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COP26 Scottish Youth Climate Programme

This programme aimed to ensure that young people played a key role within the work relating to COP26 and in Scotland’s response to the climate emergency by increasing awareness of climate change and supporting young people to get involved with climate action and decision making locally, nationally, and globally.

From August 2021 – March 2022 YouthLink Scotland delivered a Scottish Government funded project in partnership with Young Scot and Keep Scotland Beautiful to support youth workers and young people across Scotland to engage in the COP26 conversation and have the skills, tools, confidence to take climate action in their own youth work settings and their own local communities.

What was COP26?

The UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 13 November 2021. The COP26 summit brought parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Find out more here.

Aims and Outcomes:

Programme Activity

Group of young people standing in front of the Scottish Parliament. Picture: Alan Rennie
Pillar One: Co-Design Group
Supported by Young Scot, there were 50 young people recruited across 19 local authorities in Scotland, who co-designed a number of different aspects of the programme. ​
Group of young people in front of a large frame with 'Eco Fest'written along the top
Pillar Two: Local Climate Champions
Between 6 – 10 local climate champions in each local authority area were recruited, creating a network of 274 youth climate activists who worked alongside their youth work teams to build and grow climate action locally.
Young person getting their face painted by a youth worker.
Pillar Three: Youth Work Champions Programme
YouthLink Scotland facilitated a youth work champions network, delivering climate emergency training to youth workers​, creating climate change resources and showcasing the role of youth work.
Group of people on a stage having a discussion, in front of a large projection which titled 'Bright Lights: Scottish Youth Climate Initiatives'.
COP26 Events
179 young people attended 20 events at COP26 in Glasgow. Opportunities included: participating in the Scottish delegation at COY16, celebrating the launch of free bus travel for under 22s across Scotland, and meeting the First Minister.
Group of young people gathered round a table discussing an issues.
Scottish Youth Climate Summit & Declaration
An online youth climate summit was held with 70+ young people across Scotland ​to create 40+ demands from young people to decision-makers. ​

Watch the video

Three young people jumping in the air outside of the Scottish Parliament. Picture: Alan Rennie
Legacy Residential Event
We hosted a Legacy Residential event to celebrate the amazing work the young people and youth work champions had put into the programme.
Climate Emergency Toolkit for youth workers
Climate Emergency Toolkit
This toolkit was created in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful and helps youth workers inform young people about the climate emergency, and empower them to take positive action. It includes activities to help young people learn about, and discuss the impact of our choices on climate change, environment and people.

Access the toolkit

Climate Emergency Training heading with planet Earth behind
Climate Emergency Training for Youth Workers
We provided this training as part of the COP26 Scottish Youth Climate Programme. The course consisted of one full day of learning which was spread across three online modules. Booking is currently closed for our accredited Climate Emergency Training.
274
Local Climate Champions
32
Youth Work Champions
204
individuals completed the climate emergency training
100%
of youth workers felt more confident and equipped in supporting young people to tackle the climate emergency

Get in touch

If you have any questions about the COP26 Scottish Youth Climate Programme or want to find out more, get in touch with Liz who oversees our Learning for Sustainability work.

Email Liz