From science to storytelling: Advancing a climate knowledge–action framework through reflections on youth‐focused, participatory action research in Vietnam

Abstract Climate change presents urgent global challenges that demand swift and transformative responses. However, current efforts often fall short, revealing a crisis not only of environmental concern but also of social action. Responses to this have included climate change and sustainability education and communication, though these have tended to be knowledge‐heavy, operating under outdated knowledge deficit‐based assumptions that merely providing more information will drive action. Such responses and assumptions have also privileged scientific knowledge while overlooking diverse epistemologies and ways of knowing. This paper challenges these assumptions and puts forward a redefining of what it means to ‘know’ and ‘act’ on climate change. Within this, we propose integrating diverse knowledge systems, embracing both scientific and historically marginalised local knowledges, including indigenous, youth‐led, experiential, emotional and affective perspectives. Importantly, we also propose a novel way to operationalise this democratically through utilising participatory action research and creative storytelling. Drawing upon our international collaboration with youth in three provinces along the Red River Catchment in northern Vietnam in 2022, a region facing significant climate challenges and injustices, we illustrate the potential of this research approach to bridge the knowledge–action gap. We conclude by introducing our holistic CLIMATE Knowledge Framework that encapsulates this pluralistic and democratic view of knowledge co‐creation. This framework serves as a set of guiding principles for educators, researchers and policymakers to advance a more democratic, critically engaged, justice‐framed and action‐oriented paradigm, facilitating the envisioning and implementation of tangible solutions.