Creating Youth Climate Councils: A step-by-step guide for young people

About the resource

This toolkit has been created to help young people establish a youth climate council in their cities and communities. Available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, it provides step-by-step guidance on how to create a youth climate council and effectively work with city representatives for impactful and meaningful participation of young people in city-led climate action.

It also offers insights into how similar youth participation mechanisms have worked in decision making processes on local and national levels as well as resources aimed at providing young people with further guidance on actively participating in city climate initiatives.

The toolkit sets out 12 steps aimed at guiding young people in process of creating youth climate councils to help shape and drive climate action in their cities and communities:

Step 1: Identify the goal and opportunities of city-youth engagement: Define your objectives for working with the city on climate action initiatives.
Step 2: Analyse the trajectory of youth advocacy on climate change: Evaluate the ways your city is being impacted by the climate crisis and the trajectory of local youth advocacy on climate action.
Step 3: Reflect on your city’s past and ongoing engagement with young people: Analyse how young people have been engaged in your city’s climate action and decision-making processes so far. Understand their interests, challenges, and the opportunities they have been offered. Then, use these insights to plan your engagement with the city.
Step 4: Build partnerships: Identify active youth climate groups in your city. Reach out to them and explore opportunities for collaboration.
Step 5: Reach out to your city representatives: Identify and reach out to city representatives to discuss the potential for a local youth climate council and prepare your case for establishing one.
Step 6: Prepare to meet city representatives: Reflect on the practical aspects of establishing a youth climate council. Partner with other young people and groups to develop a proposal for how the youth climate council could be structured. Identify ways to balance the needs and expectations of young people with the practicalities of working with city representative
Step 7: Establish a strong relationship with city representatives: Actively engage and build a collaborative relationship with city representatives. Consider how their expertise and resources can support the establishment and implementation of a youth climate council.
Step 8: Assess training and capacity-building needs: Identify the specific skills and knowledge needed for youth leaders to participate in a youth climate council. Plan a set of capacity-building sessions that will address these needs.
Step 9: Maintain collaboration with city representatives: Actively engage with city representatives, ensuring that young people’s views are helping to shape the structure and activities of the youth climate council.
Step 10: Operationalise the youth climate council: Assign a dedicated youth representative to liaise with city representatives. This will ensure ongoing communications and meaningful collaboration between youth climate council members and the city.
Step 11: Regularly assess and address the needs of the council: Continue to monitor the priorities, evolving needs, and impact of the youth climate council’s initiatives.
Step 12: Celebrate success: Amplify the successes and impact of your city–youth collaboration.