Youth Voice

“Things are being done – but it is nowhere near enough, and it takes every single one of us to combat climate change”

Aurelia, Copeland Youth Panel Member

In a 2021 global survey nearly 60% of young people said they felt very worried or extremely worried whilst more than 45% of those questioned said feelings about the climate affected their daily lives.

[Unicef: Voices of Youth, United Nations: Youth and Sustainability Goals, Cumbria Observatory , BBC News: Extent of Climate Anxiety in Young People]

Zero Carbon Cumbria works with organisations and groups around Cumbria to ensure that young people have their voice heard on climate change issues here in Cumbria. We use the United Nations definition of ‘youth’ – up to the age of 24 – and there are 122,851 people of that age in Cumbria.

This page will share the action we have taken, as well as highlight opportunities to get involved in the future.

The video below is from the 2021 Cumbrian Climate Summit- sharing concerns and hopes for tackling the climate crisis.

A MEANINGFUL VOICE

Taking action on what young people tell us can be a challenge for many organisations. We want to offer space, advice and the chance to share the challenges that are faced by our local practitioners.

In order to achieve this we need to make sure that young people have their anxieties, ideas and questions are listened to by the right people.

Read the Cartmel Commitment

In February 2025 five students developed a series of asks as part of their Dream Placement at Futureproof Cumbria, with support from Cumbria Development Education Centre.

The Commitment asks schools, local authorities, community groups and businesses to commit to work together on a series of actions relating to food in schools, covering topics such as education, skills, food in school and reducing food waste.

Anastasiia, Erin, Honor, Najia and Oscar are students from schools across Cumbria.

Read now

NEW

WHAT WE ARE DOING

Annual climate summits

Hosted at various venues across Cumbria, and organised by CDEC and Futureproof Cumbria our climate summits allow young people to develop their knowledge, share learning, hear from experts and take part in workshops.

Recent summits were developed with a the input of young people, planning the type of workshops, the speakers and ensuring that there was time to network within the groups.

Youth Practitioners’ Forum

Our first youth practitioners’ forum will bring together those groups, businesses and organisations that work with young people. We want to create space to share good practice, and find out where the gaps are in Cumbria. Where can Zero Carbon Cumbria offer support to these groups to ensure that the can listen to and take actions with young people.

The next event will be announced soon.

Youth Climate Panel

The youth climate panel is a current project in progress. The proposed remit will be to challenge the Strategic Oversight Board and support the development of and contribute to Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership plans.

The panel will also represent the voice of young people in communication with a wide range of stakeholders such as politicians and business leaders.

LINKS AND INSPIRATION

Climate Change and Young People in Copeland. This report was based on workshop activities which took place between 16 August 2021 and 6 September 2021. Seven youth groups across Copeland took part, discussing their opinions about their environment and climate change and exploring solutions. Read the full report here.

Read a report into place based learning here in Cumbria. A collaboration with CAfS, CDEC and the University of Cumbria, it explored how schools currently use the environment here in Cumbria and made recommendations for further curriculum development. Read the report here.