Youth climate action in the years following COP30 must move beyond emissions targets and technological fixes to confront deeply rooted social inequities, particularly gender injustice, said, Ravi Ranjan Kumar, author of Lahar: Kahani Ek Sangharsh Ki
Speaking at the Beyond COP30: Empowering Youth For Climate Action conference (online), Ravi stressed that climate solutions are bound to fail when women lack agency and girls’ voices are excluded from decision-making processes. “If we want real climate resilience, youth must challenge patriarchy as strongly as they challenge emissions. There is no climate justice without gender justice,” he said.
Ravi underlined that women, especially in vulnerable communities, are often at the frontlines of climate impacts—managing households, agriculture, water, and livelihoods—yet remain underrepresented in climate leadership and policy spaces. He urged young climate leaders to adopt an intersectional approach that recognises gender equality as a foundational pillar of sustainable development rather than a peripheral concern.
The conference was organised by Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability, a Sustainability Karma initiative, with Lok Samvad Sansthan as the implementation partner, in association with the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Jamia Millia Islamia. The event brought together students, educators, and sustainability practitioners to foster dialogue on inclusive, youth-driven climate action.
Ravi’s address resonated strongly with interns and participants, reinforcing the message that meaningful climate action requires not only policy reform and innovation, but also social transformation led by informed and empowered youth.