Shakeb Akhtar

Youth Engagement and Sustainable Finance

In the context of escalating climate crises and growing economic precarity, this book investigates the transformative role of youth as financial actors, policy influencers, and sustainability champions. It positions the next generation not merely as future beneficiaries of climate action but as active agents of financial and environmental change in the present.The book engages with wider themes such as climate justice, intergenerational equity, environmental activism, financial inclusion, and sustainable development. It combines interdisciplinary approaches, drawing from economics, environmental studies, political science, finance, sociology, and youth studies, to provide a holistic understanding of how young people are engaging with money as a tool for climate advocacy. The book's core argument is that youth possess both the moral authority and the financial capacity to drive climate-compatible investment and consumption decisions, and that their role is critical in shifting global economies toward sustainability. Theoretically, the book draws on frameworks such as green finance, youth political economy, social capital theory, and participatory governance. It examines the power dynamics within financial systems and how they can be reconfigured to be more inclusive of younger voices. The parameters of the book are both global and local, with an emphasis on comparative insights across developed and developing contexts. It incorporates case studies from various regions including youth-led green startups in India, climate finance initiatives in Europe, digital financial inclusion projects in Africa, and policy innovations in North America.Ultimately, the book offers a roadmap for integrating the financial power of youth into global climate and development strategies.