‘This is about every child’s future!’

Abstract The development of citizens’ assemblies involving children has sparked interest in their potential to support them in accessing their rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ( crc ). In parallel to a citizens’ assembly with the adult population, Ireland held its first Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss in 2022. Analysing data collated over a two-year period, this paper explores the outcomes and impacts of children’s participation in this process. It examines the extent to which the Assembly supported developments in personal and collective efficacy and underpinned wider environmental citizenship action across vertical (citizen-state) and horizontal (citizen-citizen) dimensions. Drawing on insights from academia, practice and policy, it considers how citizens’ assemblies may support children to engage in intergenerational environmental governance and access their rights as defined in the crc .