Sustainability and Climate Action” our project partners in Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Latvia and Serbia implemented a 2-day programme informing and educating young people on the climate crisis; discussing the consequences for their local communities; and discovering, in varying workshop formats, how environmental issues take shape in their surroundings.