Neoliberalism, political action on climate change and the youth of Aotearoa New Zealand: a space for radical activism

Climate change exists both as a symptom and as a cause of many social ills. It is as urgent as it is complex. Climate change is being addressed internationally through mechanisms heavily influenced by neoliberal globalisation and based around market mechanisms for the trading of carbon dioxide as a commodity, such as the Kyoto Protocol. This has contributed to increasing de-politicisation of the climate change issue. Contestation of neoliberal solutions to climate change has resulted in the birth of climate justice principles which unite action against the systemic causes of climate change. At the heart of action on climate change are young people- historically active citizens and advocates for radical change. In the context of de-politicisation and a post-political carbon consensus, young activists have been influenced by dominant neoliberal discourse. This research will explore the repercussions of a post-political carbon consensus in producing youth-led spaces of contestation in Aotearoa New Zealand. The case study for this research, youth-driven organisation Generation Zero, advocates for post-political carbon consensus by running campaigns on changes to the national Emissions Trading Scheme and other policy-based work. In this thesis, I will describe the extent to which young people within Generation Zero are influenced by the neoliberal discourse and the implications this has for the role of climate justice and radical activism. This research will contribute to the literature around the de-politicisation of climate change as it describes the impact that this has on youth activism and thus the opportunity for future spaces of dissent.