“Young people are the future!”, “Young people are tomorrow's leaders”, “We need to increase youth engagement” — these are phrases that, while inspiring on the surface, often end up feeling hollow in spaces where real decisions are made. For many young people invited to sit at the table in climate and nature discussions, the reality does not match the rhetoric. The promises to support youth empowerment frequently amount to little more than superficial engagements: brief conversations, a staged photo, and perhaps a tweet from a senior leader about the importance of youth voices. What’s missing is meaningful action, sustained engagement, and actual decision-making power for young people. As COP29 approaches, with the Future Leaders Network, we will be talking to young people and exploring their priorities when it comes to shaping a climate just future to present at COP29.
This experience of disempowerment is not uncommon. As a climate activist myself, I have seen first-hand how young people often find themselves in spaces where their contributions are acknowledged but not acted upon. The lack of follow-through can leave young changemakers feeling ignored or tokenized. However, hope persists, and so do opportunities for real change. Many youth organisations, including YOUNGO, the UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC), Teach the Future, Future Leaders Network and others, are leading the way in ensuring that young people have a say in shaping policies related to climate and nature. These organisations are vital in building pathways for youth to enter decision-making spaces, influence policies, and contribute to both local and global discussions.
Why Youth Participation is Crucial
The inclusion of young people in climate and nature decision-making is not just a matter of equity, it is essential for ensuring long-term sustainability. The decisions made today about climate and environmental policy will affect young people the most in the coming decades. Young people bring a unique perspective, grounded in their lived experience and a deep sense of urgency. Many have grown up with the impacts of climate change being part of their daily reality. Whether it’s more extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, or environmental degradation, the future they face is one shaped by the outcomes of decisions being made now.
Youth-led movements such as Fridays for Future have shown the power of young voices in demanding immediate action from world leaders. But youth involvement shouldn’t be limited to protests and grassroots movements — young people must be included in formal negotiating and decision-making spaces. Involving youth in these processes shouldn’t be a symbolic action; in fact this engagement has proven to improve the quality of decisions. Young people tend to prioritise long-term solutions, often calling for greater ambition in environmental policies and pushing for climate justice to be at the centre of decision-making. When young people mention climate justice, it is not a hollow term to us, climate justice is ensuring we have secure access to quality energy, housing, water, food, jobs - ensuring that our generation and the future generations have our basic needs met without harming our planet's resources and without discriminating people's access to resources based on their identity and culture. Climate justice is ensuring every community is safe, seen, heard and nourished.
International Engagement
International platforms like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have recognised the importance of youth engagement through initiatives like YOUNGO, the official youth constituency at climate negotiations. YOUNGO is made up of young climate activists from around the world and has been instrumental in providing a platform for young people to influence the outcomes of climate summits, including the annual Conference of Parties (COP) meetings.
While YOUNGO provides a formal avenue for youth participation, it often faces challenges. The youth who attend international conferences, such as COP, are still only a small percentage of those present, and they often lack the power to shape key decisions. Youth participation can feel like an afterthought rather than a core part of the process. This is something that must change. True intergenerational dialogue means more than just having youth in the room — it requires a genuine commitment of listening to, valuing, and acting on their contributions.
One important step is ensuring that youth are given the resources and platforms to not only participate - but to lead. This includes financial support to attend global conferences, providing mentorship opportunities, and ensuring that young voices are represented at the highest levels of decision-making. By increasing the presence and influence of youth in these spaces, we can ensure that climate negotiations take into account the needs of future generations.
National Engagement
On a national level, organisations like the Future Leaders Network, UKYCC, and Teach the Future have been advocating for stronger youth participation in shaping the UK's climate policies. Future Leaders Network has been focusing on developing young people's leadership and negotiation skills. UKYCC, for example, has long been involved in climate advocacy, with a focus on empowering young people to take part in global climate negotiations and influence UK climate policy. Teach the Future is particularly focused on education reform, campaigning to include climate change in the UK’s national curriculum and advocating for the UK education system to better prepare young people for the realities of the climate crisis.
