The Youth Climate Council, is an independent youth-led advisory board to the climate minister. The Youth Climate Council is something the Danish Youth Delegates and the Youth Council (an umbrella organisation of 75 youth-led organisations including for example scouts, student councils, and all the political youth parties) have successfully pushed for the government to establish. The Youth Climate Council gathers input from young people all over the country and formulates concrete policy proposals to the minister. The proposals are then included in the policy processes to give young people a channel for directly influencing the development of climate policies. We also have a local level Youth Climate Councils in some cities, showing how meaningful youth engagement is important on all decision making levels. We want to show that young people are not just “energetic” and “good at thinking out of the box”, we are also knowledgeable and capable of translating our ambitions into concrete policies that governments need to listen to.

The Youth Climate Council meets with the Climate Minister several times per year to give policy inputs on behalf of Danish young people. This will accelerate climate action because more ideas are action. put into play, and because young people are more ambitious on the climate agenda than older generations. The Youth Climate Council also participates in external events to gather input from young people and to raise awareness about climate policies in all parts of society. This year they have participated in more than 60 external events. They furthermore contribute to the public debate by frequently making statements in the media and writing opinion pieces to newspapers. This awareness raising builds public support for more ambitious climate