With its Just Transition Mechanism, the EU is providing extra support to the regions that produce fossil fuels to abandon coal and oil and boost the energy transition. This means finding a new future after fossil fuels for those territories, for which new generations must be on board from the start. In 2022, GCE published two reports on how youth is being included in the implementation of the just transition together with the NGO Bank watch. The reports highlighted that youth has been consulted in the majority of EU Member States, but in very limited cases this was done in a meaningful way. In the light of such findings, GCE has also supported YEE and its consortium in managing the call for projects EUTeens4Green, which is dedicated to youth projects in the regions supported by the just transition.

2023 is going to be the year when funding from the Mechanism and EUTeens4Green starts flowing to the target regions. In such a phase, Member States will create calls for projects to disburse the funding and launch monitoring committees to oversee how the money is being spent. In some monitoring committees youth is already represented, but young people must be represented in all of them to make sure the funding is spent in the interest of next generations rather than polluters and fossil fuel companies.

Besides its Member States, the EU is also enlarging its just transition to the Western Balkans, with several non-formal initiatives culminating in their Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition. Similarly to the EU, young people have a potential to play a key role in the just transition in the region, yet little research has been done on the extent of their engagement.

Aims:

• Advocate for meaningful engagement of youth in the monitoring of the Just Transition Mechanism and the Initiative for Coal Regions and Transition.
• Contribute to the implementation of the main programmes of the EU targeting youth in the just transition, most notably EUTeens4Green and ExchangeEU.

Policies addressed:

Just Transition Mechanism, EUTeens4Green

Deliverables:

• Produce a report on youth engagement in the just transition of the EU
• Participate in the Just Transition Platform in April and October.
• Advocate towards the members of the monitoring committees from the European Commission.
• Develop a policy brief on youth engagement in the Western Balkans.
• Advocate towards the European Commission on the importance of youth engagement in the just transition in the Western Balkans.
• Actively engage in the European Alliance for a Just Transition
• Provide support to Youth and Environment Europe in coordinating the EUTeens4Green.

According to academic literature and Eurostat data gathered by GCE in our briefing last year, energy poverty used to affect youth aged 16-29 more than the general population even before the current energy crisis. Although it is still soon to have data on the situation since the start of the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis has the potential to affect youth disproportionately in terms of wealth and well-being compared to other social groups. At the same time, the EU is currently making key decisions to tackle energy poverty, particularly with the legislative package REPowerEU and the launch of its new Social Climate Fund approved in December 2022. Since these policies are at their beginning of their implementation, 2023 represents a key year where GCE can gather more information on how youth is affected by the energy crisis and put pressure on policy makers to address the specific needs of energy poor young people through the policies that are being launched.

Aims:

• Strengthen the research on the impacts of energy poverty on young people.
• Advocate for an increased role of youth in the EU debate on energy poverty and targeted measures for energy poor youth.

Policies addressed:

Social Climate Fund, REPowerEU

Deliverables:

• Facilitate the writing of a research paper on energy poverty among youth in the EU through partnerships with Member Organisations, CSOs, NGOs and consultants
• Join the Right to Energy Coalition and engage in their activities
• Align with the European Youth Energy Network (EYEN) regarding the scope and thematic focus of work on energy
• Support Youth and Environment Europe with their 2023 cycle of workshops on the impact of the energy crisis on youth
• Participate in the Sustainable Energy Week 2023 with the European Youth Energy Network and other relevant partners

Despite the rising awareness of the climate crisis, the complexities of the socio-ecological system that induced, but could also solve the crisis, are often simplified. Knowledge of the interdependencies of our interconnected system allows us to come up with ideas for how society can be transformed in a way that will not simply shift the burden elsewhere and that guarantees the consideration of justice at the heart of our decision-making. Policies implemented today, as well as lack of climate action, both impact the world in which today’s youth will build and shape their lives. Thus, sustainability education across but also beyond educational systems is a powerful tool for young people to be equipped with and empowered to become part of the conversations on the direction concrete climate policy should take. The role of education and training to combat climate change is increasingly recognised. At COP26, education and environmental ministers came together in an historic event to talk about education and climate action. With the establishment of the Education for Climate Coalition and a new proposal by the European Commission to the Council of the EU for learning specifically for environmental sustainability, 2022 is set to be a year of increased efforts in making sustainability education a reality.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the main international forum on climate action, gathering all world governments at the same table. Nevertheless, according to the Climate Action Tracker, pledges and actions defined last year at COP26 in Glasgow are still insufficient to reach the 1.5°C target set by COP21 in 2015. Despite the world running out of time to limit the rise of global temperature, the level of global climate ambition still falls short. It is fundamental to put pressure on our representatives to make sure both the EU and the rest of the world take real, meaningful action to comply with the Paris Agreement at the upcoming COP27 in Egypt. Climate justice will remain at the core of our message to COP, and we will take on board youth partners from the whole Europe and the world to put it at the core of global climate action as well.

Our aim is to ensure that the priorities of youth organisations and young people are represented and given a space in the European Climate Pact.

Our aim is to advocate for and work towards increased circularity in food systems and agroecology practices in Europe.

Our aim is to ensure that young people are informed on and engaged in the discussions on and the implementation of the European Supply Chain Law.