There is growing research that demonstrates how young people are experiencing a complex tangle of emotions when they engage with climate change. There is also research that indicates that these emotions are influencing their relationships with others and how they anticipate and plan for the future. However, there is an absence of research that has explored what social practices, strategies or actions can be implemented to help young people learn to live with and respond to climate change. Furthermore, despite their distinctive positions of engagement with climate change, young people have had limited involvement in setting agendas for research that involves them as participants. There is a need therefore to engage with young people in a consultative capacity to inform research method choice in future research.
Youth advisory groups have increasingly been used in social research and political processes as a method to involve the participation of young people and provide opportunities for their perspectives and vantage points to be heard. Youth research advisory groups present opportunities for young people to be empowered to become active agents in research and advocate for their needs, as experts in their own lives.
In this paper, I offer insights from two current youth research advisory groups – one in person and one online – which aim to 1) listen to suggestions and ideas from young participants about social mechanisms, actions, strategies, and practices for support as they encounter and grapple with climate change, with focus on the effects of emotions for their relations and futures; 2) develop a research agenda with young people to guide further research on young Australian’s feelings about climate change, and how this impacts their social interactions and orientations to futures; and 3) select and develop research methods to use in further research with input from advisory group participants.