Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: WCC Legal Training in Africa

Highlights

• WCC climate justice training sensitised African youth to hold governments and financiers accountable.
• The session examined UN GC 26, International Court of Justice developments, and public interest litigation for child rights.
• Youth movements such as the Africa Climate Alliance and the Cancel Coal case illustrate how legal action protects intergenerational equity.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) gathered young leaders at the All Africa Youth Congress to explore legal pathways connected to climate justice, particularly with regard to the welfare of children.

The training session, titled “Hope for Children Through Climate Justice,” introduced participants to legal instruments that can be used to hold governments, financial institutions, and fossil fuel investors accountable for climate-related harm.

The discussion centered around the importance of the larger role litigation plays in seeking fairness and justice, especially when decisions on energy investments and development directly influence the future of children and young people.

Read More: Climate Lawsuits Rising in Nearly 60 Countries, Says Report

Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, WCC programme director for Life, Justice, and Peace, encouraged young participants to pursue justice through lawful processes.

He described litigation as a route that invites financial actors and state authorities to redirect investment away from fossil fuel expansion into alternatives that safeguard the planet.

Frederique Seidel, WCC senior programme lead for Climate and Children, drew attention to how banking choices can either protect or harm children’s future, since financial flows into coal, oil, and gas reinforce the underlying causes of global warming.

New international legal tools were also discussed, such as the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment 26 (GC 26) on climate and children, and the International Court of Justice advisory process concerning global responsibility in the climate emergency.

Also Read: Climate Litigation: ICJ Ruling Lets Countries Sue Over Climate Harm

These developments expand the space for intergenerational climate justice, thereby helping young people to rely on child rights frameworks in legal settings.

The session also discussed practical examples

Hillary Tendai from the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association explained cases where citizens brought forward climate-related legal claims to hold governments responsible for failing to protect communities from climate impacts.

According to Tendai, public interest litigation benefits whole communities and generations rather than a single individual.

In another example, Sibusiso Mazomba from the Africa Climate Alliance discussed the “Cancel Coal” case in South Africa, where youth activism succeeded in preventing new coal-fired power developments.

Mazomba stressed that decisions made today shape the world that children will inherit, which places intergenerational equity at the centre of climate fairness.

See Also: Austria Fails to Block Nuclear and Gas in EU’s Green Rulebook

The training was grounded in Biblical reflections led by Kevin Maina of the Young Theologians Initiative for Climate Action (YTICA) and Rev. Jackie Makena. The intention is that churches across Africa apply the WCC handbook on legal tools for climate justice to protect the rights and futures of children and young people.

The Youth Congress convened under the theme “Africa, My Home, My Future.”

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Source: WCC