These organisations highlight the need for young people to be more involved in national decision-making processes. National governments must create more formal mechanisms for youth participation, such as youth councils or advisory boards with real power to shape policy. More needs to be done to ensure that these bodies have a real influence over policy decisions, rather than being limited to consultative roles.
Local Engagement
Local engagement is perhaps the area where young people can make the most immediate impact. Across the UK, there are numerous grassroots organisations and community initiatives where young people are driving climate action. Groups like Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) are working on projects aimed at reducing carbon footprints on campuses and in local communities. These initiatives are not only vital for reducing local emissions, but they also provide young people with opportunities to develop leadership skills and gain experience in environmental governance.
The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs (NFYFC) also plays an important role at the local level, particularly in rural areas. The organisation has been working to ensure that young farmers are part of the conversation about sustainable farming practices, land use, and nature conservation.
At the local level, councils and municipalities should actively seek to engage youth in discussions about sustainability and environmental policy. This could be through youth-specific consultations or through partnerships with local schools, universities, and youth organisations. By giving young people a direct role in shaping local climate policies, we can ensure that the transition to a more sustainable future is inclusive and just.
Creating Pathways for Youth Leadership
So, what can be done to ensure that youth participation in decision-making spaces is meaningful and effective? First, we need to create formal mechanisms for youth to engage with decision-makers at all levels. This means creating more youth councils, advisory boards, and consultation processes where young people have real power to influence policy.
Second, it is crucial to provide young people with the resources and training they need to effectively participate in these spaces. This includes providing financial support for young people to attend international conferences, offering mentorship programs, and ensuring that youth have access to the knowledge and tools they need to engage with complex policy issues.
Finally, we need to change the way we think about youth participation. Too often, young people are seen as a group to be consulted or listened to, but not as real decision-makers. This needs to change. Young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today, and they should be treated as such.
As a member of the Future Leaders Network, representing the UK as a COP29 Youth Delegate, I have seen first-hand the power of youth-led initiatives and the potential for young people to shape the future of climate policy. Alongside my peers, we are working to ensure that the voices of young people are heard at the global conference and in national discussions. Our work is proof that young people are more than capable of leading the fight against climate change — all we need is the opportunity to do so.
In conclusion, increasing youth participation in climate and nature decision-making spaces is not just a moral imperative, it is essential for ensuring that the policies we create today will lead to a sustainable, just future. We need to start practising how to hold intergenerational spaces and experiment with different ways to ensure all demographics are heard. Whether on an international, national, or local level, young people have shown that they are ready and willing to lead. Now it is up to decision-makers to give them the platform to do so.
As the UK COP29 Youth Delegation, we will showcase young people's voices at the global conference and to UK decision-makers. We have recently launched a survey to collect thoughts and opinions for young people to share with us. Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/LkuFEavU1xcs3D7e7
If you wish to collaborate with the UK Youth COP29 Delegation, please get in touch with us via email at ukcopdelegation@futureleaders.network, and follow us on Instagram and X.
Samia Dumbuya (she/they) is a climate justice advocate who focuses on upskilling and educating young people and marginalised communities in the UK to be active climate changemakers. They are currently studying MSc Sustainable Resources: Economics, Policy and Transitions at UCL, researching methods to build equitable and decolonial pathways towards sustainable development for all. They are also a researcher for The Wildlife Trusts and Uprising, supporting their research to understand young people’s connection to nature. For the past 8 years, they have been facilitating workshops dedicated to climate education to ensure young people understand the significance of how the climate crisis and the deterioration of the environment impact their lives and other people’s lives. Their clients have included: Complicité Theatre company, Oxford University, Samsung, The Natural History Museum, Friends of the Earth Europe, local London authorities and similar organisations using youth engagement as a tool to upskill tomorrow’s leaders. Within the past year, they have engaged with over 30 organisations supporting them with building holistic strategies to increase community engagement.
Their experience has led them to become this year’s Youth Delegate for COP29 on behalf of the Future Leaders Network representing young people across the UK, bringing their voices to the global stage. Samia has recently been made a BeVisioneers Fellow - a programme run by The Do School in Berlin supported by Mercedes-Benz working on youth-led community energy.
Samia uses community engagement as a tool to create space for people to imagine climate-just futures for all and take action on a local level.