Category: Publicações EN

Opinion article published on the Barómetro Social platform

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Researcher Daniela Ferreira da Silva has published the opinion article “Youth-led Groups in Search of More Just Futures”, as part of the 2026 second series of articles on the Barómetro Social platform.

Barómetro Social – Virtual Platform for Reflection and Analysis of Portuguese Society and its Positioning in the International Context is an initiative of the Institute of Sociology at the University of Porto, dedicated to promoting informed reflection and public debate on key social issues.

The article can be accessed here: https://www.barometro.com.pt/2026/07/28/grupos-liderados-por-jovens-a-procura-de-futuros-mais-justos/

The Barómetro Social platform is available here: https://www.barometro.com.pt/

Chapter published: “Climate Futures and Just Transformations: Re-Imagining Politics Within Youth Climate Activism” in “Routledge Handbook of Young People’s Environmental Activism”

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We are delighted to share that the chapter “Climate Futures and Just Transformations: Re-Imagining Politics Within Youth Climate Activism” has been published in the Routledge Handbook of Young People’s Environmental Activism, edited by Sadiya Akram and Benjamin Bowman and published by Routledge.

Co-authored by Dora Rebelo, Ana Dias Garcia, Tânia R. Santos, Leonor Pêra, João Silveira, Teresa Amorim, Carla Malafaia, Anabela Carvalho, and Maria Fernandes-Jesus, this collaborative chapter brings together young climate activists and researchers to explore how young people imagine climate futures and articulate visions for just societal transformations through climate activism.

Drawing on focus group discussions with young climate activists and non-activists, as well as multi-site ethnographic research conducted in Lisbon and Porto within the JustFutures project, the chapter examines how young people construct alternative political imaginaries, negotiate hope and uncertainty, and reimagine politics beyond institutional responses to the climate crisis. It highlights the transformative potential of youth climate activism in fostering more just, democratic, and sustainable futures.

Published article: “Engaging young people with alternative climate futures: cultivating political imagination through participatory methodologies”

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The article entitled “Engaging young people with alternative climate futures: cultivating political imagination through participatory methodologies” was published in the journal Environmental Education Research on 13 December 2025. This critical review analyses published research that explores how participatory methodologies can encourage young people to reflect on their political imaginaries in relation to climate change and on their role as agents of change. The article seeks to reinforce the need to explore the inherently political nature of climate change as a central point of critique and experimentation in social research.

Below, you can find the post-print version of this work, also available through this link.

Accepted Manuscript_EER_2025Download

Chapter published: “Youth activism and the call for generational responsibility in climate politics” in the book “Routledge Handbook of Climate Crisis Communication”

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The latest chapter of the JustFutures project, entitled “Youth activism and the call for generational responsibility in climate politics”, was published in the “Routledge Handbook of Climate Crisis Communication” in May 2025.

The chapter provides an overview of literature examining how  youth-led climate action may have expanded the boundaries of discourse within climate  politics. Our analysis underscores one of the most relevant contributions of youth  activism: the moral imperative of generational responsibility, which has catalysed the  politicization of the present moment. Continuously excluded from political processes,  youth demand broader societal participation to formulate solutions and alternatives,  indirectly proposing ways to reconfiguring climate politics as more democratic and  pluralistic.

The chapter is currently under closed access and available only via institutional access.

Published article: “Climate Activist Groups’ Discourses on Science and Knowledge: Merging Rhetorical Strategies with Political Visions”

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The recent article from the JustFutures project, titled “Climate Activist Groups’ Discourses on Science and Knowledge: Merging Rhetorical Strategies with Political Visions”, was published in the Environmental Communication journal on April 21, 2025. This study examines the discursive uses of science by three Portuguese youth-led climate groups — School Strike for Climate Portugal, Climáximo, and LIDERA. The study found that they have invoked science in three distinctive communicative moves: constructing science into a strategic ally; turning climate science into a political and ethical referee; and debating and pluralizing science. The authors argue that while climate groups can bolster mainstream science, some also foster critical perspectives and try to push science away from the dominant symbolic territory of “universalism” and “neutrality”.

Below, you can find the published version of this work, also available through this link.

