“None of us have a choice. We all have to be activists,” 24-year old climate activist Mitzi Jonelle once said. When presidents and leaders pose for a group photo, there is usually no sight of civil society representatives or young climate activists, despite the fact that they equally play a critical role in the decision-making process. Taking individuals’ lived experiences into account in policymaking now matters more than ever, as the United Nations states in its 2016 report ‘Leaving No One Behind’. This is not only to create a more inclusive society, but because justice also demands it. As philosopher Miranda Fricker once argued, injustice occurs when people’s experiences are ignored or disbelieved because of their race, gender, religion or other components of their identity. While progress has been achieved, the inclusion of the voices of women, youth, civil society organizations and activists in the policymaking table still falls short, as hundreds of civil society activists walked out of COP26 in protest of what they called “a performance” and an “illusion.” The legitimacy of the COP26 climate summit was called into question by civil society participants, who complained that restrictions…