Climate Activist Groups Discourses on Science and Knowledge Merging Rhetorical Strategies with Political VisionsDownload

Published article: “Young people’s conceptions of political agency in relation to climate change”

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The most recent article from the JustFutures project, titled “Young people’s conceptions of political agency in relation to climate change”, was published in Environmental Politics on April 15, 2025. This article examines how young people in Portugal understand and engage with political agency in the context of climate change. Through focus groups with 154 participants (aged 13 to 35), four main conceptions of political agency emerged: transformational collective agency, proto-political collective action, individualised action, and disempowered action. The authors suggest that young people’s political agency regarding climate change is shaped by both motivating and inhibiting factors, a desire for political influence and perceived power to bring about transformative change.

Below, you can find the open-access version of this work, also available through this link.

Rebelo et al. – Young people’s conceptions of political agency in relation to climate changeDownload

Published article: “Prefigurative Politics and Cultures of Care in the Portuguese Youth Climate Strike Movement during School Occupations”

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The recent article from the JustFutures project, titled “Prefigurative Politics and Cultures of Care in the Portuguese Youth Climate Strike Movement during School Occupations”, was published in the PARTECIPAZIONE E CONFLITTO on March 15, 2025. This study explores everyday practices and cultures of conviviality to understand how young activists sustain themselves during intense protest periods. The research was developed through an ethnographic study of school and university occupations in Lisbon by School Strike for Climate Portugal. The study sheds light on how cultures of care and prefigurative politics (practicing the future they want) shape the movement and foster hopeful futures.

Below, you can find the open-access version of this work, also available through this link.

Rebelo et al. – 2025 – Prefigurative Politics and Cultures of Care in the Portuguese Youth Climate Strike Movement during SDownload

Published article: “Relationships Between Activist Groups and Political Parties Shaping the Portuguese Climate Movement: Dynamics of Resistance and Collaboration”

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The most recent article from the JustFutures project, titled “Relationships Between Activist Groups and Political Parties Shaping the Portuguese Climate Movement: Dynamics of Resistance and Collaboration”, was published in the social sciences on March 31, 2025. This study analyzes the interactions of young climate activists with political parties and how they shape the dynamics of the Student Climate Strike. The research was developed through an ethnographic strategy in two cities in the country. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the group´s challenges over time and the ways in which activist movements negotiate political affiliations and internal cohesion.

Below, you can find the open-access version of this work, also available through this link.

Diógenes-Lima et al. – 2025 – Relationships Between Activist Groups and Political Parties Shaping the Portuguese Climate MovementDownload

Published article: “Imagined Climate Futures and Collective Action: An Analysis of Affect in Dystopias and Utopias by Young Climate Activists”

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The most recent article from the JustFutures project, titled “Imagined Climate Futures and Collective Action: An Analysis of Affect in Dystopias and Utopias by Young Climate Activists“, was published in the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology on March 4, 2025. This study is part of the analysis of focus group discussions and examines the affective qualities of the utopias and dystopias developed by young climate activists in various cities across Portugal. The work challenges the literature that assumes hope as the only emotional disposition for engagement in climate activism, exploring the value of negative imagined futures as catalysts for action and change.

Below, you can find the open-access version of this work, also available through this link.

Community Applied Soc Psy – 2025 – Santos – Imagined Climate Futures and Collective Action An Analysis of Affect inDownload

Published chapter “Communication in youth climate activism: Addressing research pitfalls and centring young people’s voices” in the book “Environmental Communication”

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Carla Malafaia and Maria Fernandes-Jesus published the chapter “Communication in Youth Climate Activism: Addressing Research Pitfalls and Centring Young People’s Voices,” in December 2024. The chapter appeared in the recently released book “Environmental Communication”, published by De Gruyter Mouton (“Handbooks of Communication Science” series).

Anabela Carvalho, the coordinator of the JustFutures project, co-edited the book together with Tarla Rai Peterson (University of Texas El Paso). This book is intended for scholars, students and professionals in communication, environmental policy, environmental sociology, and environmental studies.

Below, you can find one of the chapters.

MalafaiaFernandes-Jesus_AcceptedversionDownload